ST. LOUIS — Ingredients
4 egg whites
6 cups unsweetened flaked coconut
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Place all ingredients in a heat-proof bowl over a double boiler.
Stir continuously for about five minutes until the mixture gets moist and gloopy.
Set the bowl containing the mixture on the counter to rest for thirty minutes. The coconut will absorb even more liquid as it cools.
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Scoop golf ball-sized scoops of the mixture onto a cookie sheet lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
Bake for 7 minutes or until the coconut just starts to brown at the edges.
Lower oven temperature to 325 F and bake for another 12-15 minutes until there are brown patches throughout the macaroons.
Set the cookie sheet onto a cooling rack.
Once cool, remove the macaroons from the cookie sheet.
If not serving right away, store in an airtight container for up to three days (they are best on day one, but are still great on days two and three) or freeze until ready to serve.
Notes
You don't need any fancy equipment to make a double boiler; you simply set a heat-safe bowl over a pot of boiling water.
There are so many fun flavor variations that you can use.
- Ginger: Mix in 1/4 cup of chopped crystallized ginger and 1 teaspoon of ground ginger to the coconut mixture just before scooping onto the cookie sheet.
- Lemon, Lime, or Orange: Mix in the zest of a lemon, lime or orange to the coconut mixture just before scooping onto the cookie sheet.
- Dried pineapple: Mix in 1/4 cup of finely chopped dried pineapple to the coconut mixture just before scooping onto the cookie sheet.
- Chocolate dip or drizzle: Melt 3 ounces of chocolate and dip the cooled coconut macaroons into the chocolate or drizzle the chocolate on top of the macaroons.
- Chocolate chips: Mix in 1/4 cup of mini chocolate chips to the coconut mixture just before scooping onto the cookie sheet.