Liza’s Coconut & Chocolate Chip Macaroons
Coconut & Chocolate Chip Macaroons Image by Liza Schoenfein
By Liza Schoenfein April 20, 2016
I owe my family a batch of macaroons. My son Teddy and his friend Halle were hovering in the kitchen when I took these beauties out of the oven, scarfing the leftover chocolate chips and giggling conspiratorially, as they always do when they’re together.
I was making the classic Passover cookies in preparation for a video shoot. (See the resulting video, and the recipe, below.)
I wanted to make sure the recipe was as good as I remembered (it was) and I needed a finished tray of golden macaroons to pull out of the oven at the end of the video, so that producer Thea Glassman and I wouldn’t have to wait the full 25 minutes for them to bake. (That’s food-TV magic, people.)
The recipe makes over two dozen macaroons, and I only needed a dozen for the shoot, so I was happy to share the bounty with Teddy and Halle, who were excellent and enthusiastic tasters.
Two days later, we shot the video. Any sane person would have frozen the resulting cookies, to have them on hand for Passover. (Though to be honest, I worry that the cold might render the chocolate chips chalky looking — if anyone freezes theirs, please let me know how it goes.)
Being the feeder that I am, I felt the need to bring these coconut confections into the office to share. Teddy looked crestfallen. I saved six for us and packed the rest into a big rectangular tin. My office mates seemed to confirm that they were, indeed, excellent. So now I share the recipe with you. And I will be making a new batch tomorrow, for our Seder.
Teddy, have I ever let you down? (Wait. You’re a teenager. Don’t answer that.)
Coconut & Chocolate Chip Macaroons
2 egg whites
¼ teaspoon salt
14 ounces unsweetened shaved (shredded) coconut
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Semi-sweet chocolate chips
1) Preheat oven to 325˚ F.
2) Beat egg whites with salt until medium peaks form.
Food editor Liza Schoenfein in her kitchen with macaroons “fresh” from the oven. Image by Thea Glassman
3) Combine coconut, condensed milk, sugar, vanilla and lemon juice in a large bowl. Fold in egg whites.
4) Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Form mixture into balls, each about two tablespoons or the size of a small ice cream scoop. Place on cookie sheet. (Rinse scoop with water periodically to prevent batter from sticking.) Using a chopstick, make a little well in each macaroon. Place 3–4 chocolate chips in each hole, pushing down as you go. Use your fingers to cover the hole with the coconut mixture.
5) Bake for 25 minutes, swapping the cookie sheets half way through cooking so the macaroons brown evenly. Let cool for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Note: For chocolate-covered macaroons, rather than making holes and filling with chocolate chips, melt chocolate chips and dip the tops of the cooled macaroons, if you like. Let chocolate cool and harden before serving.
Liza Schoenfein is food editor of the Forward. Contact her at schoenfein@forward.com or on Twitter, @LifeDeathDinner
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