hello this is chef john from food wishes comm with chocolate dipped coconut
macaroons that's right there aren't many recipes especially cookie recipes that
someone can make for the first time ever and achieve results just as good as
someone that's been making them for decades but believe it or not that's
exactly how simple these are one of the main reasons for that is we're gonna be
using a technique that we call in the business toss everything in a bowl and
mix it which by the way is not even as complicated as it sounds so with that
let's go ahead and get started by adding some swing condensed milk to this mixing
bowl and yes if you want you can make these cookies with white sugar and I've
tried them both ways but I do prefer the sweetened condensed milk for these and
then to our sweet and sticky we will also add some almond extract in just a
few drops since that stuff can be overpowering and then after that we will
also toss in some vanilla extract of the pure and real variety followed by a nice
pinch of salt and then last but not least one egg whites and believe it or
not that is it for our base we will simply take a whisk and give this a mix
until thoroughly combined as judged by you and once that's been accomplished
it's time for our last and most important ingredient some coconut and
basically there are two different kinds you can go with unsweetened which is
what I like to use which tends to be fairly finely shredded or you can use
the much flakier sweetened coconut but no matter your choice the next step is
the same as we're gonna take a spatula and mix this all together and while I do
think using the sweeter flakier coconut makes for a better looking cookie for me
even though they might have a little better appearance they're just too sweet
I mean sweetened condensed milk is like one of the sweetest things ever and then
we're supposed to add sweetened coconut to that I don't think so but anyway
that's gonna be up to you I mean you are after all the haystacks Calhoun of your
coconut macaroon and that's a decision you're gonna have to wrestle with but
either way we're gonna go ahead and mix that up until we have a sticky sort of
moldable mass right this stuff has to be moist enough to hold a shape so if you
need to sneak in a little more sweet condensed milk go ahead and then once
we're happy with our mixture we can go ahead and start shaping our cookies
which as usual I'd like to do with a sorbet scoop which i think is less messy
and makes for a more uniform but instead of transferring those
straight onto our pan we're actually gonna scoop them in this bowl of plain
shredded coconut and here's where things get a little hairy and by hairy I mean
Fergie because by rolling these around in the coconut before we bake them I
think we're gonna get a much nicer much more interesting and let's say
provocative texture on the surface so yes this is an optional step but it only
takes a couple minutes and seriously what else you got to do and then what
we'll do once we've added a little bit of fur as I like to refer to it let's go
ahead and transfer these onto a Silpat lined baking sheet and I also like to
make sure those are spaced nice and evenly I also like to give super obvious
advice all right raise your hand if you weren't gonna space those evenly and
then what we'll do once those have been panned up is go ahead and transfer those
into the center of a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes or so or until
beautifully golden and hopefully looking a little something like this
and then what we'll do once these are out of the oven is let them cool
completely before we serve them which is not easy but do your best that's all we
ever ask and then what we'll do once these are cool if we want and trust me
you do will go ahead and dip those bottoms in some melted chocolate and
we'll let those sit out until our chocolate hardens up which I almost
managed to do and as you may notice I'm not really a deep Dipper since I'm not
really into a big bottom on cookies so as you can see I'm just going up about
an eighth of an inch and that's it once that chocolate hardens back up these are
ready to enjoy and there really aren't many better combinations then dark
chocolate and sweet coconut which is just one of the reasons this cookies
such a crowd-pleaser and then as far as the texture goes
we're aiming for something kind of moist and tender and a little bit chewy and by
the way do as I said not as I just did let that chocolate harden completely
before you try to start eating these otherwise there will be smears and while
I would be more than happy to just eat these off the table I'm gonna go ahead
and transfer those onto a freakishly narrow platter so I can take a few
contractually obligated pictures and also so I could eat another one oh and
one last thing if you're a fan of a certain kind of candy bar I don't want
to give the brand name but it has almonds in it and it brings people joy
what you can do when you form these before you bake them is stick a roasted
almond or two the center and then once these are
dipped in chocolate you'll be reliving that childhood treat or a lesson treat
ah Who am I kidding adult treat but anyway that's it
chocolate dipped coconut macaroons these really are amazing any time of the year
but for me especially so during the summer and not just because I associate
coconut with tropical flavors but also because they're very fast to make and if
you're bringing them to a cookout or picnic they are almost indestructible
you can knock over a tray these with a frisbee pick them up off the ground put
them back on the platter and you're good to go try doing that with a French
macaron so for those reasons and more I really do hope you give them a try soon
so head over to food wishes comm for all the ingredient amounts of more info as
usual and as always enjoy
you