Chocolate Dipped Macaroon Cookies

Growing up I my mom used to tell me her favorite cookie was Macaroons. As a little kid I could not wrap my head around this idea. I mean...come on "everyone's" favorite cookie HAD to be Oreos, just like me...Right? Well as I have gotten older these cookies are also one of my favorites. The sweet golden coconut toasted to perfection along with the soft center of the cookie. To celebrate my mom's birthday we had to have a few of her favorite cookies. I even took them to a new level by dipping the bottoms in dark chocolate. It really does take a favorite to a whole new level. 

The beginnings of a lovely marriage of coconut, chocolate, sugar and vanilla. Seriously what could be better?

Making little mounds of love. I tried to keep these on the smaller side. You know so you can justify eating more.

Toasted and golden ready for a chocolate dip.

Dipped in melted dark chocolate. I used a double boiler, but you could also melt the chocolate in a small bowl in the microwave. Your preference.

Chocolate-Dipped Coconut Macaroons

From David Lebovitz

Makes about 30 cookies

I halved this recipe as I would not know what to do with 60 cookies. Well I do know what I would do and it would just lead to thick thighs. 

Ingredients

4 large egg whites about 1/2 cup

1 and 1/4 cup of sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon honey

2 and 1/2 cups of dried unsweetened shredded coconut

1/4 cup of all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

4 oz of dark chocolate, chopped

On the stove top in a medium saucepan, mix together the egg whites, sugar, salt, honey, coconut, flour, and vanilla. Set the pan over medium-low heat, stirring the mixture frequently to dry it out a little bit. When you start to hear a slight sizzle, transfer the mixture to a medium bowl and let it cool slightly. 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Make sure the rack of the oven are in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. I only needed one baking sheet as you can place these little nuggets close together. They don't spread. Line the baking sheets with parchment paper.

When the coconut mixture is cool enough to handle, form it into tight 1 inch pyramids and place them on the prepared baking sheet. Bake the cookies for about 20 minutes until they are deep golden brown. Make sure to rotate the pan halfway through baking. Once done, let them cool on the pan prior to dipping in the chocolate. 

To dip the cookies in the chocolate. Add the chopped chocolate to a medium bowl or a double boiler. Melt the chocolate over the stove top or in the microwave. Stir to make sure the chocolate is melted and smooth. Dip the bottom of each macaroon into the melted chocolate, scraping any excess chocolate against the rim of the bowl. After dipping the cookie, place it dipped side down on a parchment lined baking sheet. Refrigerate the cookies until the chocolate hardens. 

The macaroons dipped or undipped can be kept in an airtight container for about 3 days. Enjoy!