i swoon for macaroons!!!

Well kids, it's that time of year.  The birds are out, the sun is shining through the rain, the damned flowers everywhere are making me sneeze and Easter is just around the corner.  Now, my family doesn't do the whole Easter dinner shebang, but I love this time of year because the blogs are abuzz with yummy spring dessert recipes!!  One such recipe I spied recently was on FitSugar.com for Almond & Coconut Macaroons, yum!  I tested out this recipe last week and loved the results, so I made it again last night and had Mr. Photographer snap some shots to share.  The best things about this recipe: you probably already have half of the ingredients in your pantry and it takes 30 minutes from start to finish (15-20 of that in the oven).


Almond and Coconut Macaroons- originally from MarthaStewart.com
Makes 16-18 2 inch cookies

Ingredients:
2/3 cup sugar
2 large egg whites
2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup finely chopped almonds (either use a food processor or buy pre-ground almond meal)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (to be completely kosher for Passover, replace with 1 teaspoon lemon zest)

Deliciousness on the double

This 5 ingredient recipe takes 5 minutes to put together, 15-20 minutes to bake and 5 minutes to cool!!  So let's get started.

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Next, in a medium sized mixing bowl separate 2 eggs and keep the whites (you could save the yolks to make a nice lemon curd, but I'm lazy and didn't).  I like to whip these a bit before adding sugar to them.  Once the whites have doubled in volume add 2/3 cup of sugar and beat until you see soft peaks (I used Turbinado sugar as its large crystals don't integrate completely and help you get crunchy macaroons).

Once you've incorporated your sugar, dump in your coconut, vanilla extract and almonds (I had almond meal on hand, so I used that instead of chopping whole almonds in the food processor).  Mix with a flat bladed spatula until combined (it will look quite a bit like tuna salad).

Using a handy cookie scooper, dollop 1-2 inch balls on a baking sheet lined with either parchment or a non-stick silicon mat (thanks to Naris for getting me a new mat!!).  Set these in the oven for 15 minutes, after 15 minutes check for even browning and bake for an additional 5 minutes if needed.

Once your cookies have reached their desired browning level, let them sit on the pan on a cooling rack for 5 minutes before enjoying (this allows them to cool a bit and the egg protein structure to set harder).  I like to top these with a drizzle of melted chocolate but they are lovely by themselves as well.

Picture actually taken by Jesse!!!

The Verdict:

Jesse:  These are simple to make, require only a few ingredients and are ready in less than 30 minutes, that's a win in my book!  Also, the cost of ingredients for one batch is less than the cost of a single macaroon at a bakery!!!

Home cooking: 10, Restaurants: 2

Naris:  Mmmmm (says with mouth full of macaroon!)

Home cooking: 11, Restaurants: 1

Until we cook again,
Jesse

Fry says tata faithful readers :)

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Cost Breakdown:
Everything in this recipe we had on hand, but here is what I think it would cost from the store.

-Eggs (2) ~ $0.63

-Coconut (1/3 of package) ~ $1

-Almonds (1/2 cup) ~ $1.50

TOTAL: $3.13 for ingredients to make a single batch