Coconut Macaroons

Coconut Macaroons, not to be confused with the French Macaron sandwich cookie, are some of my favorite little sweets! Coconut and sweet meringue make a chewy and delightfully light cookie perfect for serving with tea or coffee.

Unlike most macaroons that I have tried, this cookie has a large quantity of meringue which gives it a much lighter texture than the dense and sticky coconut macaroon. If you can whip egg whites to a soft peak (meaning that the peak gently falls over) then you can make these simple cookies.

Your kitchen will smell like toasted sweet coconut and the clean up is a breeze. Now that's my kind of cookie!

photos by Leah Bergman

Coconut Macaroons- Better Homes and Gardens
Makes about 60 cookies

4 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
⅛ teaspoon salt
1 ⅓ cups sugar
1 14 ounce package shredded coconut

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325F. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl beat egg whites, vanilla, cream of tartar, and salt with electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form (tips curl). Add sugar, slowly, beating until stiff peaks form (tips stand straight). Fold in coconut by hand with a rubber spatula. Be gently not to break the meringue.
2. Using a small cookie scoop, drop coconut mixture in mounds on prepared cookie sheets. Place on separate racks in oven. Bake 20 minutes. Turn off oven; let cookies dry in oven 30 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool.
3. Store in airtight container in single layer at room temperature up to 3 days. Freeze up to 3 months.