Coconut Macaroons

Have y’all ever made macaroons? I’ve had many coconut macaroons over the course of my life but somehow I’ve never baked one myself.   And to be very clear, we aren’t talking about the fancy french version.  Oh no.  We’re talking about the southern delicacy that is a combination of  shredded coconut, egg whites, sugar and a little bourbon.  Because why not?

Disclaimer: 

The good news is that these are gluten free, don’t contain any milk products  and are SUPER easy to make.  

The bad news is that coconut macaroons are absolutely dangerous.  You will think you have willpower to resist them but you don’t.  Absolutely not.  Dark Chocolate, Bourbon and Sea Salt?  Yeah, just be prepared to indulge okay?  

How did this happen? 

I was at a work dinner in February and after a day of very long, yet important  meetings everyone gets on a van and goes to dinner.  And while you’re there trying to socialize and make small talk, the topic of my baking comes up almost every single time.  Seriously, every single time. And invariably the most fascinating thing happens at these business dinners: 

People just volunteer their favorite baked item.  And with this particular crowd, they also like to share WHY their favorite thing is the BEST.  

So back to the dinner, I had just completed the Great Brownie Challenge, and I was sharing how funny my husband’s involvement in the process was (I’m still cackling over that legal pad y’all) .   This conversation led to ideas for my next baking challenge, which ultimately ended with me learning everyone’s favorite cookie.

I could be polite and just nod and smile, but these conversations are GOLD mines of ideas.   I filed every single comment away and at my very first opportunity, I found myself in my kitchen whipping up a batch of coconut macaroons.  Because a very posh and accomplished woman spoke so convincingly about how a coconut macaroon dipped in chocolate is the best cookie of all time.   How could I possibly disagree if I'd never even made one?  Exactly.  I couldn’t and honestly, she wasn’t wrong. 

The Ingredients

The recipe for coconut macaroons is so simple.  I couldn’t over complicate this if I wanted to.   For the ingredients y’all need: 

• Shredded sweetened coconut 
• Sugar 
• Flavoring of your choice (I went with bourbon, because why not? But Rum would also be amazing.)
• Egg whites 
• Pinch of Sea Salt 
• Chocolate chips/ Chocolate Bars

Low Effort, High Reward 

When I say this is a very easy recipe, I mean that.  If you can dump ingredients into a bowl and stir, you can make a coconut macaroon.  

In a large bowl you mix together all of the ingredients.  The “batter” will be slightly sticky and all you have to do is scoop the coconut macaroons onto the cookie sheet. I used a cookie scoop, because I love the uniformity, but feel free to roll the coconut macaroons in your {clean} hands.   As an aside, do y’all remember two years ago when celebrities were singing songs about how to wash your hands, because no one knew how?  Aww pandemic memories.   Anyway. 

Make sure you line two cookie sheets with parchment paper so the coconut macaroons don’t stick to the pan.  We want all of the caramelized sugar to be dipped in chocolate.  The bake time is pretty quick, about 15 to 20 minutes.  The last 5 minutes pay close attention to your oven, because a minute too long can be the difference between caramelized and burnt.  [Ask me how I know ;)]

The Best Part

The absolute best part is dipping the coconut macaroons in dark chocolate.  It’s so satisfying.  I Use the best chocolate you can afford– in this economy it might be a Baker’s Bar.  But that’s okay, just make sure you choose a dark chocolate bar.  I had a stack of leftover chocolate bars from the Great Brownie Challenge, so I made it work.  Once you chop the chocolate and melt it– choose a bowl that is slightly wider than the macaroons, but has a decent amount of depth.  This will allow for max chocolate coverage on the macaroons.  

Make sure y’all line another cookie sheet with parchment.  If you skipped it earlier, you don’t want to skip it here.   The parchment paper allows the chocolate to cool and harden on the macaroon and not the pan.  15 minutes after you’ve dipped the macaroons into the chocolate they are ready to go.   You will not be able to resist them.

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