What seems in part to define macaroons is what they
usually lack: flour (which makes them perfect for Passover observers and gluten
avoiders).Alice Medrich’s macaroons do fall in line here, relying on little more than coconut for heft, and a brew of egg whites and sugar to hold it all together.
But she’s famously a little wild with her desserts
and developed this recipe not with the standard bag of soft, sweetened shreds in
mind, but those wide, sloping unsweetened shavings, often called coconut chips
and sold at health food stores. (They also pop up in genius granola.)
Working with a different cut of coconut is enough
to completely change the outcome. The tiny wings of coconut toast up crisp and
brown, while the inside layers stay soft and discrete.
Makes about 22 cookies
4 large egg whites
3½ cups (210g) unsweetened coconut
chips or 3 cups (255g) sweetened, dried shredded coconut
¾ cup (150g) sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
(available kosher for Passover, or can be omitted)
Slightly rounded ¼ teaspoon
salt
1 Combine all of the ingredients in a large heatproof
mixing bowl, preferably stainless steel because the mixture will heat faster
than in glass. Set the bowl directly in a wide skillet of barely simmering water
(if your bowl bobs in the water, simply pour some water out). Stir the mixture
with a silicone spatula, scraping the bottom to prevent burning, until the
mixture is very hot to the touch, and the egg whites have thickened slightly and
turned from translucent to opaque, 5 to 7 minutes. Set the batter aside for 30
minutes to let the coconut absorb more of the goop.
2 Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Position racks in
the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Line two cookie sheets with parchment
paper.
3 Using 2 tablespoons of batter, make attractive heaps
2 inches (5cm) apart on the cookie sheets. Bake for about 5 minutes, just until
the coconut tips begin to color, rotating the pans from top to bottom and from
front to back halfway through the baking time to ensure even baking.
4 Lower the oven temperature to 325°F (165°C) and bake
for 10 to 15 minutes, until the cookies are a beautiful cream and gold with
deeper brown edges, again rotating the pans from top to bottom and from front to
back halfway through the baking time. If the coconut tips are browning too fast,
lower the heat to 300°F (150°C). Set the pans or just the liners on racks to
cool. Let cool completely before gently peeling the parchment away from each
cookie.
5 The cookies are best on the day they are baked—the
exterior is crisp and chewy and the interior soft and moist. Although the crispy
edges will soften, the cookies remain delicious stored in an airtight container
for 4 to 5 days.
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