How can an ingredients list so short result in a cookie so ridiculously delicious? Two words: coconut & chocolate. I rest my case. If you’ve made quiche and have two egg whites left over (or custard or ice cream), you’re in business! I love to take these little lovelies to pot luck suppers as dessert.
Let’s face it. No one ever really saves room for dessert, but if it’s one small delicious cookie, it does the job of topping off the meal without making anyone groan. (This is a good goal, I think.)
The original macaroon recipe I started playing with calls for three eggs, but my quiche recipe leaves only two egg whites without a home, so I scaled the recipe as I was tweaking it. (Also, the two-white version makes about 15 cookies, and since they don’t spread while cooking, they can all share one cookie sheet amicably. Nice!)
What are we waiting for? Let’s get started!
Here’s what you need to gather: (Note that I find it waaaaay easier to weigh ingredients, especially when scaling a recipe, but I realize that you may not have all rushed out to purchase kitchen scales yet, so I’ll give the amounts to you in volume as well.)
A bit heavy on the coconut ~ should weigh 180 grams (can you read the scale?!)
2 large egg whites (*see end of post for 3-egg-white amounts)
pinch of salt
85 grams sugar (1/4 cup + 3 tablespoons)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
180 grams shredded coconut (1 1/2 cups), sweetened or unsweetened ~ your choice (I like Baker’s Angel Flake~ “moist and delicious!”)
1/3 cup chopped almonds (Okay, so I’m not sure the weight on this. As I’m chopping the almonds, I put them in a 1/3 cup measure. When it’s full I stop. Yes. Rocket science. You can use pre-sliced almonds, but chopped is best.)
Here’s the trick to these macaroons — the batter is warmed on the stove top, then cooled. Other recipes tend to result in cookies that “run” when baked. (And I hate chasing cookies!)
First, put the egg whites, sugar, salt, and vanilla in a medium saucepan and stir to combine. Put the pan on the stove over low heat, add the coconut and almonds and stir to combine completely.
Continue cooking over low heat, stirring occasionally, for about five minutes. The concoction will thicken slightly and become sticky. (The stickiness is what allows the cookies to hold together nicely when baking — no egg whites oozing out!) Transfer the “dough” to a bowl and allow to cool for at least 20 minutes.
Time to preheat the oven! You’ll want it at 325 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. (I use a half sheet pan and King Arthur Flour cut-to-fit parchment papers. Heaven!) If you have a cookie scoop, use it to form the macaroons. Pressing the dough into the scoop a bit helps them hold together when released onto the cookie sheet. (If you don’t have a cookie scoop, ask for one for your birthday. In the meantime, use a spoon and damp fingers to coax the dough into balls.)
Just right.
Bake the cookies for about 18 minutes, but check at 16, just in case your oven runs hotter than mine. You want them to be golden on top but not brown all over. If they bake too long, the bottoms will burn. Too sad.
Let them sit on the cookie sheet out of the oven for five minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack. (Tell them how pretty they are. They will be happy, and so will you when you eat them.) It will take a good 30 minutes of cooling for them to be ready for their destiny — a plunge into chocolate!
I use melted chocolate chips for dipping, but you could certainly chop up bar chocolate. My favorite are Ghiradelli 60% Cacao chips, a lovely deep bittersweet chocolate that compliments the sweetness of the macaroons. (Don’t use unsweetened chocolate!) A half cup will do the job nicely (about 80 grams). The trick to melting chocolate so that it is smooth and shiny for dipping is low heat. It should be just barely melted.
You can do the melting job in a bowl set over a pan of slowly simmering water or in a microwave oven. To microwave your chocolate, start with two minutes at 50% power. Give it a stir, and if it’s not completely melted, do 30 seconds more at 50% power. When it’s ready, it will be glossy. I then transfer the chocolate to a smaller bowl for dipping ease. Dunk the top of each cookie, give it a moment to drip, then place it on parchment or wax paper. Pop the finished cookies in the fridge for a bit to completely harden, then store in a covered tin. They won’t last long. You’re welcome!
* 3-egg-white amounts: 3 egg whites, 1/4 tsp salt, 2/3 cup sugar (128g), 1 1/2 tsp vanilla, 2 1/4 cups coconut (270g), 1/2 cup chopped almonds (directions are the same, though you’ll probably need two cookie sheets)
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