Paleo Coconut Macaroons

Coconut is delicious (& Paleo!) & cookies are delicious (& can be Paleo!); clearly, the time had come for Macaroons.

To find the perfect Macaroon recipe, I searched the many Paleo sites & headed over to see what our old friends at America’s Test Kitchen had to say.

For my Macaroons, I used honey & used unsweetened coconut- other than that it is a fairly traditional recipe.  One interesting technique I gathered from ATK: resting the concoction in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before rolling it in balls & baking- the cookies were easier to handle pre-baking & had a nicer texture after.

Coconut Macaroons

570 grams (20 oz) unsweetened coconut

6 egg whites

170 grams (½ c) honey

2.5 ml (1/2 t) salt

2.5 ml (1/2 t) almond extract

Pulse the coconut until fine and place in a large bowl.  Mix together (preferably with a food processor but a whisk should work) egg whites, honey, salt & almond extract until foamy.  Gently stir this into the coconut, cover and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Roll into loose balls (! Having never made Macaroons before, I rolled the first sheet into standard balls- they didn’t budge, didn’t spread, didn’t crack.  Little round coconut balls; tasty but their look was not exactly what I’d expected- although quite a bit more stable.  The next tray I went with a more delicate touch & they were indeed more visually appealing) & place on greased baking sheets (shaping as necessary)- or better yet, on your non-stick baking mats with no greasing necessary- about an inch apart.

Bake @ 190*c (375*f) approximately 12-14 minutes, turning the sheets ½ through baking.

Cool completely on trays before removing.

This recipe made 40 macaroons- 20 per tray.