Christmas Cookies #3: Snow-Capped Macaroons

For those of you who are on Facebook with me, you know the dog (not my dog, but DH's pointer, who does his best to drive me nuts) ATE MY COOKIES yesterday. He ate the ginger cookies, and the thumbprints. ALL of them.

Darn dog. And yes, he's okay. And I have forgiven him.

Mostly.

So I spent today in my kitchen baking some more. (argh). I made Peanut Butter Cookies, more thumbprints, some of these Snow-Capped Macaroons as well as a cake. Didn't make more Ginger cookies because I didn't have any more candied ginger so those will have to wait until next week.

I also tried another Food Network Mag recipe for Chocolate Malted Sandwiches. They were a disaster. I don't know if my butter was too soft/warm or what, but the dough refused to cooperate, so I scrapped them halfway in. And they sounded so good, too :-(

Instead, I made these Snow-Capped Macaroons. Quite easy, and very tasty. They don't make very many--I got just under two dozen from this recipe--but they're good. I wished I had some cool white sprinkles for on top, because the sprinkles I did use don't really show very well :-(


Snow-Capped Macaroons (recipe from Food Network Magazine)

2 large egg whites
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup sliced almonds, crushed
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups sweetened shredded coconut

For the Glaze:
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Coarse sugar crystals, for decorating

Make the cookies: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Lightly beat the egg whites in a medium bowl until frothy, then stir in the granulated sugar, almonds, vanilla and salt. Fold in the coconut.

Drop tablespoonfuls of the batter 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Dampen your hands and form into tall pointed mounds. Bake until the edges are golden brown and the macaroons look dry, 16 to 20 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Make the glaze: Put the chocolate, corn syrup, butter and 3 tablespoons hot water in a microwave-safe bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave until melted, about 2 minutes. Whisk until smooth.

Dip the tip of each macaroon about halfway into the glaze, then place on a clean parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with coarse sugar, then refrigerate until the glaze sets, about 1 hour. Store in an airtight container up to 1 week.

Shirley