I wanted to make a
friend a gift of cookies for her birthday. My mom used to make coconut
macaroons when we were young. So, I thought that would be good. I found a
recipe for 3 ingredient macaroons, but read all the comments and everyone
complained about the consistency. I talked it over with the friend who
suggested I add flour. I also decided to add meringue to give the cookies
shape.
Because this was a
gift, I decide to make them special by adding dried cherries. You can use them
or substitute any other dried fruit. I wouldn’t use raisins because this is very
sweet and needs something to cut that. The cherries are slightly bitter. I think
dried orange or lemon peel would work well. You could also drizzle chocolate on
them afterward. I made a second batch and added ¼ cup toasted, sliced almonds
and replaced ½ teaspoon of the vanilla extract with almond extract.
My friend loved them.
I took a second batch to a party and people came looking for me to ask where I had
found them. They were amazed that I had made them from scratch. They stay fresh
and moist in an airtight container for a week. Find a pretty tin and give these
macaroons as a gift.
Cherry Coconut Macaroons
Servings: 2 dozen cookies
Time: Prep: 15 minutes, cooking: 20 minutes
Hardware: Measuring cups and spoons, 2 mixing bowls, wooden
spoon, a mixer, a baking sheet, a silpat or parchment paper, a rubber spatula, cooling
rack, plastic wrap
Ingredients
- 14 ounces shredded, sweetened coconut
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- ½ cup dried, chopped cherries
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup flour
- 3 large egg whites
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees°. Cover the baking sheet in the silpat or parchment paper. Set aside.
- In one bowl, combine the coconut, sweetened condensed milk, cherries, vanilla and salt. This is best to do with the wooden spoon.
- Separate the eggs. Save the yolks for something else. Add the cream of tartar to the whites and whip until the eggs are holding soft peaks.
- Stir the flour into the coconut. Then gently fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture.
- I used the ⅛ cup to scoop out 2 tablespoons of mixture. Place them 2 inches apart on the baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes or until the coconut is toasted. Allow them to cool on the sheet for about 5 minutes before moving to the cooling rack. Cover the cookie dough in plastic wrap and place in the fridge between batches. Store in an airtight container.
