Coconut Macaroons

     I tend to favor French Macarons over the Americanized Coconut Macaroons.  And YES, there is a difference other than the spelling, Maca-RON vs. Maca-ROON.  According to dictionary.com a Macaron is a "small cookie composed chiefly of egg whites, sugar, and ground almonds is a type of light, baked confection, described as either small cakes or meringue like cookies depending on their consistency," and said to have originated from Italy.  The other Macaroon, which most Americans are familar with, contain egg whites, sugar and shredded dried coconut, its closer to a soft cookie than its meringue cousin, and is equally sweet.  Why do I bring it up? Well, today I made some yummy Coconut Macaroons.  I've never made them before so thought "why not?" since I already had a bag of coconut.  They were quite easy with few ingredients.  

Recipe found on My Catholic Kitchen.

Here's what you need:

4 egg whites (room temperature)

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup white sugar

3 cups flaked sweetened coconut

Here's how to make them:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a bowl of an electric mixer, beat eggs whites, vanilla, and salt until soft peaks form, about 3 minutes.

Add sugar and beat another 2 minutes or until stiff peaks form.

Gently fold in coconut.

Scoop out the batter onto the prepared baking sheets.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove to a rack, allow to cool and Enjoy!

*Optional - Drizzle with melted chocolate *