Vanilla and Chocolate Coconut Macaroons

These are the same coconut macaroons I make a lot.  I love them anytime, so during Passover, when I can't eat the majority of baked goods, they are wonderful!  This time I made them a little differently.  I made a double batch by doubling the quantities of coconut and egg white and increasing the amount of sugar (but not quite doubling it since I use sweetened coconut).  I divided the coconut mixture in half and flavored each half separately.  In the first half, I used vanilla bean paste instead of vanilla extract in the vanilla ones to give them an extra kick.  In the second half, I added cocoa powder and a tad extra super fine sugar until it looked chocolately and delicious (not that you can taste it, since it is so eggy, but you can tell when it's chocolately enough because it looks it.)

Both flavors came out wonderfully and were big hits.  Pops liked the vanilla a bit more, mom liked the chocolate so that worked well!

P.S. I could have sworn I took a photo of these, but I can't find it...sorry!

Coconut Almond Macaroons

Another Christmas cookie.  These are almost like the coconut macaroons I make normally, but with a bit less sugar and some almond extract.  They don't taste too almondy, just a hint of almond comes through.  I personally don't like my macaroons to be too sweet, so I cut way back on the sugar.  (Well, I also cut back on the sugar because I use sweetened coconut, which I think is almost enough sweetness.)

Very soon I'm going to make them with chocolate drizzled on them or perhaps chocolate chips mixed in.  When I do, I'll post the whole recipe, because by then I'll have perfected it.

P.S. No photo for these either, because they look just like the other coconut macaroons I made, and you can see them on the cookie plate.

Christmas Cookies

    

Over the next few days I'll be blogging about the Christmas cookies I made.  You see, every year I make a variety of cookies to give a gifts.  This year I made (clockwise from top), brownies, bourbon currant cookies, my cream cheese mints, gingerbread cookies, and (center) coconut macaroons.  I think that gave a pretty diverse selection of flavors while still keeping in the Christmas-y cookie tradition.  And they looked so nice together too!

Cookies are wonderful to give as gifts (and to receive, I'd imagine).  I just arrange them on a white paper plate and wrap in plastic wrap.  Either I tape the ends of the cling wrap together under the plate or tie them with ribbon on the top (though, that's a bit of a pain because usually you have to use two very long strips of the cling wrap to get the plate wrapped properly, so I don't tend to do it the ribbon way.)

By the way, when picking cookies to put together there are no firm rules (at least that I'm aware of).  I personally like to do one really chocolaty thing, at least one crunchy/crisp cookie, and one soft/chewy cookie.  In addition, I like having one that is slightly unusual and one that is pretty common.  Of course these can overlap...for example a chocolate brownie would be a chocolaty, chewy, and common cookie.  Don't ignore brownies or other bar cookies--cut into small squares, they count as a cookie for the purposes of a cookie plate.  I tend to avoid cookies with nuts unless I'm sure the person I'm giving them doesn't have nut allergies.  I also like to include at least one gluten free thing in case of someone being celiac (though that may just be because I know enough many people who can't eat gluten that now I'm used to making gluten free things.)

Coconut Macaroons, take two

    

I made these at the same day I made the chocolate rice crispy brittle to bring to my class...both recipes are gluten-free, dairy-free and nut-free so they are perfect to bring into class (since pretty much every one can eat them).

They are the same coconut macaroons I made quite some time ago.  I just didn't dip them in chocolate this time.  They were very good, even without the chocolate.  And, since my oven is working properly, they got nice and golden on the edges.

Coconut Macaroons, con't

     

   
Here is the photo of the macaroons that I promised.  They really do taste as good as they look!  (Maybe even better than they look, because the photo came out a little grainy when I uploaded it.)  The coconut didn't get too hardened but it also wasn't too mushy.  My favorite part (and others agree with me about this) is that I use bittersweet chocolate instead of semisweet.  This keeps them from getting that sickeningly sweet taste that many macaroons get.

Coconut Macaroons

If you've seen Julie and Julia you may remember the part towards the beginning when Julie says (and I'm paraphrasing quite a bit) that it is so comforting to her that no matter how bad your day has been you can go home and make a chocolate cream pie and know that when you add this to that it will thicken, every time.  I get that feeling.  I had a blah day.  Not a bad one, but it was my last first day of classes (I started my senior year), and it just felt, well, blah.  As my mom said, I seem ennui.

So I came home and made coconut macaroons dipped in chocolate and everything seemed so much better.  Macaroons are very simple to make.  All you do is mix together coconut, egg whites, sugar and vanilla, form the sticky mixture into little mounds and bake until golden.  (By the way, the recipe came by way of Martha Stewart's Cookies.)  It isn't hard, but it is fun and very satisfying.  I did want to do a little more than just that, so I melted some bittersweet chocolate and dipped the bottoms of the macaroons in it and then drizzled some of the leftover chocolate on top.  They look very nice!  You'll have to take my word on that for now, because it is late and I don't feel like taking a picture, downloading and then uploading my photo right now.  I'll post it tomorrow (or I guess that would really be later today).  I'll also let you know how they taste...you see the chocolate has to harden and, mainly because it is so late, I'm exercising remarkable self restraint and not eating one tonight.  If they taste half as good as they look they'll be good, so I can't wait!