Coconut Macrons (Unlocked)

now with vanilla bean crinkles

Originally published for paying subscribers August 8, 2021. Unlocked now with the addition of a recipe for vanilla bean crinkles!

I’m writing this almost entirely for the purpose of settling a debate — is it “macaroons” or “macarons?”

If you’re like me, you’ve been wondering this for years. Saying the name that you think is correct in hushed tones in case you’re wrong. Exclaiming excitedly in a pastry shop, “Oh, look! Macaroons! Those are my favorite,” only for the person behind the counter to bathe you in a look of utter superiority and say, “Actually, it’s macarons.”

I’ve always loved both of these tasty treats. For those completely lost and unfamiliar with this debate, one of these pastries is a well-dressed and coiffed little thing made up of two light and airy cookies with a bit of creamy filling in the middle. A very high-class oreo, if you will.

The other is a larger homespun pastry that looks like it woke up with bedhead.

The latter is the pastry we’re discussing today.

But even historians are befuddled when it comes to the history of the two cookies. Much more seems to be definitively known about macarons — the lovely French dainties.

Like many French things, the macaron started out as something homely and was made beautiful by the people of France. According to legend, macarons (despite their incredibly Frenchified name), don’t even have their origins in France. Catherine de’Medici is said to have brought these dainty sweets with her on a trip to France.

They are said to have been made in Italian monasteries since the 8th century and began as a simple cookie sandwich of sorts that was crunchy on the outside and impossibly soft in the middle. A trip even further into legend shows Persian soldiers teaching the technique for making cookies from nut-flours (a staple of true macarons) to the monks in Italy.

During the Revolution in France in the late 18th century, two nuns supposedly refined the baking of macarons and sold the sweets to make a living, though the recipe we have now was solidified in French patisseries in the 1830s. Color came to be an important part of the macarons we have today, ranging from robin’s egg blue to palest pink.

The macaroon, the main dish of the day, is also said to have its origins with the Medicis. It seems like both cookies started out the same way — Italian monks making them from almond flour in the 8th century. At some point, however, it would appear that there was a divergence. Shredded coconut was cleverly swapped in place of the almond flour, and a new creation was born.

As this new cookie, the macaroon, was both flourless and unleavened, it soon became very popular in the European Jewish community. The recipe has been carefully honed over the years by great Jewish chefs and has become the delicious cookie we have today — a mound of shredded coconut dipped ever-so-gracefully in chocolate.

*chef’s kiss.

So there you have it. When you break down the two recipes for the two different cookies, they are essentially the same. The history is essentially the same. But simply replace the almond flour with shredded coconut like some very clever bakers did centuries ago et voilà! you have a brand new creation.

The recipe I have included below does have flour in it. I’m not skilled enough to make anything but a puddle unless it has some flour in it.

But I hope you enjoy these cookies as I do — after dinner, with coffee in the morning, plain, dipped in chocolate, etc., etc. They are a delightful way to say goodbye to the final days of summer. And make sure that when you tell your friends what you made for dessert the other night, you say it loud and proud and correct this time.

Coconut Macaroons

You will need:

2/3 cups all-purpose flour

5 1/2 cups shredded coconut

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 bags of semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips

What to do:

Create a double-boiler by filling a medium pot about halfway with water and bringing it to a gentle simmer. Put a heat-proof bowl on top of the pot (if it’s the right size it will sit nicely on top of the pot without the bottom of it touching the water beneath). This method will give you the most evenly melted and not burned chocolate to dip the baked macaroons in. YUM!

While the water is reaching a boil, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line two or three cookie sheets with parchment paper. Stir together the flour, coconut, and salt in a large bowl. Stir in the sweetened condensed milk and the vanilla, making sure to REALLY blend it all together. You might need to use your hands to get it to the right consistency, but as this is a ridiculously sticky dough, that should be considered a last resort.

Use one of those fabulous cookie scooper thingamabobs I’ve mentioned before to drop tablespoons of the dough onto the parchment covered cookie sheets.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until the coconut is toasted (it will be a lovely light brown).

While the macaroons are baking, add your chocolate chips to the top bowl of your double-boiler. Keep it on low heat, and stir the chocolate almost continuously with a rubber spatula as it melts. It is done when it is silky-smooth in texture.

Once your macaroons are out of the oven, dip each macaroon halfway into the melted chocolate, trying to get as even of a line as possible (if that’s the kind of thing you care about at all) so that you end up with neat little half-chocolate-covered mounds of toasted coconut.

What could be better?

That’s it for this week’s history lesson with Ms. Nicewarner. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoy these cookies. Someday I’ll be brave enough to try making macarons. And when I call my grandmother in a panic asking for help, at least I’ll know how to pronounce them.

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Unlocked Additions

I recently had the honor of making cookies for a dear friend’s wedding reception. She is one of those rare women who loves vanilla much more than chocolate, so I chose these Vanilla Bean Crinkles to add some festive flair to this classic flavor. While crinkles are often thought of as a Christmas cookie, I say, “What’s wrong with Christmas in the summer?” I will warn you: vanilla beans were even more expensive than I remembered them being! If you do choose to splurge and make these indulgent cookies, I hope you enjoy them with love in your heart and a festive spark in your spirit.

Vanilla Bean Crinkles

You will need:

3 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup butter, softened

2 vanilla beans

2 eggs

1 cup powdered sugar

What to do:

Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and sat in a small bowl. Slice the vanilla beans in half lengthwise and, using a knife, scrape the inside part of the beans into a large bowl. Discard the outside of the beans. Beat the sugar and butter into the bowl with the vanilla beans until fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until the mixture is smooth. Beat in the flour mixture on low speed until well-blended. Cover the dough and let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. This is not a dough that you will need to chill during any part of the process!

Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Put powdered sugar into a small bowl and roll each cookie in the powdered sugar. Shake off excess sugar and place the balls of dough onto ungreased cookie sheets at least 1 inch apart.

Bake cookies for 12 to 14 minutes or until edges and bottoms are a light brown. Let cool for a couple of minutes on the sheets before removing the cookies to a cooling rack. Store these cookies airtight and at room temperature!

Which cookies did you end up making?

If the new season of “Stranger Things” has you on the hunt for more spooky stories, check out some of my flash-fiction work that’s been published over the past year!

That’s it for this week. If you liked this post, consider sending “Food & Fodder” to a friend who you think might enjoy it! Paying subscribers can come back later this month for lots of sweet things!

Thanks, as always, for reading,

Juliana

PS —

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I now have a little “storefront” on their site, so if you’re wanting to see or buy some of my favorite books, head on over to my Bookshop site! Right now, my Bookshop lists include my Cookbook Collection, My Work, My Top 10 (always changing), and My New Foray into Scary Books.

You can find the cookbook I mentioned above, “Half-Baked Harvest: Super Simple,” there!

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