I’ve always liked them, but had never made them before. But I had an 8 oz bag of shredded unsweetened coconut in the cupboard that I needed to use,
I used a combo recipe, the NYT for proportions and the Serious Eats for the chocolate idea. I was a little short on coconut, but I figured I would likely wind up with a more moist cookie.
So:
2.5 cups dried unsweetened coconut (8 oz bag)
3 egg whites, lightly beaten
1 cup turbinado sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
couple pinches of salt, maybe 1/8 teaspoon
3 ozs bittersweet chocolate, chopped
Mixed everything in a bowl with a wooden spoon. Dropped the dough onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet with a 1.5 inch scoop. Baked at 350F for 20 minutes. That took the cookies a little past golden brown into brown, but that’s how I like ’em.
These cookies don’t spread. At all. If you want a flatter cookie, dampen your hand with cold water and pat down the mound gently. Hit it too hard, and it will fall apart.
They’re good. Not too sweet. Very, very light, in contrast to store-bought macaroons that I have had that had the look and consistency of very sweet, moist hockey pucks. The chocolate is a nice addition, but I think I will try lemon zest and a bit of juice next time. That should result in a very light, tart cookie. Good with coffee, and maybe vanilla ice cream.