By Julia Dzurillay
Columnist
I always get macarons and macaroons confused, but I love them both. A macaron is a French dessert with two soft cookies smushing a creamy, rich middle filling. A macaroon, on the other hand, is a chewy, dense and satisfying pastry enjoyed by coconut lovers nationwide.
Macaroons are one of the first desserts I ever made for my family because of how quick and easy they are to make. Now it’s your turn to whip them up and surprise your family and friends! Add chocolate to give it some extra flair, or add some almonds on top to create your very own almond joy cookie!
Makes: about 18 macaroons
Ingredients:
1 and 1/3 cups shredded coconut
1/3 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 large egg whites
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- In a large bowl, combine coconut, condensed milk and vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, add egg whites and salt. Beat with electric mixer until it “peaks,” or when the eggs form tiny mountain shapes when the mixer is removed.
- Fold the eggs into the coconut mixture. Be careful not to fold it more than necessary.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Drop small dollops of coconut mixture onto the baking sheet with a spoon to ensure all macaroons are the same size.
- Bake for about 25 minutes, or until edges turn light brown.
- Remove macaroons from oven and cool for at least an hour.
- In a small bowl, add semisweet chocolate chips and microwave in 30 second intervals until the chocolate is completely melted.
- Dunk each macaroon halfway into the chocolate. Return to baking sheet.
- Put in the fridge to solidify, at least 30 minutes.
- Enjoy!
