Coconut Custard Macaroons

The Perfect Macaroon

I looooove coconut macaroons. I never really understood the french macaron craze, but I am all over traditional coconut macaroons. These moist cookies are usually made with sweetened shredded coconut, egg whites, vanilla and sometimes sweetened condensed milk. I love the originals but wanted to come up with something a bit richer and more custard-like and less sweet. And more chew while we’re at it! After some tinkering and sampling and tinkering again I’ve managed to make Coconut Custard Macaroons that are crisp and carmelized on the outside and moist and rich on the inside. Not too sweet with just a hint of spice and salt. Great texture and not too dense. Heaven! I passed these out to some school moms at our mother-daughter pajama night last weekend and the baking enthusiasts raved about these.

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Glazed Apricot-Pistachio Cookies

I have drop-cookie issues.  I know they’re tasty and easy and much beloved. But I really can’t handle the uncertainty inherent in a cookie that just gets plopped onto a cookie sheet with a spoon.  I need cookies to be precisely scooped or rolled or cut out, not “dropped”.  Making chocolate chip cookies leaves me deeply unsatisfied.  I’ve been thinking about a cookie with dried fruit and nuts but all my internet research led straight to drop cookies. So I got to work cooking up some delicious fruit-nut cookies that could be rolled out and cut into precise circles.  No blobs allowed!

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Swedish Coffee Cake Caramels

Swedish Coffee Cake Caramels

I have known how to make caramels for three days and still feel like I just invented fire.  The Salted Mezcal Caramels were a hit with the adults, but the kids didn’t really like them so I told Weezy I’d make some for her friends that were plain vanilla and she could decorate them.  They ended up with so many sprinkles on them that I had to vacuum my kitchen counter when I cleaned up. Continue reading “Swedish Coffee Cake Caramels”