Coconut Macaroons
Spring has truly sprung, the sun is shinning on a daily basis, and I am welcoming the start to a brand new quarter this week!
I made these coconut macaroons over my spring break last week (hence, the beautiful lighting from my Mom's kitchen, something that is seriously lacking here at school!). I absolutely love coconut, and it's not an ingredient I have gone out of my way to buy down here at school. However, when I was home, and had a fully stocked fridge and pantry open or me, I had to satisfy my craving.
Plain and Chocolate-Chip Macaroons
Macaroons are awesome. They are easy, they are fast, they are gluten-free, and they are adaptable. There are very few ingredients in macaroons, and therefore they are in turn, quick to make. In addition they are gluten-free! It's hard to find gluten-free baked goods, that 1. taste good, and 2. don't require you to buy an alternative ingredient. I made these the day before visiting my Mom's best friend who is a celiac, as well as one of my college roommates, so I figured I add a some chocolate chips to half the batch and provide some extra variety to them.
Macaroons are two-bite (maybe even one bite!) cookies. These wonderful coconut clusters came out perfect. They are chewy on in the inside, but crunchy on the outside. The coconut toasts slightly on the outside, which really provides your bite with a mouthful of textures. The chocolate-chips are a nice compliment to the coconut; melting harmoniously with each coconut bit. You don't need to be an expert baker to make these, but you do have to be a coconut lover! Enjoy!
Coconut Macaroons
Adapted from Martha Stewart *
Yields: Around 2 1/2 Dozen Small Macaroons
Ingredients:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 cups of sweetened or unsweetened coconut
2 large egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
A pinch of salt
1/2 cup of chocolate-chips*
Steps:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
2. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper
3. In a large bowl combine sugar, coconut, egg whites, vanilla extract, almond extract and salt. Use your hands or a spatula to mix well.
*If using chocolate-chips, split the batter into two bowls and add chips to one of them.
4. Dampen hands with water, use 1 1/2 tablespoons to form mounds; place on baking sheet 1/2 inch apart.
5. Bake until golden brown, around 16-17 minutes.
6. Let cool completely on wire rack. Store for 3 days in an air tight container.
What I Did Differently:
1. The ingredient list above is my adapted version. I used sweetened coconut (preference to what your taste buds feel like!), almond extract and chocolate-chips (only for half of the cookies though).
2. I added chocolate-chips to half of my batch. Martha's original recipe actually lists ways to add chocolate-chips and make chocolate macaroons.
3. I made mine smaller than 1 1/2 tablespoons size, it allowed me to make twice as many cookies! I used two regular size teaspoons to form the coconut balls.
4. My baking time was less than 16 minutes because of the size of my cookies. Once the outer edges of the coconut start to brown, is usually when you should take your cookies out of the oven.
*I used Martha Stewart's recipe from her book Martha Stewart's Cookies. However, on the Martha Stewart website this exact recipe is not listed (however there are other macaroon variations on her website that may be worth checking out!), but I found it on this blog, and it's the same recipe from the book!
