Coconut Macaroons and the Gala

Scene:
There she was. I couldn't let her out of my site for even a second. It was risky tip that led me here, but it paid off. As the server approached, I reached for the coconut macaroon on the silver tray without taking my eyes off of her. Pretending to eat my dessert, I walked slowly to the back of the room to be closer to the woman for whom I had spent two years searching.

“You didn’t tell me that,” she harshly whispered to the man.

“Deal with it,” he said. “What difference does it make?”

As I saw the waiter with the half-full tray of macaroons make his way towards the unlikely couple, I wished I could get as close as he was. He would be close enough to sense her fear. To hear the unforgiving tone in her whisper. And maybe, just maybe, find out enough to save her.


COCONUT MACAROONS by Ina Garten

14 ounces sweetened shredded coconut
14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 extra-large egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt


Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Combine the coconut, condensed milk, and vanilla in a large bowl. In another bowl, whip the egg whites and salt on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until they make medium-firm peaks. Carefully fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture.

Drop the batter onto sheet pans lined with parchment paper using either a 1 3/4-inch diameter ice cream scoop, or 2 teaspoons. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. Cool and serve.

Lessons learned: I made mine pretty big because I think the recipe makes 20, but I only made 10. I added a little bit of almond extract, too. My macaroons had a little pool of cooked liquid around them. It tasted good, but looked yucky, so I trimmed all of them. I’m not sure if a little more coconut would give the liquid a little something more to soak into. I also melted some bittersweet chocolate and dripped it across the top. They were absolutely delicious – sweet, chewy and moist.