Coconut Macaroons Dressed Three Ways

I love coconut and I love coconut macaroons. I had never tried to make them at home because I just assumed they would be complicated and messy. It crossed my mind one day that my husband loves coconut and I've never bought or made him macaroons. I looked online at a few recipes and realized these were not difficult to make after all! Quick, easy, and not too messy.

There are a lot of recipes out there that call for no flour. Some of these recipes call themselves 'gluten free'. Whatever. When I get a good coconut macaroon from a bakery I enjoy the cake like texture on the bottom of the cookie, so here it is, I like it with gluten thank you very much. If it makes you feel good you can call these "Low Fat Coconut Macaroons". They only call for egg whites, no yolks, and no butter or oil. Also, coconut is like a fruit or something, right?

Ingredients:

About 5 cups sweetened shredded coconut (14 oz package)
4 egg whites
2/3 cups sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 325F
2. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients
3. Drop packed spoonfuls of the mix onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat leaving at least an inch between each cookie
4. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 325F or until lightly golden
5. Cool for a few minutes on the sheet before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling

Mix well

Everybody in!

Separate eggs, using only the whites

Variations:

Like chocolate? Good for you! Add some. You can melt down some chocolate chips in a double broiler. Let it cool to about room temp and then dip the already cooled cookies. They look great if you just dip the bottom and put the on parchment paper and stick them in the fridge to set.

I do like chocolate, but for me, less is more. I like to drizzle the melted chocolate across the tops of the cookies. It looks fancy too.

Like Almond Joy candy bars? Make your macaroons joyful by pressing one whole almond into the top of each cookie before baking then cool and drizzle with chocolate. Those are sure to impress!

Notes:

Don't throw out those egg yolks! Make sure to save them and use them for another recipe. A little planning goes a long way. I planned and made pasta carbonara with this recipe after finding a carbonara reccipe that called for four egg yolks. Nice! Next time I'll make mayonase or custard with the yolks instead.