Kristin’s birthday was on Monday but we celebrated at The Village Tap over the weekend. I’d already gotten her prints of Jackson as a small gift, but felt like baking so I made her cookies for a birthday treat. I decided to make the macaroons recipe from Martha Stewart’s Cookies mostly because I had all of the ingredients on hand.
I never made macaroons before and was afraid of how they’d turn out. Everyone at The Village Tap said they really liked them. They were really simple to make. I made one batch of plain coconut and one with chocolate chunks. I also used sweetened coconut because that is what I had in the cupboard.
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Coconut Macaroons
Unsweetened shredded coconut is available in health food stores. You can also use sweetened shredded coconut (reduce the sugar in the recipe from 3/4 cup to 1 tablespoon). For the variations, pair the coconut with chocolate – chips or cocoa powder – to create rich combinations reminiscent of a candy bar. Makes about 1 1/2 dozen.
3/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups (about 3 ounces) unsweetened shredded coconut
2 large egg whites
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine sugar, coconut, egg whites, vanilla, and salt. Use your hands to mix well, completely combining ingredients.
Dampen hands with cold water. Use 1 1/2 tablespoons to form mounds; place on prepared baking sheet, spacing about 1 inch apart.
Bake until golden brown, 16 to 17 minutes, rotating halfway through. Let cool on a wire rack. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.
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Chocolate Chunk Macaroons
Follow the recipe for coconut macaroons, adding 1/2 cup coarsely chopped semisweet chocolate to the other ingredients. Use 1 1/2 tablespoons of mixture to form loose haystacks; place on prepared bakign sheet, spacing about 1 inch apart. Bake until golden brown 15 to 20 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through
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Chocolate Macaroons
Place 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces, in a heatproof bowl or the top of a double boiler set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until chocolate has melted; set aside to cool. Follow instruction for Coconut Macaroons, increasing coconut to 2 2/3 cups and combining all ingredients with cooled chocolate and 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted. The baking time should be about the same; you will know the cookies are done when they are just firm to the touch but still soft in the middle.
Martha Stewart Coconut Macaroons are fabulous!
Oh… this looks fabulous! I bet it taste as scrumptious too. Have a nice day.
Kristy
I think you may have a typo. For me, 2-1/2 cups of coconut was the equivalent of 8 oz. Thanks for the recipe. Making them now, and can’t wait to try them.
Hey, Carey – Thanks for the feedback. I just checked the recipe on the Martha Stewart website and it says 2 1/2 c. coconut.
How did your cookies turn out?