Sweet and Easy: Macaroons
I have this problem, or actually, maybe it’s a process. When I want to make a certain thing – a type of cookie, cake, or anything really, I research all recipes for that particular thing, comparing and contrasting, and then I keep making that thing with different iterations on the recipe until it is, as I deem it, perfect. For instance, you may congratulate on me on recently perfecting the coconut macaroon. Of course, perfection is subjective, so perhaps I should just say it’s MY perfect macaroon.
The process was similar to when I decided to perfect the chocolate chip cookie (dark days, my hubs will say with an ironic smile) – all the cookies tasted just fine to him, but I wouldn’t stop making cookies (he was inconsolable, I tell you) until they were perfect. Dark, yummy days indeed.
Here is the part of the post where I realize I have nothing pithy nor insightful to share with you in connection with this macaroon recipe. I think, originally, it was going to have something to do with the dangerous pursuit of perfection? But… yeah, I got nothing. It stopped me in my tracks for a bit. How, I wondered, could I share a recipe without an accompanying amusing anecdote or philosophical musing? Then I remembered that I actually hate long-winded recipe blogs that make you slog through “what the family did this week” (I don’t know your family, and unless it’s genuinely damn funny, I do not care). So here you go! Be free! Make macaroons! Care or care not!
Ingredients:
Sweetened coconut
2 eggs
Sugar
Vanilla extract
Milk or Almond Milk
Sea Salt
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350
Line cookie sheet and spray with cooking oil
Whisk 2 egg whites, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1 & 1/2 tablespoons sugar, 1 & 1/2 tablespoons almond milk (or regular milk) and a sprinkle of salt together.
Stir in 2 cups sweetened coconut
Press mixture into tablespoon to form macaroons on cookie sheet and bake 13-16 minutes
The above photo is from a shoot where I played Marie Antoinette in Lauren Gunderson’s The Revolutionists (photo by Errich Petersen). It was actually doing this play that inspired me to try my hand at macaroons (they’re mentioned a lot). You might think, well THERE is where the interesting story lies, right? Not really. I just think it’s a fun photo, and I kind of look like a human macaroon. Let them eat…cookies?
