Coconut Macroons

If you are looking for the delightfully bright colored, melt in your mouth, French macrons, my apologies; you won’t find that recipe here. Instead you will find a recipe for one of the easiest, most addictive treats in my repertoire. Coconut fans and gluten-free followers rejoice, these pastries will become your new favorite dessert. With five simple ingredients (and a pinch of salt) and an easy to follow recipe, you’ll have no trouble creating these magical macaroons yourself.

Ingredients:

• 10 ounces sweetened condensed milk
• 14 ounces of shredded coconut (can be sweetened or unsweetened)
• 2 egg whites
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 cups of dark chocolate chips

1.Preheat the oven to 325℉. Prepare two cookie sheets by spraying them lightly with cooking spray (I like Trader Joe’s Coconut Oil based spray).
2.In a large bowl, mix together the sweetened condensed milk, the coconut, and the vanilla extract until fully combined. Set aside.
3.Place the egg whites with the salt in a small bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until they develop stiff peaks.
4.Stir the egg whites into the coconut mixture.
5.Use a large spoon to form heaping mounds of the coconut mixture onto the baking sheets. The macaroons should be spaced about an inch apart. Bake the macaroons for 25 minutes. The edges and tops of the pastries should be golden brown.
6.Allow the macaroons to cool on a wire rack for about 30 minutes before dipping in chocolate. Place parchment or wax paper on the cooled baking sheets.
7.Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or via microwave for 30 second intervals.
8.Dip the flat bottoms of the macaroons in the chocolate and set on the wax papered cookie sheets. Let the chocolate cool for 10 minutes before indulging or storing.

The macaroons will keep in an airtight container for one week, if they stick around that long!