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.
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You’ll notice part of the cake is missing. That’s the cake the kids had after dinner, before they were sent home to bed.
