Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Coconut Macaroons



From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...It's been years since I made macaroons. My original recipe called for sweetened condensed milk and I thought the cookies made with it were cloyingly sweet. Despite that, I made the cookies each Christmas for Bob's dad who really loved them. When we lost Andy, macaroons, and his favorite chocolate covered cherries, were dropped from my Christmas baking list. I was browsing through the Joy of Baking website the other day when I happened on the recipe I'm featuring today. It is substantially different from the one I had used in the past. I had coconut in the pantry, so I decided to give this version a try. I'm glad I did. While the cookies are way too sweet for my taste, Bob and one of our neighbors loved them. The cookies are very easy to make and the only problem I had was getting them to brown in the time suggested by the recipe. My cookies were still pale at the 20 minute mark and I had to bake them for an additional 10 minutes to get some color. I also suggest adding a small amount of almond extract to the cookie dough. If you have a sweet tooth I think you'll love this recipe. The cake flour gives the cookies a texture that is quite different from that of the usual macaroon and they are slightly less sweet. Here's the recipe.

Coconut Macaroons...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Joy of Baking.Com

Ingredients:
4 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 cup granulated white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup cake flour, sifted
3 cups sweetened shredded coconut

Directions:

1) Combine egg whites, sugar and salt in top of a double boiler set over simmering water. Whisk until mixture feels warm and is creamy. Stir in vanilla and almond extract and then add coconut and cake flour. Mix well. Cover and refrigerate for about two hours, or until firm.
2) Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
3) Place small mounds (heaping tablespoons) of batter on parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing several inches apart. Bake for about 20 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheet for about 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Yield: 2 dozen macaroons.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Black Bottom Coconut Bars - Gonna Want Seconds
Coconut Almond Macaroons - Dish by Trish
Coconut Vanilla Lime Shortbread - Luna Cafe
Chocolate Coconut Cookies - Alessandra Zecchini
Lime Glazed Coconut Snowballs - A Bountiful Kitchen
Lacy Coconut Cookies - Family Spice

47 comments :

Rhonda said...

I adore coconut. I was going to make coconut cookies yesterday and to my horror I didn't have any coconut! Next grocery trip coconut and I'm thinking some coconut macaroons.

aipi said...

Hubby really likes this delicate coconut cookies..will keep your recipe in mind when I make these!

US Masala

Ginny Hartzler said...

Macaroons always look so pretty. Buying Christmas gifts the other day, I was getting some small fancy soaps for people, and they had coconut soap! It smelled so good, too, so I bought some! One of your little pictures below shows flowerpot bread. We went to a restaraunt a coule times called The spinnaker, and everyone who sat down at a table got a flowerpot bread, it was so good!

kitchen flavours said...

Macaroons has always been on my list of "new bakes to try"! But somehow or other, I never did! Your coconut macaroons looks delightful. Thanks for reminding me! Have a lovely day!

Bakericious said...

this looks great, I am sure I will love it.

Sanyukta Gour(Bayes) said...

they look so delicious mary....very festive n elegant

Monet said...

My dad and I are the only two in the family to like coconut macaroons. Maybe I can surprise him with a batch when I fly home for Christmas. I imagine that these keep fairly well. Thank you for sharing this with me. I hope you have a joyful week, my friend!

anne said...

nice plate

Lucie said...

Coconut macaroons sure are sweet--but I love them! Using almond extract is a great idea. I'm wondering what using almond flour in replacement of part of the cake flour would do.

Alessandra said...

Sorry, I made a spelling mistake in the last reply... probably I make many (English is my second language), but when I see them I try to correct them, please excuse me :-)

I just wanted to say that these are my husband's favorites!

ciao

Alessandra

Sanjeeta kk said...

Love those cute peaks of coconut macaroons. Lovely click.

Cherine said...

A gorgeous treat!

Ana Powell said...

They look like three kisses.
I love them, so delicious and delicate ♥

penny aka jeroxie said...

Wonder if it is macaroon season? Yours looks really good.

art is in the kitchen said...

Coconut macaroons are an old favorite of mine. Time to make some this season. Yours have a soft look. Is it perhaps the cake flour? I'll follow your recipe to get the same effect. Thanks for the recipe! Blessings to you too these holidays!

NatureFootstep said...

you dcall them Maroons? That world means some kind of pasta in swedish ;) I used to bake these, but when the kids moved away I got lazy. And...I can´t eat it all by myself.

Eden said...

Wow.. looks so yummy. Love coconut.

Debbi Does Dinner Healthy said...

LOVE macaroons, my favorite! These look wonderful, thanks!

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

Macaroons are one of my favourite holiday cookies dipped in chocolate. You are more than right when you say they are sweet but then that prevents you from eating an entire plate of them...maybe...wink.

What's next said...

I love coconut, I will try these this weekend!

From the Kitchen said...

I saw a lady sitting outside (well actually inside the mall) of Godiva on Saturday munching on one of their chocolate-covered macaroons. It was all I could do to not go in and purchase one for myself because they come with bittersweet dark chocolate that cuts the sweetness. I didn't and have thought about them ever since.

Best,
Bonnie

pigpigscorner said...

I've never actually had macaroons! Sounds yummy!

Lynn said...

I love macaroons, think I'll add this to my Christmas cookie list:@)

Kim said...

Even if they are sweet, I'm sure they are great! Anyway, we all have sweet tooth people around us! Have a nice day!

Unknown said...

Hey Mary,

Beautiful macaroons...:)Love them...:)

Dr.Sameena@

http://www.myeasytoocokrecipes.blogspot.com

Joanne said...

I love the moist chewiness of macaroons but, like you, hate the cloying sweetness that some of them have. Coconut is sweet enough! These sound absolutely fantastic!

Rita said...

Your macaroons look fantastic! Haven't made these in years and they are my husband's favourite. I think I will try my hand at these again; thank you.

Unknown said...

They look wonderful, Mary!!

Sushma Mallya said...

Macaroons looks perfect and so yum and beautiful...

Katerina said...

My husband would love these because he is a big fan of coconut.

Carol said...

Your macaroons look fabulous! I love macaroons!

Pam said...

I love coconut anything... especially macaroons. They look lovely Mary.

Priya Suresh said...

Scrumptious macaroons, i dont bother to grab some..

Emily Z said...

I love macaroons. Yours look perfect. I have never made my own, but I think I should attempt to soon after looking at these!

Kelly said...

I'm also NOT a fan of crazy sweet cookies so these to me definitely sound better than the original. Isn't it funny how many cookies get added to the list (and stay there) because one person likes them.

teresa said...

coconut is an ingredient i never get sick up. these are just lovely, they sound wonderful!

Beverly said...

Mary, I much as I would hate it, I think I should send my husband to live with you and your family. He would surely love you - and he surely loves macaroons.♥

Anonymous said...

Hi Mary, that looks really tempting. I have passed an award on to you. Please know that you touch the lives of many and we appreciate you. You will find it on the award page. Just wanted to let you know that your blog is wonderful and you are sincerely appreciated.

Claudia said...

These do look wonderful - I haven't baked with coconut in years because daughter hates it - but I should give it a go again because the rest of us love it!

cottage garden farmer said...

These are just the kind of coconut macaroon i remember from years ago! Lovely

The Blonde Duck said...

Those look wonderful!

Faith said...

Your Coconut Macaroons are really lovely, Mary. This is my hubby's favorite Christmas cookie and I still have to make it for him this year. I think I may try your recipe, it looks wonderful!

CaSaundraLeigh said...

I've never made macaroons..this post reminds me that I definitely need to put it on my list for this years baking agenda!

High Plains Drifters said...

if you love coconut, i found a brilliantly simple idea the other day: just sprinkle the tiniest bit on your standard chocolate chip cookie recipe. too simple!

Best to you and yours this holiday. Cheers!

FOODESSA said...

Glad you tried this recipe for us Mary. I do love coconut treats like this one. They would probably be too sweet for me too, I'm sure. I love dessert...but too sweet turns me off.

Your candid opinion is always tremendously appreciated.

Flavourful wishes,
Claudia

Sandy said...

Hmmmmmm.I got to try these.

Unknown said...

¡¡Hola MarĂ­a¡¡
He visto que te has pasado por mi blog, y me ha gustado mucho tu comentario. ¡Gracias¡
Te invito a que hagas la receta de las sultanas de coco que hacemos en nuestro pais, y que luego me cuentes si te han gustado o no.
¡tus recetas son todas excepcionales¡
Sin duda, haré alguna para mi familia.
te dejo la receta de coco:
http://cocinateca.blogspot.com/2011/10/sultanas-de-coco.html

seguirĂ© paseando por tu blog. ¡Me encanta¡.
Besos. MarĂ­a de los Angeles. (CĂ¡diz. España)

Related Posts with Thumbnails

Printfriendly