~Amanda~
Macaroons are definitely one of my favorite cookies. But when I say macaroons, what cookie am I actually referring to? Those delicious shredded coconut macaroons or the colorful meringue ones that you see all over the place these days? With similar names and origins, it can get very confusing. So the answer to my question? Both! I love them both equally. However, I have not yet mastered the art of making those colorful meringue sandwich ones so this recipe is for the delicious coconut ones that I do know how to make well. Interestingly enough, both of these macaroons cookies have a similar past and origin; macaroons trace their story back to Italy, where they were originally made with almond paste. Then two factions developed; some bakers swapped in shredded coconut for the almond paste and others made them with ground almonds. The coconut version became popular with the European Jewish community and the ground almond version was developed in the French court by chefs that the king’s Italian wife, Catherine de Medici, brought from Italy. I know that’s a super long introduction, but I found it so interesting so I hope you did too!
Coconut is one of my all-time favorite foods, you could say I’m slightly obsessed with it; my go to snack at work during the day is toasted coconut chips, I put coconut in my oatmeal every morning, my favorite candy is Mounds (coconut covered in dark chocolate), so naturally one of my favorite cookies to eat is going to be Coconut Macaroons. These cookies are sweet and moist with a crispy outside and chewy inside. SO GOOD! You may not think of coconut macaroons as being a traditional Christmas cookie, but they really kind of are; in Italy they are most commonly made and served on special occasions, including Christmas. You can even add a little extra holiday spirit to them by sprinkling them with festive Christmas sprinkles!
The process of making these delicious cookies is very straightforward and simple too which makes them a great cookie to make with your kids or if you’re short on time and are looking for something easy and quick. I found this recipe on Sally’s Baking Addiction and didn’t change too much about it because I loved the process (so simple) and the addition of almond extract on the ingredient list, which is something I hadn’t seen in many recipes before. To prepare the mixture, you first beat egg whites, sugar, vanilla extract, and almond extract together using a stand mixer or hand mixer. You want the mixture to have a foamy consistency and for the sugar to be pretty much dissolved. This will take a few minutes and be noisy, so warn those around you (my boyfriend who was watching football was not too thrilled about the noise haha). Next, you just fold in the shredded coconut and then scoop balls of the mixture on your baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes until golden brown. You can eat them just like they are at this point, or if you have the time, you can melt some chocolate to drizzle or dip them in, sprinkle them with your Christmas sprinkles, or do like I did and drizzle them with a little Nutella (heated up and combined with a little milk to thin it out) and sprinkle with almond slices… a little twist on the flavors of an Almond Joy! Whatever you do, you’re sure to love these little bites of heaven. ENJOY!
- 4 large egg whites
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 14 ounce package sweetened shredded coconut
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Place the egg whites, sugar, vanilla extract, and almond extract is the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl if you’re using a hand held mixer). Beat on medium-high speed for about 2-3 minutes until sugar is dissolved and mixture is foamy.
- Fold in the coconut with a rubber spatula until completely combined.
- Scoop 2 tightly packed tablespoons of the mixture onto the baking sheets (this is most easily done using an ice cream scoop).
- Bake for 20 minutes, rotating halfway, until golden brown.
- Cool completely and store refrigerated in an airtight container (or freeze for longer keeping).
- *To add some extra flair to your macaroons, you can sprinkle them with holiday colored sprinkles or drizzle the tops or dip the bottoms in melted chocolate (just melt some chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second increments until smooth). Or you can do like I did in this recipe and drizzle with Nutella (heat in microwave and combine with a little milk until thin enough to drizzle) and top with almonds.
