Coconut Macaroons

Origin: Italian

Crispy coconut with a taste of chocolate that makes every Monday better. Actually, it just makes everyday better. Fact.

Makes About: 25 macaroons

Takes about: 30 minutes (for 1 batch)

Difficulty: 2 out of 5

Prep:

Place a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Ingredients:

250 grams caster sugar

250 grams unsweetened coconut

4 egg whites (you will not be using the egg yolks in this recipe)

6 ounces chocolate - melted

Instructions:

- Step 1 - Mix Together Sugar and Coconut

In a large bowl mix 250 grams of caster sugar and 250 grams of unsweetened coconut.

After mixed, place the bowl aside until needed.

- Step 2 - Whisk Egg Whites

In a medium bowl fluff 4 egg whites until they become soft white peeks.

The egg yolks will not be used, so you can find another use for them in a different recipe.

- Step 3 - Mix the Three Ingredients

Slowly fold in a third of the egg whites into the coconut and caster sugar mixture.

Add the egg whites slowly into the mixture because you don want them to loose the air.

Add the second third of egg whites and mix slowly.

The coconut and sugar should be covered completely by the egg whites, there should not be any dry patches throughout the mixture.

- Step 4 - Dollop with a Point

After the the sugar, coconut, and egg whites are all mixed together take about 2-3 tablespoons worth of macaroon mix and place it on the readied parchment paper.

Place the macaroons about an inch or two away from each other on the parchment paper.

Form the tops to have a slight point to make the macaroons look like small cones.

- Step 5 - Bake

Bake the Macaroons for about 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.

Be careful, they go from golden brown to burnt tasting quickly.

- Step 6 - Cool

Let the macaroons cool on the parchment paper that is on a cooling rack, so cool air is reaching all sides. (I used a second piece of parchment to keep the baking moving forward.) As the macaroons cool they will set a little harder and won't be so soft and flimsy.

Once the macaroons were ready to come off the parchment paper I used a butter-knife to slide underneath the macaroons so the bottoms would not come off. I also wanted to make sure they would stay as one solid piece and a butter-knife helped a lot.

- Step 7 - Temper Chocolate

In a double boiler, heat 6 ounces of chocolate on very low heat. I used 60% bakers chocolate and had my temperature at 3 to make sure I didn't heat my chocolate too fast.

You want the chocolate to keep that glossy look and how you do that is heating the chocolate very slowly.

- Step 8 - Dip Macaroon in Chocolate

Dip the flat end of the Macaroon into the chocolate. The chocolate should completely coat the bottom of the macaroon.

Dunk the macaroons a few times into the chocolate to make sure the bottoms are completely covered. But, make sure it is just the bottom of the macaroon and not the sides. The chocolate is just a small addition.

- Step 9 - Let Chocolate Dry on Macaroon

Once the macaroon has a nice amount of chocolate let them sit on the their sides until the chocolate dries.

It is possible to eat these while the chocolate is wet, they are just extremely messy.

- Step 10 - Enjoy Every Bite

Once the macaroons have dried eat one, two, and then three for good measures.

Found this recipe in Trine Hahnemann's baking book "Scandinavian Baking," Recipe was easy to follow, used her directions all the way though, but added a few more steps for new bakers.