Scout’s Honor Macaroons

TBH I used to hate shredded coconut. This is not an uncommon feeling, so I was in good company each year at Passover when the tray of macaroons made it’s rounds and I begrudgingly accepted one. (I mean, it’s still a cookie, after all.)

Several years ago, the first year I went to Chicago to celebrate Passover with my then-boyfriend’s family (and when I really wanted to impress my future mother-in-law), I decided that I was going to make the best macaroons possible. Not just acceptable. Not just tolerable after four glasses of wine. Crave-worthy. Sneak-an-extra-from-the-kitchen-worthy. Macaroons you make at other times of the year, not just out of tradition.

The thing about these macaroons is that they eschew regular sweetened condensed milk and utilize a magic ingredient: homemade dulce de leche. And yes, homemade ducle de leche is made from sweetened condensed milk, but it’s also an other-worldly nectar of the gods which cannot be contained by time nor space. I promise it is not hard or scary to make and the results are AMAZING, adding a caramelized flavor throughout that takes a jumble of shredded coconut and turns it into something sublime.

I’ve made these cookies for years now and just this past year realized what they taste like: an elevated version of Girl Scout Samoas (Caramel deLites). No wonder they’re so popular!

Scout’s Honor Macaroons

Recipe by Kris Cramer

Yield

20

cookies

Prep time

15

minutes

Baking time

15

minutes

Rest time

30

minutes

Coconut macaroons like you’ve never had them before: rich with dulce de leche with a crisp outer shell and an almost creamy center.

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups dried unsweetened shredded coconut (small shred)

• 2/3 cup dulce de leche (see note below)

• 1 teas. vanilla

• 1 large egg white

• 1/8 teas. salt

• 2 tbsp. sugar

• 1 cup of chopped chocolate chunks or chocolate chips

Directions

• In a large bowl, combine the coconut, dulce de leche and vanilla. Mix to coat and set aside.
• In a separate bowl, whip the egg white and salt until soft peaks form. Add the sugar and whip until glossy, about 30 seconds.
• Add the egg whites to the coconut mixture and fold to combine. The eggs will deflate and don’t worry about it.
• Let the mixture sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes to let the coconut hydrate. While waiting, preheat oven to 350.
• Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and scoop out macaroons with a large cookie or ice cream scoop (about 1/4 cup), 2 inches apart. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until golden brown. Because of the dulce de leche, they will look a little darker than the average macaroon.
• Let cool completely on a cooling rack.
• Melt chocolate in microwave in bursts or over a double boiler. Dip the bottoms of the macaroons in the melted chocolate and place back on the parchment lined sheets to set.
• Scrape remaining chocolate into a small baggie. Snip corner off and drizzle over the tops of the macaroons.

Notes

• While you can always buy a jar of dulce de leche (and do yourself a favor please make sure it’s dulce and not caramel sauce), I HIGHLY recommend making it yourself. It’s a hands off process, but it does take time so plan ahead. And, the beauty of it is that you can plan ahead. Dulce de leche keeps at room temp for a long time, so I always make multiple cans when I do it. While the pressure cooker method might be faster, I highly recommend the stove top method, it yields a much creamier end product. Here’s a great tutorial on how to make it yourself.