sunday seder supper: coconut macaroons

It's no secret that I am crazy about coconut. And macaroons are only one of the myriad of yummy reasons that I enjoy Passover. These are so easy to make that I don't know why I ever bought them in the can before this. I liked them so much that I just bought another bag of coconut to make yet another batch. I think this time I won't give any away.



Since I was using a recipe with no starch at all, I whipped the egg whites hoping that it would add to the fluffiness and volume of the macaroons. As I've never made these before, I can't say if it really made any difference. These turned out chewy and moist and toasty. They were a little sweeter than necessary, though, so I've reduced the amount of sugar in the recipe, which you can check out after the jump:



PASSOVER COCONUT MACAROONS
14 ounces sweetened flake coconut
4 egg whites
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp almond extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the egg whites to soft peaks. Add sugar little by little, continuing to beat until the sugar is incorporated and the egg whites have reached medium peaks. Stir in the almond extract, then gently fold in the coconut. Drop mounds of the coconut mixture on a parchment or baking mat lined baking sheet. The mounds should be a fair size for the best result, I used abourt 2 tbsp of the mixture per macaroon. Bake for 20 minutes or until the macaroons begin to brown. After removing from the onion, let sit for a few minutes to set, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.