Coconut Macaroons

When I was hunting for a good coconut macaroons recipe I came across a video-tutorial on the Joy of Baking website (link at the bottom of the page) that looked pretty unique.  Pre-heating the eggs, and using cake flour rather than all-purpose, make these cookies AMAZING.  Crispy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside.  After only 2 tries I had mastered the recipe (it is not as difficult as it sounds) and I decided to enter them in our county fair.  Out of hundreds of cookie entries they won best in show!!!  So I'm passing this great recipe along for anyone who loves a good coconut macaroon.

Coconut Macaroons:

4 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup cake flour, sifted
3 cups sweetened coconut flakes/shredded coconut

Boil 2" of water in a saucepan.  Place the egg whites is a glass bowl over the boiling water.  Whisk and heat the eggs until white, foamy and warm.  Add the remaining ingredients except for the coconut, and combine thoroughly.  Fold in the coconut until all is moist.  Cover and chill for 2 hours.  Preheat oven to 325 and line a sheet with parchment paper.  Drop dough by rounded tablespoons (you could use an ice cream scoop to achieve a really nice round ball) on the paper, and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until lightly golden brown.  Cool for a few minutes on the pan and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

For a great tutorial you can visit the Joy of Baking website and click on "cookie recipes" at the top.  This makes about 18 cookies.  You could drizzle these with melted chocolate, but I felt that they were perfect just the way they were.  ENJOY!