coconut macaroons

for the past, oh maybe two or three years, i have been feeding an addiction to coconut macaroons. i've changed dealers a few times. first, there was jodee, that tempress! her shop was just two doors down from the yoga studio i practiced at daily. she made amazing bite-size raw vegan coconut macaroons with chocolate and served amazing cold brew coffee with the best house-made almond milk i have ever tasted. it was impossible not to go to yoga without going next door for my well-deserved treat.

then i discovered macrina bakery made an equally delicious, non-vegan, but still chocolate-infused coconut macaroon. they are lighter in texture and maybe a half-bite larger than jodee's. but when i moved to the central district, i didn't have an easily accessible source. or so i thought! until i realized that the best coffee shop in my neighborhood, broadcast, had jars of macrina macroons in their pastry case!! so while i may be missing out on jodee's fabulous almond milk, my coffee options have expanded and i still get my dose of macaroons. 

this story is all quite ironic considering i used to hate coconut as a child. maybe it was because of those awfully sweet almond joy candies that i dreaded finding in my halloween treat bag. i guess i liked coconut milk on my thai sticky rice. but you couldn't get me to try anything else with coconut as a kid. 

i have no reason (yet) to curb my addiction. instead, my ambition was to recreate these little treats in my home kitchen. i started with a classic coconut macaroon recipe. eventually, i hope to perfect my chocolate infused coconut macaroons. stay tuned...

coconut macaroons ~ makes many! 
2 egg whites
1/4 cup raw sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
10 oz un-sweetened, shredded coconut

preheat oven to 325. line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. 

in a bowl, whisk together all ingredients except coconut. continue whisking until foamy and sugar is dissolved. then add coconut, and mix to coat evenly. 

using a deep spoon, or or small ice cream scooper, lightly compress the mixture into a mounded shape and drop onto the baking sheet - about 1 inch apart. *i didn't have an ice cream scooper so i used a looseleaf tea infuser thing that gave my macaroons a cute egg shape. 

bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown on the bottoms and edges. let cool completely and store in an airtight container.