the saddest of all time.

I'm learning a lot about heartache. I don't mean the sadness that comes from loneliness or when your grandma goes to heaven or the endless list of men who did you wrong - I mean something much deeper than that. Something so heart-wrenching that my bottom lip is starting to quiver as I write this, such world-rocking devastation cannot be collapsed into a few short sentences, but I'll give it a healthy dose of honest effort. Please grab yourself a tissue, because this could potentially be the saddest news of all time.

 These chocolate capped coconut macaroons are gone. Gone.

 

I know I've said a lot of things about coconut, about how I love to hate it (and hate to love it), how most people will swoon over a dish until they realize it has coconut in it and then suddenly eew gross I'm not eating that. Poor coconut. Such a bad rap. Such a rough life. These macaroons have given me the ultimate coconut redemption - they're moist and dense in their chubby middles with a crispy jacket wrapped around those gooey innards, topped with a soft bittersweet chocolate cap and served chilled. Once they're cold, they tug delightfully against your teeth, leaving a perfect imprint of your bite against the chocolate. After my last bout with macaroons, I've decided that I'll take shredded coconut over ground almonds faster than you can say...well I don't know what you would say. Let's move on.

 

The best part about these chubby little sweets is that I seem to be the only one in my household who cares for them, save for baby sister who I have to beat away with a baseball bat when I see her creeping toward the fridge and snapping open the Tupperware lid that protects the macaroons from outside elements. Even my mother, who would take all the Mounds and Almond Joy bars out of our Halloween candy turned up her nose at them. I warned you - this posting was not without heartache.

 

Chocolate-Covered Coconut Macaroons
Adapted from Bon Appétit (September 2002) and the Marigold Kitchen of Madison, Wisconsin, via Orangette

3 cups (lightly packed) sweetened shredded coconut
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup egg whites (about 5 or 6 large)
1 ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
¼ tsp almond extract
8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
3/4 cup heavy cream

Place the first three ingredients in a large, heavy saucepan, and stir to combine well. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring regularly, about 10-12 minutes, until the mixture is pasty but not dry. Remove from heat. Mix in vanilla and almond extracts. Spread out the coconut mixture on a large baking sheet. Refrigerate until cold, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Line another baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat baking mat. Using a small cookie scoop (or in rounded tablespoonfuls), scoop and pack the coconut mixture into domes, and place them on the baking sheet. You should wind up with about a eighteen or so. Bake the macaroons until golden, 15-20 minutes. Transfer to a rack and cool.

Set cookies on rack over a rimmed baking sheet. Place the chopped chocolate in a medium bowl. Heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan until it is very hot and steamy (not boiling), remove from the heat, and pour it over the chocolate. Whisk until the mixture is smooth and the chocolate is thoroughly melted. Spoon the glaze over the macaroons, covering them almost completely and allowing the chocolate to drip down the sides. [You will have leftover glaze, which can be refrigerated or frozen.] Refrigerate the macaroons until the glaze sets, at least 2 hours. Transfer the macaroons to an airtight container, and refrigerate or freeze.