Coconut macaroons are a real British baking classic. They are delightfully simple – other than a generous drizzling of chocolate, there aren’t many ways to jazz these up. But then, they are pretty perfect as they are.
The size and form of them is up to you. I started with Nigella’s recipe from the Domestic Goddess and tweaked a little. She used the mixture to make just 8 large mounds. I made 14. She kept them plain. I went big on the chocolate.
The biggest surprise was how well they went down. I fully expected (hoped?) to be the only one wanting to eat them but they were very popular.
They even pass the test for a reasonably health-conscious treat. Ok, so there’s sugar in them but there’s 3 times as much coconut and almond.
Here’s a link to the original Nigella recipe, if you fancy a read:https://www.nigella.com/recipes/coconut-macaroons
Ingredients
Macaroons
- 2 large egg whites
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
- 100g caster sugar
- 225g shredded coconut (not dessicated coconut, according to Nigella. I used ‘grated’ coconut I bought at a French organic shop)
- 30g ground almonds
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Topping
- 50g dark chocolate
Method
Turn on your oven to 170C and line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
Start to whisk the egg whites. Add the cream of tartar once they’ve started to go foamy. Keep whisking and once they’ve reached the soft peak stage, add the sugar in small spoonfuls. Stop whisking when the meringue mixture is glossy and stiff.
Fold in the coconut, almond, salt and vanilla.
Form the mixture into little mounds on the baking trays and pop into the oven for 18-20 minutes, until golden.
Leave to cool.
Melt the chocolate and drizzle over the macaroons.
Store the macaroons in an airtight container.