I have been known on occasion to allow the odd pack of Crimble's macaroons to wander into my shopping trolley. I blame my sister. She almost always has a pack loitering in her goodie press so I tasted them in her house and then started to buy them for myself on occasion. I'm not sure exactly what it is I like about them, is it the dense and moist cakeyness of them, is it the texture of the coconut or is it a combination of both those things married with a little chocolate. Regardless I will happily scoff a couple of them in a sitting and then long for more.
I am constantly watching food programmes on t.v. If I have a lazy day to myself I would happily watch them from morning until night and it doesn't matter if I have seen them before, I always learn something new. On one such lazy day recently I was watching Ina Garten and she made some coconut macaroons. I didn't scribble down the recipe as it was fairly straightforward but later that day made my own batch using her recipe as a rough guide. The result was amazing. I had to stop myself from scoffing the lot and was so glad to see my husband tuck into a few with his evening cup of tea. The more he ate the less that were left to go straight on my hips the next day. They are super easy to make and so much nicer than the shop bought version (sorry Mr. Crimble). I see many macaroons in my future. Nom!
250g/10oz Dessicated Coconut
1 x tin (397g) Condensed Milk
1tsp Vanilla Extract
3 large Egg Whites
A pinch of salt
50g Milk Chocolate
50g Plain Chocolate
1. Preheat the oven to 160C/325F/Gas Mark 3. Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper.
2. Place the dessicated coconut, condensed milk and vanilla extract in a bowl and mix to combine.
3. In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites and salt using a hand held electric whisk until they form soft peaks.
4. Fold half of the egg whites into the coconut mix. Fold in the second half of the egg whites.
5. Using an ice cream scoop(or a couple of tablespoons) drop the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet.
6. Place into the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes. Turn the baking sheet and bake for a further 15 minutes. (You don't necessarily have to turn the baking sheet half way through but I found mine were going to brown down one side and not the other). Remove from the oven when golden brown and allow to cool.
7. Break the milk and dark chocolate into a heat proof bowl. Melt over a pot of simmering water. Stir when melted to combine and dip the base of each macaroon in until evenly coated. Place back onto the baking sheet upside down until the chocolate has set. Enjoy!
