“In the Spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside of 24 hours.” – Mark Twain
NOTE: I spend my Wednesdays Unplugged from appointments. It’s my day to stay home, enjoy cooking and welcome our kids and grandkids for dinner in the evening. We end our meal with quotes from the Norwegian ‘Quote Cup’ passed on to me from my grandmother. I share a quote and a recipe here each week, along with an update and photos of what has been going on in our lives. I love trying new recipes…and love getting recipes you would like to share!
This has been one of those stormy spring weeks when we say “enough, already!!” We now officially have 89.7 inches of snow, making this our third snowiest winter on record. In spite of our snow weariness, this latest spring snow was heavy and wet… covering everything with an icy snow which was beautiful if you don’t think about shoveling it! We had a family gathering at John’s brothers’ home last weekend… first time some of us had been together in 5 years!
RECIPE OF THE WEEK
Somehow macaroons sounded good to me this week… maybe the coconut reminded me of the snow-coated branches? This recipe is based on one from bon appetit. Their recipe called for the chocolate to be inserted into the center, but I mixed the chocolate pieces into the whole batter… not sure which method would ultimately be better, but these were good with a depth of flavor… golden all the way to the center due to toasting the coconut first.
Toasted Coconut Macaroons with chocolate chunks
- 14 ounces sweetened shredded coconut
- 4 large egg whites
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon Morton kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped into 1/4″-1/2″ pieces
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spread out all 14 ounces of coconut onto a rimmed baking sheet in an even layer and toast on top rack, stirring about every 5 minutes until golden brown. (original recipe said about 8-10 minutes but it took me closer to 20-30 minutes to toast it golden brown) Transfer coconut to a bowl and set aside.
Beat 4 large egg whites, 2 tablespoons light brown sugar and 1 teaspoon kosher salt with whisk beater until frothy, thick and pale in color. Whisk in 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, then fold in toasted coconut. Add chocolate chips to batter or wait to press into each individual macaroon.
Scoop out heaping tablespoons of coconut mixture and place on two parchment lined baking sheets. Press chocolate pieces to hide inside each macaroon if not already added to batter.
Bake macaroons 15-30 minutes, rotating sheeting sheets from top to bottom racks and back to front at about 15 minutes, then checking every five minutes until golden brown.
Macaroons will be very delicate right out of the oven. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes about 2 dozen.
