Hearing from sweet friends has been an unexpected blogging perk - friends who must have a sweet tooth. So far, most are saying that the first recipe they want to try is the cupcakes. So I am offering up another sweetie – coconut macaroons. Most noteworthy is that this is ridiculously easy and comes together in minutes, (and qualifies as a gluten-free treat).
If asked about favourite foods, my list may not have included coconut, and yet the more I think about it, the more I realize that some of my favourite foods include coconut. In the olden days, on trips south of the 49th, I was always sure to buy an Almond Joy bar – an almond, yes, but nestled on top of coconut, enveloped in chocolate. (Seems that Hershey’s now manufactures them and they are available in Canada – and promoted as gluten-free.) And… there’s coconut in Nanaimo bars, coconut cream pie, carrot cake, my Mother’s recipe for Butter Tarts… Recently I was reminded of Lamington Squares – recipes have been popping up all over the place – a sponge cake dipped in chocolate and rolled in coconut – have tried out one recipe that I wasn’t happy with – will keep trying and report back. My weekly market routine used to take me past a little shop that sold fresh Chinese Coconut Cream Buns. (Google that for a yum vision.)
Yikes – maybe I am cuckoo for coconut!?
That must be why I like this cookie and have made it so often. Another reason I like to make macaroons is to put leftover egg whites to good use. Macaroons – not to be confused with French Macarons – seem to come in various shapes and sizes and modifications. Recently a friend mentioned she was looking for a macaroon recipe where the cookie wouldn't spread – and that’s this recipe! Click here for the recipe.
P.S. Trivia: Cuckoo for Coconuts is a riff on the old commercial “coo coo for cocoa puffs”. Urban Dictionary says that some doctors use this term to refer to a patient who is not quite right in the head. hmmm....