Coconut Macaroons with Chocolate Drizzle

Today for some reason I feel very poetic so there you go...

You are my passion, 

My joy,

You are the inspiration

That motivates me against my fears

You are my strength

My courage

You are a facet

That defines me

You are my pleasure

My amusement

You are the desire

That inspires me to be better

You are my unknown

My anxiety

You are the riddle

That makes me prove myself 

and yes - This is what blogging means to me!!

Now coming back to the Coconut Macaroons which are not only easy to make but are seriously scrumptious and addictive. My family and I just cannot seem to stop at a couple or two! If you a fan of the Bounty bars you would definitely love this.

This is also by far my daughters favorite cookie until now. She also frequently requests me to make these Lamingtons so I guess she loves the the chocolate-coconut combination, seemingly inherited from her parents.

Yields: 2 dozen (24) Macaroons
Recipe adapted from here and here

Ingredients
4 - Egg whites, at room temperature
1 Cup - Sugar
1/4 teaspoon - Salt
1 teaspoon - Pure vanilla extract
1/2 Cup - All purpose flour, sifted
1 Tablespoon - Corn starch
3 cups - Desiccated coconut, shredded or flaked (Unsweetened) *Refer Notes

Chocolate drizzle
1/4 Cup - Chocolate Morsels
1/2 Tsp - Coconut oil or Butter

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Spread the coconut on the baking sheet and toast for about 5 minutes, or until just barely starting to show some color. Let cool slightly before using.
• Whisk together the egg whites, sugar, and salt until the mixture is creamy.
• Stir in the vanilla extract, flour, corn starch and coconut and mix.
• Cover and refrigerate for about two hours, or until firm.
• Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil and place small balls of the batter (about tablespoons) on the baking sheet
• Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. 
• Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack 
• While the macaroons are cooling, take a microwave safe bowl and add chocolate morsels and coconut oil.
• Microwave on high for 1-2 minute or just until the chocolate starts melting. 
• Whisk the chocolate mixture to avoid lumps 
• Take a teaspoons of melted chocolate and drizzle it over the cooled Macaroons.

Notes and Tips

• Toasting the coconuts brings out a deeper richer coconut flavor. Highly recommend not to skip this step
• You can skip the chocolate drizzle but again - I highly recommend it :)
• Leave at least 1.5 inches between each cookie before baking as they tend to grow bigger as they bake
• You can make these with fresh coconut too.Just toast them a little more than mentioned in the recipe