Macaroons, Take 2

I'm in the middle of a macaroons experiment.  I made macaroons last week and they were amazing....ut they were quite sweet and sticky and I wanted to see if I could make a more cookie like macaroon, denser and maybe with a little less sugar.  Here's how it went.

 

 

 

These cookies came out well, they were definitely not as sticky and sweet as that first batch.  These cookies are drier, denser and more filling.  My kids definitely prefered the sweeter ones.  Honestly I hesitated about posting these, not that they are bad...they are just not fabulous like the previous recipe.  I did promise a follow up, though, so here it is.

Ingredients

3 cups unsweetened flaked coconut, I used a small flake

1 cup almond meal

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almon extract

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 cup egg whites

pinch of salt

In a heavy saucepan combine eggs, egg whites, sugar and coconut. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently for 12-15 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in extracts and almond meal. Transfer to a bowl and let it cool in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

Using a tablespoon, scoop tightly packed spoonfulls onto baking sheet covered in parchement paper. Bake at 300 degrees for 25-30 minutes until golden.

I think I will going back to the kitchen one more time, maybe the first recipe with a combination of sweetened and unsweetened coconut?  Or maybe leave well enough alone and just make another batch of version one?  Stay tuned.

Macaroons

Anytime I can find a recipe for sweets that is both diary and gluten free I get excited!  I had never tried macaroons before and this recipe is very easy and very moist & delicious.  I will definitely be adding this to my regular rotation.


 

 

 

 

Ingredients

3/4 cup (5 large) egg whites
2/3 cup granulated sugar
10 oz sweetened coconut flakes
2 tablespoons almond meal
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt

In a heavy saucepan combine egg whites, sugar and coconut.  Cook over low heat, stirring frequently for 12-15 minutes.  The mixture should be sticky and moist, not dry.  Remove from heat and stir in extracts and almond meal.  Transfer to a bowl and let it cool in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

Using a tablespoon, scoop tightly packed spoonfulls onto baking sheet covered in parchement paper.  Bake at 300 degrees for 25-30 minutes until golden.
The only thing I changed was adding 2 tablespoons of almond meal when I added the extracts. I wanted a bit of substance and am always adding almonds to increase our calcium intake. It's especially hard to get my dairy free son the right amount of calcium!

Stay tuned for more on macaroons...I decided to try another version to see if I could make them more cookie-like with a bit of crunch...although I loved these, as I said above, they are very moist and I wanted a bit of crunch.

Linking up to Take A Look Tuesdays on Sugar Bee Crafts.