not dainty
Untamed. Unkempt. Flamboyant.
The coconut in this macaroon mixture gets in a tangle with bumps and clumps of good bittersweet chocolate; vanilla, in the form of extract (and seed scrapings from the bean, if you wish), kicks in its own soft, dreamy scent. This highly moldable mixture is like flaky edible baker’s “clay,” ready to be configured into impressively moist mounds, looming and plump as they sit in the little tart pans. You could also pack it—lightly and deftly—into other decorative molds, such as baby brioche molds, oval boats, and fluted rectangular bars. All of this bulkiness is held together by four egg whites and some superfine sugar that melts indulgently into the mixture when encountering the other ingredients.
These are rich. And moist. And wonderfully easy.
coconutextreme: macaroons, with chocolate
serving: 16 cookies
ahead: 2 days
two coconut–bittersweet chocolate mixture
4 large egg whites
1/8 teaspoon salt
11⁄2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3⁄4 cup superfine sugar
31⁄4 cups firmly packed sweetened flaked coconut
2/3 cup natural unsweetened medium-flake coconut
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, hand-cut into small chunks
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Film the inside of 16 round tart molds (each mold measuring 21/4 inches in diameter and 1⁄2 inch deep, with a capacity of 2 tablespoons) with nonstick flour-and-oil spray. Have a large rimmed sheet pan at hand.
For the coconut-chocolate mixture, whisk the egg whites, salt, vanilla extract, and sugar in a large mixing bowl until combined. Add the sweetened flaked coconut and the unsweetened medium-flake coconut. Mix well to moisten thoroughly. Work in the chunks of chocolate.
Lightly squeeze and form heaping 3-tablespoon-size quantities of dough into rough mounds and place in the prepared tart molds. The macaroons must be formed by pressing the mixture together into a reasonably compact shape that is slightly wider at the base than at the top, each looking like a rounded, contoured hillock, but keep the edges texturally rough and flaky. Set the filled tart molds on the baking pan.
Bake the macaroons in the preheated oven for 21 to 25 minutes, or until set and a golden color. The inside of each macaroon should still be moist. Let the cookies stand in the pans on the baking pan for 5 minutes, then carefully nudge them out of the molds with the tip of a narrow offset metal palette knife. Transfer the macaroons to a length of ovenproof parchment paper and cool completely. Store in an airtight tin.
notes
• the combination of the sweetened flaked coconut and the unsweetened medium-flake coconut makes a texturally interesting macaroon
• seeds from 1⁄2 a small vanilla bean, scraped clean, can be added to the mixture along with the vanilla extract
• my favorite bittersweet chocolates to use in the macaroon batter include Scharffen Berger Bittersweet 70% cacao; Valrhona Extra Amer Bittersweet 61% cacao; Lindt Excellence 70% Cocoa Extra Fine Dark Chocolate; Michel Cluizel Chocolat Amer Brut Bitter Chocolate 72% cocoa; Michel Cluizel Ilha Toma 65% cacao; or Valrhona Guanaja Dark Bitter Chocolate 70% cacao
• the macaroons are baked in 16 round tart molds; two miniature muffin pans (12 cups to a pan, each cup measuring 13⁄4 inches in diameter and 3⁄4 inch deep, with a capacity of 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon) may be substituted, dividing the cookie mixture into 24 mounds and reducing the baking time by 3 to 5 minutes
• on the scale of rich, these are more chocolate-intense and a little less sweet than my chocolate chip macaroons in ChocolateChocolate
coconutextreme: macaroons, with chocolate