With Passover coming up at the end of this week, I decided to forego the healthy recipes I usually come up with, and offer you a slightly-less-unhealthy version of one of my favorite holiday treats instead.
I made these coconut macaroons without the use of any flour, flavored extracts, or suspect ingredients. They contain only coconut, organic cane sugar, egg whites, and sea salt, which allows their pure coconut flavor to really shine through.
The trick here is using very finely shredded, unsweetened coconut — it produces macaroons with great texture without requiring the use of a food processor or any other special equipment. I got my coconut from Galloways Specialty Foods, and you can order it online directly from the source. Bob’s Red Mill also sells a version they refer to as “fine macaroon” coconut, which would work quite nicely and is more widely available.
Bake your macaroons just until they are light brown on top — you’ll have to watch them carefully during the last few minutes of cooking to accomplish this, as they quickly go from golden to overly browned. Once they’re done, you can let them cool right on the cookie sheets, transferring them to an airtight container once they’ve cooled completely. They’ll keep this way for at least a week, but they’ll no doubt be gone before then.
Coconut Macaroons (printer-friendly version)
makes about 3 dozen
400g. finely shredded unsweetened coconut
2/3 C. organic cane sugar
1/2 tsp. sea salt
4 large egg whites
1. Preheat oven to 325F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the coconut, sugar, and sea salt until thoroughly mixed.
3. Add the egg whites to the mixing bowl and stir into the dry ingredients until well-combined.
4. Use your hands to roll 1 1/2-inch macaroons, compacting it as you go. Press the macaroons gently onto the parchment-lined baking sheets, placing them 1 inch apart.
5. Bake for 25 minutes, until toasty brown on top. Remove from oven and let cool thoroughly on the baking sheets before handling.
