Who knew I could make macaroons!?!!

Such an easy recipe, delicious, and they look almost professional when you're done. If you read my last blog post about the chocolate cake, you should know that I made the macaroons BEFORE I attempted the chocolate cake from scratch, so I was feeling really cocky and had that, "I can cook anything!" attitude going after I aced the macaroon test. It is no doubt that mentality that led to the frosting fiasco. But enough about that.

My mom and dad have a love/hate relationship with coconut. My mother says that coconut cake is her favorite dessert (funny, there is no coconut cake recipe in her collection!) and my father hates anything to do with coconut. Despite his vehement dislike of this item (is it a fruit??!), the story goes that when he was a young preacher traveling around the south with his beautiful young bride, attending a variety church potlucks and meals in the homes of congregants that followed the services, my dad had to endure many a coconut concoction. Rather than politely saying, "Oh, no thank you, I really don't like coconut," he ate every last bite with his usual good humor and sense of calm. For years, one of their dear friends thought that he loved coconut cream pie, and baked it for him every chance she got. Again, he ate it, over and over again, hating every bite.

So when I told my mom that I made the macaroon recipe in her collection, she said, "Huh, I bet I've made that twice in my life," as if she didn't even know it was in there. I guarantee you that if her husband liked it, she would have made it a regular in her dessert rotation.  They are delicious. To quote my friend who enjoyed them last Saturday night, along with the disastrous cake, "Your macaroons are like pillows of fluffy goodness." Amen, sister.

Baker's Coconut Macaroons
(I'm going to assume this recipe came from the back of a Baker's Chocolate package...)

1 pkg Angel Flake (not sure what this is or was, but any brand of sugared coconut will do)
2/3 cup sugar
6 Tbsp flour
1/4 tsp salt
4 egg whites
1 tsp almond extract
1 pkg / 8 squares semisweet chocolate

Mix coconut, sugar, flour, and salt in a bowl. Stir in egg whites and almond extract until well blended. Drop by the spoonful onto a greased cookie sheet (I used an medium sized ice cream scooper so the dollups were pretty big.) Bake at 325 for 20 minutes, or until edges are golden brown. The larger the scoop, the longer the cooking time; I baked them for about 35 minutes). Remove from cookie sheet and cool completely on a wire rack. Melt chocolate over a double boiler. Drizzle macaroons with melted chocolate, or dip cooled macaroons halfway into melted chocolate. Store in tightly covered container for up to a week...but who would make them last that long??!!