Macaroons

Ooof. I have been slow on the update. Many apologies. Whilst away, I can assure you that I have still been cooking, though decidedly less frequently since I've been on a short contract project. Yesterday, however, I woke up with the all consuming urge to bake, so I perused the internet, various cookbooks, and my head until something struck my fancy. What was it, you ask?

Chocolate dipped coconut macaroons.

I can actually hear my dad make yummy noises upon reading that. I have never before made macaroons, however, as it turns out, not having the foggiest clue what I'm doing no longer stops me. So, off to the store I went to pick up some shredded coconut and melt-worthy chocolate. Of course, upon arriving at the store, I completely forgot whether I was supposed to be using sweetened or unsweetened coconut... and ended up with both, just to be safe. Also, since I was supposed to have 8oz of coconut and the bags are in multiples of 7oz (Why? Why would you use 7? It makes no sense, you never need anything in multiples of 7!), I ended up throwing in a handful of the unsweetened anyway. Mine turned out well, but in the future I would actually scale back the coconut to egg white ratio, so the recipe I'm giving you is tweaked to reflect that. Also, it allows you to purchase just one bag of blasted coconut and not have to worry about measuring. Tada.

On to the tastiness!

Chocolate-Dipped Coconut Macaroons
(makes about 12)

2 large egg whites
pinch of salt
1/4 cup sugar (I actually used Splenda and nothing bad happened...)
7 ounces sweetened shredded coconut, toasted
3-4 oz coarsely chopped dark chocolate

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place coconut on a baking sheet, spread out evenly and place in the oven. Stir about every 5 minutes until evenly browned (15ish minutes). Remove and allow to cool.

2) Whip egg whites and salt until they become white and begin to stiffen. Add sugar in 2 or 3 parts. Continue to whip until the egg whites are very stiff (if you aren't sure, keep whipping). Fold in toasted coconut. I would not do this by hand, incidentally, your arm will fall off.

3) On parchment lined cookie sheets (if you have no parchment paper, you can just grease your cookie sheet), drop a spoonful of the mixture leaving about an inch around each macaroon. Bake for about 15 minutes. The outside should be golden brown but the insides should still be moist and chewy.

4) Place the chocolate in a double boiler or whatever approximation you can macgyver, allow to melt, stirring regularly. Once melted, partially dip the macaroons in the chocolate and leave out to harden (you can speed the process in the fridge. You may also just eat one while it's still gooey).