Cookie of the Month - Chocolate Dipped Macaroons

Yikes, I'm really squeaking by at the very end of the month here, but I did deliver the goods yesterday to the Nelsons who bought my "Cookie of the Month" package at this year's scholarship auction. The goods? Coconut macaroons dipped in chocolate.

Here are your ingredients:

2/3 cup flour

5 1/2 cups coconut (14 oz. bag)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

One good thing about these cookies is the few ingredients and no mixer required!

Put the coconut, flour and salt into a large bowl.

Toss it together until you have loose, fluffy, flour coated coconut.

 Add the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla and almond extracts.

There are two camps on the macaroon front:  people who make them with an egg white base and those who make macaroons with a sweetened condensed milk base.  I find the egg white version can spread and run a little... although they will get crispy around the edges if that's what you like.  I prefer macaroons to have a texture similar to Mounds bars so I like the sweetened condensed milk version - and they hold their shape nicely.

Mix together until you get a sticky mush.

My daughter worked in the BYU bakery this year and she said they piped their macaroons from a big bag fitted with a tip like this.  So, I thought I would try that instead of making the usual balls with wet hands.

Fold open the top of the bag and mash the mush in.

Twist the end of the bag closed and get ready to pipe.

Definitely line your cookie sheet with parchment.

Ok, this dough was too thick for that little opening, but by golly if if was good enough for BYU, it was going to work for me.  I thought I was going to pop a tendon in my wrist from squeezing when my daughter told me the BYU dough was something they just mixed with water and was way thinner.  Thanks Chelsea... a little late now that my carpal tunnel surgery is scheduled.  The big prize?  They still look like I dropped them from a spoon anyway...

These cookies can actually be placed even closer than this since they don't spread.

Bake at 350 degrees for 14 minutes in a regular oven.  However, I baked these for 12 minutes in the oven on regular setting and then for the last two minutes switched the convection fan on to get these little toasted tips.  If you don't have a convection feature, you can always switch on the broiler for a minute to get a little brown.

Slide your parchment off onto a counter and let your macaroons cool.

Pour some of the chocolate chips in a bowl 

and microwave for 30 second intervals until melted.

Plop your macaroon in the chocolate.  I like to dip the bottom for black bottomed cookies, but you could drizzle or dip half or whatever strikes your fancy.  After I dip the bottoms, I invert on a cookie sheet and put them in the fridge for the chocolate to harden for a good 15 minutes.

Lovely, yummy bits of chocolate and chewy coconut.  Mmmmmmmm!