Second Place Coconut Macaroons

I know, I know–I’m not ready the talk about The Holidays yet either. I’m still rifling through Halloween candy pilfering Heath Bars from my children.

But like a train barreling down the track, there’s no avoiding their inevitable arrival.

In our house coconut macaroons = the holidays. If I failed to make them, I am convinced that Santa would not come, Rudolph’s nose would not shine, and the baby Jesus would not arrive as scheduled.

Two years ago I was invited to a cookie swap and my macaroons came in second. The relevant part about this is the manic creative state I went into pre-swap that inspired me to write a blog post which was later included in an anthology which is now available for sale as an ebook.

Whew.

If you’re in the mood for some holiday humor, check out Mom for the Holidays: Stories of Love, Laughter, and Tantrums at Christmas and Hanukkah.

If you ever find yourself in a creative frenzy, I would suggest finding a few creative outlets in your life. We all have an innate need to make something and share it with others. It’s not good to keep it hidden away, bottled up, ready to explode.

And if you just want some damn good cookies. Try these macaroons. (They can be made gluten free too.)

Second Place Coconut Macaroons

(adapted from Southern Living)

2 1/2 cups faked coconut

2/3 cup sugar

4 egg whites

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour (or gluten free flour and 1/4 teaspoon of xanthum gum)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2  cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Combine the coconut through the salt. Drop by level tablespoons onto a greased cooked sheet. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack and then transfer to parchment paper. Melt chocolate whichever way you prefer – double boiler, microwave, camp fire. Transfer into pastry bag with a small tip or if you’re fancy like me use a ziploc and cut the corner just the tiniest bit. Drizzle chocolate over cookies using a side to side motion, and let cool until completely dry. You should have about two dozen Second Place Coconut Macaroons.