One of the things when you are making macaroons, is that you have to find a careful balance of egg whites to coconut: wet to dry, as it were. Most recipes under estimate the coconut requirement. I, on the other hand, have a tendency to try to stuff as much coconut as humanly possible while still hoping that the whole thing manages to stay held together. This is a “new and improved” recipe of one of my standbys and I think that they came out just perfect this time.
Ingredients
800 grams shaved sweetened coconut, toasted
250 grams confectioners’ sugar
6 egg whites
200 grams marzipan
2 teaspoon coconut extract
2 tablespoons rum
250 grams (2 cups) mini-butterscotch chips
Directions
Preheat the oven to 325F. On a cookie sheet, spread out the coconut and toast in the oven until lightly golden. Let toasted coconut cool completely.
Separate the eggs into a small bowl, discarding the yolks or save for another purpose. Using a hand mixer or whisk, whisk until you have firm peaks, but do not over-whisk. This can be a very fine line. If your egg whites start to separate, start over as they are unrecoverable. Fold in the powdered sugar, coconut extract, rum and marzipan (you may have to chop the marzipan into little pieces in a food processor, if it is hard; otherwise tear into small chunks). Be gentle with the egg white mixture, so that it does not deflate too much. Add in the coconut and mini-chocolate chips. The mixture should be very gooey.
Prepare cookie sheets with silpat or parchment paper (almost imperative in this recipe).
Using a disher, drop 2-tablespoons of the mixture approximately 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet lined with silpat or onto parchment paper. Bake 18-20 minutes or until golden brown at the edges. Let cool and set (they are pretty soft when they come out of the oven; careful not to crush them when removing them from the cookie sheet).
