Coconut Macaroons

I have found my weakness, and it comes in the form of coconut and rich dark chocolate. I was never a fan of the texture of nutty coconut until my summer job at the local gelatoria (an Italian ice cream shop), where they made hundreds of fresh flavors on location. Our favorite past-time was sampling different flavor combinations with our tiny spoons, which was where I was enlightened by the glory of coconut and chocolate.

The vanilla-creaminess of the fresh coconut gelato paired with the most intense chocolate gelato I have ever tasted, this treat was creamy and delicious, (and developed into a very unhealthy obsession.)

I began experimenting with different ways to incorporate this fabulous flavor combination into many different recipes like cupcakes and cheesecake. However, nothing can compare to the simple, sweet, chewy, and light coconut macaroons. I dug through my cookbooks and found this simple recipe in one of the oldest and dustiest cookbooks I own, but the recipe was impressively simple and delicious. A hybrid of the light meringue of french macaroons combined with the chewy and rich texture of traditional macaroons, this recipe is truly the best of both worlds. Containing literally five ingredients, adding these treats to your cookie repertoire will impress even the toughest critique. I made these for my class to cure the Monday morning blues, and these chocolatey-coconuty-puffs-of-goodness received rave reviews.

Ingredients:

1 1/3 C sweetened coconut shavings

2 egg whites

¼ tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. vanilla

2/3 C sugar

1 bag of dark chocolate chips (Ghirardelli 70% Caico was fantastic)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cover cookie sheet with aluminum foil and no-stick spray.
2. Combine egg whites, vanilla, and salt with an electric mixer on high speed until they create stiff peaks
3. Slowly add in sugar (about a tbsp. at a time)
4. Fold in coconut
5. Drop tbsp. sized rounds onto the cookie sheet (make sure to keep them equally distributed). Put in oven for 20-25 minutes on top rack until they’re golden.
6. While the macaroons are in the oven, melt chocolate in a double boiler
7. After macaroons have cooled, dip into chocolate and let harden.
8. Enjoy!