I have tried to take over a new leaf lately, mostly to get ready and anticipate the lack of time that I will have come fall due to my full schedule of full-time graduate school and my internship in the elementary school. That concept combined with my hubby’s recent love of coconut macaroons and the desire to cross off another item on my Kitchen Bucket List led me to choose Chocolate-Dipped Coconut Macaroons to bake this month! We had some yummy coconut macaroons while in Vegas back in June, but I have loved coconut macaroons ever since I studied abroad in England and France during J-term 2008. I’m not sure that I had ever had a real macaroon until then. They were so chewy and delicious — an instant favorite.
Speaking of… That trip was ridiculously amazing. I have always had a thing for studying World War II. Probably because my grandfather served in the Navy as a fighter pilot over the Pacific during the war. I should make a post just about his story one of these days, it’s unbelievable. Anyway, when the opportunity came up to study World War II in England and France I wanted to go with everything in me. I had never left the country before. Thanks to my amazing mother it became a reality. I will never forget the experiences of seeing the impact the war had on London, and England as a whole or the experience of walking the beaches of Normandy and seeing the battle field where so many of our men lost their lives on D-Day. Or, walking through the bunkers the Germans used {which still hold the guns they used}, or the many beaches where so many of our men fought for not only our freedom but that of the world, or walking through the American gravesite paying tribute to the soldiers… the memories are ones that I cannot truly put into words but they were most certainly life changing. I only have a few pictures from my travels because sadly the hard drive of my laptop crashed and I cannot find the backup CD. 😦 Nonetheless, here are a few pics from the trip to England and France! Good and emotional times.
On the Thames River & Boardwalk
Oxford – Christ’s Church {parts of HP were filmed here}
Stonehenge — so windy and cold!
Point du Hoc, Normandy, France — to the West of Omaha Beach
Me on Gold Beach {taking a picture of the mulberry}
Anyway… on with the macaroons. Sorry for that tangent! As I was saying while I was over in England/France I had amazing coconut macaroons and pain au chocolat {OH MY GOODNESS}. To this day I have not been able to find anything that is even comparable at bakeries or stores. So I’m not really sure why it took me so long to want to re-create the macaroons, but alas a lightbulb went off and I started the search for the perfect recipe. I was still apprehensive because I had this perfect ideal in my head of what these macaroons should taste like. And to my present surprise {and my Aunt’s too} this recipe did not disappoint! These macaroons are so easy; they are so good you would think they took hours to make. I will be making these again very soon because we have already devoured the recipe I made less than a week ago!! You need to make these and when you do I’d love to hear what you all think? Be sure to let me know if you think they are as good as I do once you give them a try!!
Chocolate-Dipped Coconut Macaroons
Ingredients:
1 14-ounce package sweetened shredded coconut (about 5 cups)
4 large egg whites
2/3 C sugar
1/3 C All-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Approximately 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate or white chocolate {or both!}, melted {use double broiler method} and cooled to room temperature
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 325° F.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the coconut, egg whites, sugar, flour, salt, and vanilla.
3. Drop packed tablespoonfuls of the mixture onto parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing them 1 inch apart. {I used my cookie dough scoop, and it worked wonderfully but you could also just used a regular tablespoon}
4. Bake, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until lightly golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool slightly on the baking sheets, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
5. When cool, dip the bottom of each macaroon in the chocolate and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate until firm, 20 to 30 minutes. Store the macaroons in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days – if they last that long!
{Tip: My condo tends to run warm all year round, so I chose to keep mine in the fridge so the chocolate wouldn’t melt once firmed — if your chocolate starts melting, store them in the fridge in the same airtight container.}
Source & Recipe: Real Simple
Happy Friday! I hope y’all enjoy your weekend!
{Santies. Sunnyside Up} 