Passover Macaroons

Was at the Try-n-Save the other day, doing my worst impression of a well-organized Passover shopper.
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TIP ALERT! this year write down everything you make during Passover on one sheet, and create a shopping list on another.  Come next year just pull out those lists before you head to the supermarket.  You'll save as much as 100 bucks and have less pesadik leftovers to anonymously leave on your neighbor's porch.

Then I spied packages of unsweetened coconut.  And despite my semi organized lists, proceeded to do the annual thought ping-pong in my head:

 Oooh!  Unsweetened coconut!  Gimme!

Yo!  Coconut's not on the list because MIL always provides most of the seder desserts and you don't plan to make anything else with coconut anyway. 

Yeah ... but it's on sale!  And there's plenty of other things I can use it for besides dessert. And it's not like it'll spoil ... maybe I should buy it ...

But ...

Not but, buy!

So the buy side wins!  I check and there's two types of coconut in the display:  grated, and finely grated (almost coconut flour).

I opted for the grated since it more resembled flaked coconut.

Of course, when I got home, the package magically transformed into finely grated.  I hate when stuff spontaneously morphs.

Fast forward (backwards, really) to my post about Asiya's blog.  I mentioned Chocolate & Chillies the other day and promised to post her macaroons.  So I figured I'd try the recipe with the incorrect coconut and see how they come out.

The macaroons appeared a little on the dry side.  Okay, I figured I'd drop 'em off at work.  My co-workers will eat anything appreciate home-made food.

The next day at work I was scheduled for a late lunch, and by the time I made it into the break room, I noticed there still were a macaroons left.  I popped one so I wouldn't collapse starving while heating up lunch.  O. M. G!  Those little dry rocks somehow transformed themselves into pillows of tender!  Woo-hoo!

I used potato starch for a more Passover-friendly dessert.  It also made them gluten-free, no extra charge.  Normally I use kosher salt, but table salt is finer grains and easier to disperse among the other ingredients.  Since the egg whites didn't need whipping, I used them almost straight out of the fridge.  Speaking of egg whites, I didn't label this recipe easy because it requires you to separate 2 eggs, which is not in the easy category for one Dear Reader.  But if you have the knack, you can knock these out with not a problem.

Enjoy!

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Passover Macaroons

by chocolate & chillies March-28-2012

Two-bite cuties that are so easy to make you'll wonder why anyone bothers to buy the canned stuff!

Details

Prep time: 20 mins Cook time: 20 mins Total time: 40 mins Yield: 16-18 pieces

Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cups unsweetened flaked coconut
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 Tbl. potato starch
• 1/8 tsp. table salt
• 2 egg whites
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat over to 325 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside.

  In a medium sized mixing bowl, stir together coconut, sugar, potato starch and salt. 

  Add the egg whites and vanilla. Mix until incorporated. At first it will not look anywhere near enough liquid, but keep the faith, it will eventually come together but still a little on the dry side. Don't add another egg white or some other liquid!  

 Drop mixture by rounded teaspoonfuls onto prepared baking pan. I used a large teaspoon because I like macaroons at least two-bite sized. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. I left them baking just until the tips browned because I'm afraid of overbaking.

Transfer still on the parchment to a wire rack and let cool completely. Place in an airtight plastic bag. 

Serve macs the next day. Preferably on dainty plates.