For my very spoiled Father on his birthday I wanted to make one of his very favorite desserts. I was also throwing together a Bacon + Broccoli Quiche in the limited amount of time I had after work, so I wanted a dessert that would of course be delicious but also that wouldn’t take hours of prep.
The coconut macaroon is the perfect fit for this environment. It consists of a few sweet ingredients and a relatively short bake time and voila! Dessert is served. Plus they keep for at least a week so we can potentially ruin the next couple of dinners by snacking on them at all hours.
I’d never made coconut macaroons before, so I consulted the great masters of baking: Ina and Martha. These ladies are legends. I figured I could try out both of their recipes for dessert and we could have a taste testing to determine which ones we liked best. It turns out Martha had this round in the bag. Not only is the coconut macaroon the best tasting, but it requires the least amount of labor to whip up. I’d call that a win on all fronts.
This recipe is adapted from Martha Stewart.
Serves 6+.
Ingredient List:
- 2 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch salt
Kitchen Tools: baking sheet, silpat or parchment paper
Prep Work:
Preheat oven to 325*F. In a mixing bowl combine the sugar, salt + coconut and mix together. Separate out the egg whites from your eggs and add them to the mixture with the vanilla extract. Mix everything together until the coconut mixture holds together when pinched.
Use a large spoon to scoop out about 2 tbsp of the coconut mixture at a time and place at least 1-2 inches apart on your silpat or parchment-lined baking sheet.
Cooking:
Bake for 8 minutes then flip your baking sheet around and bake for another 7-8 minutes until they are a nice toasty brown on top. (The flipping action will keep your golden color consistent). Let cool before serving.
