My internet access wasn’t working for many days which will explain my tardiness with a blog relating to Passover. I’ll go with “better late than never” for this posting since I’m still munching on macaroons and matzah candy which conjure pleasant memories of my times making them with friends. The flaky, golden mini chip accented coconut clusters were made as they as always are with Jackie. This time we decided to go easy and made less than our usual massive amount. I was lazy that day, handling the mixing of the ingredients while Jackie stiffly beat the egg whites and then folded them gently into the coconut. Her house was infused with the delicious aroma of coconut, which kept the kids running in and out of the yard with curiosity and for tastes.
My second Passover sweet was made with Suzy, sans kids. And as we were stirring the sugar and butter to make our caramel, we joked about how last time Suzy’s matzah crunch was a flop last year! She brought the simple recipe with her this time, making sure that she’d get it right. She carefully tended her caramel and kept a close watch on her baking matzah, spreading the chocolate to a glossy finish just perfectly. But a matzah crunch making date would simply not be complete without someone messing up and this time it was me! A few days later, my daughter Sofia pointed out the burnt taste to mine and I had to toss it in the garbage and start all over again! Honestly I’d rather it had been mine than a friend.
But as we always do, we laughed, talked and had fun over roasting coconut, melting chocolate, and caramelized butter and sugar. And as always, the enjoyment to my holiday started many days before Passover. When my family nibbled on the macaroons a few days later, I smiled and thought of a pleasurable time spent with Jackie. And when dessert was served at Suzy’s where I was a guest, I felt a part of the meal since we had made the sweet end together.
If you’re looking for a simple, sugary and sinfully good dessert for Easter, make some macaroons! And drizzle them with chocolate for the perfect finish.
Chocolate Drizzled Macaroons
8 ounces sweetened angel flake coconut
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 stiffly beaten egg white
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup mini chocolate chips
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate for drizzling
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix coconut, vanilla extract, salt and condensed milk together in a mixing bowl. Beat egg white until stiff. Fold the egg white into the coconut. Add the mini chips and mix carefully. Form the coconut mixture into mounds and place one inch a part onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in the oven until golden for approximately 12- 14 minutes. Remove the macaroons carefully using a small spatula and allow to cool on a rack.
Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave for 90 seconds in 30 second intervals until melted. Stir after each 30 seconds. Drizzle melted chocolate over the macaroons using a small spoon. You can also place the chocolate in a small zip loc bag and cut a small hole in one of the corners. Use as you would an icing bag to squeeze zig zags onto the cookies.