Chocolate-Dipped Coconut Macaroons

The votes are in! Thanks to everyone who took part in my poll, as well as in the giveaway. It was a lot of fun to see which cookie everyone wanted to see me bake and blog about here, and it was a nail biter. No Bake cookies almost pulled off the victory, but the winner, by a hair, was the Macaroon. I was excited about all the cookies since I hadn’t made any of them before, but I was especially excited about the macaroon because I had never even eaten one before. How crazy is that? I must have lived under a rock for many, many years. First the Chinese food, and now this.

I’m sure that I’ll be making up for lost time because these coconut macaroons are ridiculously good and insanely addicting. I tested them both plain and then dipped in the chocolate. (I wouldn’t be a good food blogger if I didn’t do thorough taste-testings, right?) I honestly could go either way, they are truly fabulous. I thought they were fantastic plain, straight from the oven, and of course I love chocolate, so I thought they were great dipped in chocolate as well. You really can’t go wrong here. In fact, I’m thinking of adding these to my holiday baking list.

On top of being so incredibly good, these really couldn’t be easier to make. All you need is one bowl and a spoon, mix everything together, and voila! You’re done! I used a tablespoon to measure these out, but you could also use a small cookie scoop to keep the sizes consistent. Once scooped onto the cookie sheet, dip your fingers in water and shape them into mini pyramids. I thought this might be difficult, but it was very easy. If you find your fingers starting to stick, just dip them in water again.

I understand that some people thought that the Macaroons in the poll were really Macarons (the French sandwich cookie). Since all of the entries in the giveaway were spelled Macaroon, I went with this cookie as the winner. However, disappointing is not my style. Therefore, I will be making Macarons NEXT week. This will be my first time making them and I’m looking forward to the challenge! Oh let the baking gods be with me! Any suggestions for the filling? And if you voted for one of the other four cookies, fear not… I am planning on baking one recipe a week for the four weeks following the Macarons. I’m looking forward to making them all!

Cookies from the Top 10 I have made:

Chocolate Chip Cookies (Thick & Chewy)

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Peanut Butter Cookies

Sugar Cookies

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Peanut Butter Blossoms

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Chocolate-Dipped Coconut Macaroons

Yield: 3 dozen cookies

For the cookies:

2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk

1 large egg white

1½ teaspoons vanilla

1/8 teaspoon salt

3½ cups sweetened flaked coconut

For the chocolate dipping:

10 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or a silicone mat.

2. In a large bowl, stir together the sweetened condensed milk, egg white, vanilla and salt until combined. Stir in the coconut until well blended.

3. Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto the cookie sheets. Form the cookies into loose haystacks with your fingertips, moistening your hands with water as necessary to prevent sticking.

4. Bake, one sheet at a time, until the cookies are light golden brown, 15 to 2o minutes.

5. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets until slightly set, about 2 minutes; remove to a wire rack with a wide metal spatula.

6. Once the cookies are cooled to room temperature (about 30 minutes), line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

7. Melt 8 ounces of the semi-sweet chocolate in a small heatproof bowl set over a pan of almost-simmering water, stirring once or twice, until smooth. Remove from the heat; stir in the remaining 2 ounces chocolate until smooth.

8. Holding a macaroon by its pointed top, dip the bottom and ½ inch up the sides in the chocolate; scrape off the excess chocolate and place the macaroon on a prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining macaroons.

9. Refrigerate the macaroons until the chocolate sets, about 15 minutes.

(Adapted from a combination of Joy of Cooking and Baking Illustrated)