Coconut Macaroons
NOTE: The great
thing about these cookies is that they are not the cloyingly sweet
confections that commonly pass as macaroons. In our testing, we
found that grated unsweetened coconut (sold in natural food stores
and some gourmet shops) is the key to a macaroon that tastes like
coconut. Makes about 2 dozen
cookies.
2 large egg whites
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
21/2 cups grated unsweetened coconut (see note above)
1/4 teaspoon salt
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Adjust oven racks to upper-and lower-middle positions. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. By hand, lightly beat egg whites with corn syrup and vanilla extract in small bowl until thoroughly combined. Stir together sugar, coconut, and salt in another bowl. Add egg white mixture to coconut mixture and stir until evenly moistened.
3. Drop 11/2 tablespoons of batter onto cookie sheet, spacing them about 11/2 inches apart (see figure 16). When cookie sheet is full, dampen fingers with cold water and loosely shape each mound of batter into haystack shape (see figure 17).
4. Bake, reversing position of cookie sheets halfway through baking, until macaroons are golden brown around edges, 8 to 10 minutes. Cool cookies on sheets about 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.
VARIATION:
Coconut Macaroons with Chocolate Chips
Follow Master Recipe, stirring 1/2 cup semisweet chips into finished batter.