Talking Food #1: Coconut Almond Macaroon Recipe

Coconut Almond Macaroons

After much encouragement over the years, I have decided to listen to friends/family and write my own food blog. Just know, you better follow this blog or you will be removed as a ‘friend’ on Facebook. : ) JK...sorta...you know I’ll do it!

Most food blogs tend to have a trendy logo, or captivating photo of something you wish you could reach into the computer screen and take a big bite right out of it. But until I find something more marketable or trendy, I am going to use this tiny photo from 1963. That kitchen is where this blog had it’s beginning. The woman holding me is my sweet, sweet Granny named Pearl. I was just turning one.

Granny showing me all the things she had whipped up that morning.

Granny’s house was very small. The kitchen and eating area was the same big room; the biggest in the home. She had nine children and spent most of her life cooking on a wood stove. We went to her house every Sunday for lunch, which ended up looking more like a Thanksgiving meal, just without the turkey. She made sure there was something on the table that was somebody’s favorite. If child of hers liked black eyed peas, but another loved pinto beans, Granny had both.

Cousins and Uncles enjoying their turn at Granny’s table.

On this day, Granny seems to be showing little old me all that she has prepared and displaying on the table...and the counter behind her is filled with desserts. Desserts were her favorite thing to make!

The only bad thing I will ever say about my Granny is that she had no recipes to pass down in paper form. That tiny woman would just get a bowl and a spoon and the next thing you knew you had a cake or a pie or beans and cornbread. She did however, if you were standing in there watching her, teach you to cook like she cooked. Now, you weren’t allowed to help. I mean, that’s is understandable, cause from ages 1-6 I could only be so much help. I remember getting to wash potatoes and carrots, but I never got to chop anything. However, the thrill of receiving the mixing bowl and spoon after she put the cake in the oven was priceless!

I feel it is fitting to start my first blog with a family shared recipe that took place this week. The nine children Granny had gave her 28 grandchildren. I believe I am #22. This recipe is from grandchild #28, my lovely cousin Amanda!

Coconut Almond Macaroons Recipe

Yield: approx. 3 doz
Assembly:  20 min
Baking Time:  18-20 min
Temp:  325 degrees

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup egg whites, room temperature
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 - 7 oz. box of Odense Almond Paste (other brands are okay, too)
• 2 Cups powdered sugar
• 1 - 14 oz. package of sweetened flaked coconut
• (optional: dark chocolate melted to dip or drizzle on top)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line cookie sheet(s) with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl beat egg whites and vanilla until they form soft peaks.

This next step is easier if you have a food processor. I don’t so I just mixed it up with my hands and mushed the almond paste into itty-bitty pieces. I mean, Granny didn’t have a food processor...

1. In a separate bowl combine coconut, powdered sugar and all of the almond paste. Should be crumbly in nature.
2. Fold egg whites into coconut mixture.
3. You can use a small scoop or roll into  1” balls, packed firmly.
4. Place 1” apart on cookie sheet.
5. Bake for 18-20 minutes (my were perfect at 19) until macaroon is light brown on the bottom and firm on top.
6. Cool pans on wire rack first, so that cookies have a chance to firm-up. Then transfer the warm cookies directly onto the rack to finish cooling.
7. Store in air-tight container.

If you choose to drizzle or dip in chocolate, do that after the macaroons have completely cooled.

Coconut Almond Macaroons ingredients

Macaroon mixture

In the oven they go!

Golden brown macaroons.

Fluffy in the middle.

Dip in chocolate for an added treat!

(As a side note, I managed to get 48 of these macaroons out of my mixture and took 36 of them to a Seder last night. Not a crumb remained on the tray. They were a big, BIG hit!  Thanks, Amanda!!)

This completes my first blog. I hope you enjoyed it and will come back weekly to check out more recipes. I will give attribution to those who have shared their recipes with me. I rarely make the recipe exactly as it was presented to me, so please forgive the need to make it my own.

Over the course of time you will learn a lot about my family and friends as I share either what we talked about while preparing food or what awesome concoction we came up with while brainstorming in the kitchen, because unfortunately, I’m always Talking Food!

As the mixing bowl turns,
Donna ; - )