Email to Stella      

Macaroon: Triple Coconut Macaroons

Source of Recipe

Cook's Illustrated


Recipe Introduction

Unlocking the Secrets of Coconut Macaroons Most coconut macaroons are achingly sweet, sticky mounds of semicooked dough that don't taste much like coconut. To solve these problems, we used three kinds of coconut The challenge: When we began looking at recipes for modern coconut macaroons, we found that they varied widely. In addition to different kinds of coconut and sweeteners, they often called for one or more of a wide range of ingredients, including extracts such as vanilla or almond, salt, flour, sugar, sweetened condensed milk, and even an egg or two. We were sure that somewhere among these often second-rate cookies was a great coconut macaroon waiting to be found, with a pleasing texture and a real, honest coconut flavor. The solution: Early on, our tests showed that our choice of coconut would make a big difference in both taste and texture. Unsweetened shredded coconut resulted in a less sticky, more appealing texture. Sweetened shredded coconut packed more flavor than the unsweetened, and together they worked very well in the cookie. To add one more layer of coconut flavor, we tried cream of coconut and hit the jackpot. The flavor was superior to any of the cookies we had tasted to date. A caveat: When shopping, be sure to look for cream of coconut—not coconut milk or coconut cream. Coconut milk is rather thin. Coconut cream is thicker, creamier, and somewhat more flavorful than coconut milk. Cream of coconut is very sweet and syrupy—almost inedible right out of the can, but just the thing for the added flavor we were looking for in our macaroons.

List of Ingredients

1 cup cream of coconut
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
4 large egg whites
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
3 cups unsweetened, shredded, desiccated (dried) coconut (about 8 ounces)
3 cups sweetened flaked or shredded coconut (about 8 ounces)



Recipe

1. Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 375 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and lightly spray parchment with nonstick vegetable cooking spray.
2. Whisk together cream of coconut, corn syrup, egg whites, vanilla, and salt in small bowl; set aside. Combine unsweetened and sweetened coconuts in large bowl; toss together, breaking up clumps with fingertips. Pour liquid ingredients into coconut and mix with rubber spatula until evenly moistened. Chill dough for 15 minutes.
3. Drop heaping tablespoons of batter onto parchment-lined cookie sheets, spacing them about 1 inch apart. Form cookies into loose haystacks with fingertips (see illustration 1, above), moistening hands with water as necessary to prevent sticking. Bake until light golden brown, about 15 minutes, turning cookie sheets from front to back and switching from top to bottom racks halfway through baking.
5. Cool cookies on cookie sheets until slightly set, about 2 minutes; remove to wire rack with metal spatula.

THE BEST CHOCOLATE-DIPPED TRIPLE COCONUT MACAROONS

Using the two-stage melting process for the chocolate helps ensure that it will be at the proper consistency for dipping the cookies.

Follow recipe for Triple Coconut Macaroons. Cool baked macaroons to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Chop 10 ounces semisweet chocolate; melt 8 ounces in small heatproof bowl set over pan of almost-simmering water, stirring once or twice, until smooth. (To melt chocolate in microwave, heat at 50 percent power for 3 minutes and stir. If chocolate is not yet entirely melted, heat an additional 30 seconds at 50 percent power.) Remove from heat; stir in remaining 2 ounces chocolate until smooth. Holding macaroon by pointed top, dip bottom and ½ inch up sides of each cookie in chocolate, scrape off excess with finger (see illustration 2), and place on cookie sheet. Refrigerate until chocolate sets, about 15 minutes.

HOW TO FORM MACAROONS:
1. Using your fingers, form the cookies into loose haystacks. Moisten your fingers with water if needed to prevent sticking.
2. If desired, dip the bottom half-inch of the baked cookies into melted chocolate, tapping off excess chocolate with your finger.