Whether you’re looking for a sweet to grace your Passover table or just want to add a bit of coconutty deliciousness to your cookie jar, this lovely little morsel from Flour Bakery + Cafe pastry maven Joanne Chang is just the thing. Plucked from the pages of her original cookbook, Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston’s Flour Bakery + Cafe, this recipe for coconut macaroons makes about two dozen chewy, sweet, soft and crispy treats for you and yours to enjoy, whatever the occasion.
Coconut Macaroons Courtesy of Joanne Chang
Details
Yields: 24
Ingredients
for the pastry cream
- 1/2 cup (120 grams) milk
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) sugar
- 2 tablespoons cake flour
- pinch of kosher salt
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- two 14-ounce (400 gram) bags of sweetened shredded coconut
- 1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 6 egg whites
- 1 cup (200 grams) sugar
- pinch of kosher salt
Directions
for the pastry cream
- In a small saucepan, scald the milk over medium heat (until bubbles start to form around the edge of the pan, but the milk doesn't boil). While the milk is heating, in a small bowl stir together the sugar, flour and salt. (Mixing the flour with the sugar will prevent the flour from clumping when you add it to the egg yolks.) In a medium bowl whisk the egg yolks till blended, then slowly whisk in the flour mixture. The mixture will be thick and pasty.
- Remove the milk from the heat and slowly add it to the egg-flour mixture, a little at a time, whisking constantly. When all the milk has been incorporated, return the contents of the bowl to the saucepan and place over medium heat. Whisk continuously and vigorously for about 1 minute, or until the mixture thickens and comes to a boil. At first the mixture with be very frothy and liquid; as it cooks longer it will slowly start to thicken until the frothy bubbles disappear and it becomes more viscous. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla, pour into a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap, placing it directly on the surface of the cream. Let cool completely.
- Position rack in center of oven and heat to 350℉.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment.
- In a large bowl, combine the coconut, egg whites, sugar, salt and pastry cream. Stir with a wooden spoon until well combined. (The dough can be made up to five days in advance and stores in an airtight container in the refrigerator).
- Using a 1/4-cup dry-measuring cup or large spoon, scoop the dough in rounded mounds onto the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown all over. Let cool on the baking sheet set on a rack for at least 20 minutes, then transfer the cookies to the rack to cool completely.
