My first recollection of macaroons was from a reading assignment in elementary school.
I think I was in fourth grade, who knows, but I remember curling up on my parents' pearl-colored, '80s quilted sateen comforter and reading some short story about a girl who ate macaroons. I thought more of the story would come to me as I typed this, but that's pretty much all I remember. I'm sure the thrust of the story had precious little, if anything, to do with macaroons, but I'm not surprised that's the only thing I recall.
Whatever, that's how I learned about macaroons, with coconut being the variety with which I'm most familiar. I know quite a few home bakers who use eggs and added sugar for their macaroons, and they are fabulous.
But this Thanksgiving, in addition to several desserts for our immediate family of six, Mom also made a big batch of coconut macaroons, which my sister-in-law and I kept pecking at throughout the weekend.
I asked her for the recipe and was quite surprised by how simple it was -- even more simple than Paula Deen's recipe, which calls for egg whites, cream of tartar, even salt.
Mom just has three ingredients: coconut, vanilla and sweetened condensed milk. It's more like candy than a cookie -- and hard to keep from grazing on.
So here's Mom's recipe, which she basically quadrupled for our family get-together. I'm guessing it made between four and six dozen, but those of you who know me are aware I suck at math, so keep that in mind.
Mom's Coconut Macaroons
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
2 cups flaked coconut
1 teaspoon vanilla
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Combine all ingredients; stir well. Then drop by spoonfuls on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, then cool on wax paper. And eat 'em.
Do you have a recipe for coconut macaroons? Or any kind of yummy macaroon? Please share it!
Peace, love and teaspoons of vanilla ... XOXO
