Eggless Coconut Macaroons

    

Wish You A Very happy New Year! Having left behind a wonderful and memorable 2010, hoping to have an even better 2011.

School reopens today after the Christmas break and I am one of those relieved and wickedly happy Moms to be seeing the kids off to school. Even if it means missing the luxury of snuggling cozily into the blanket and waking up late at 7.30 as compared to my otherwise earlier start at 5.30. Sigh!! I know, I always sound like Cinderella's step-mom when I talk like this, but sleeping in late is a luxury I would gladly forgo, compared to having four and half hours of peace and having my home all to myself. So when the world has weekend blues, I guess I am one of those people who would happily welcome a Monday morning anytime:-). Yes, I am done with cooking, cleaning and my walk by 8.30 so that the rest of my morning can be spent on baking and work. Counting my blessings, I am one of those lucky few, who have the luxury of working from home and also have enough scope to fuel my passion for baking.

On this positive note, here's a sweet beginning on Cakes And More with some Eggless Coconut Macaroons I baked yesterday. These are extremely easy and quick to make and taste delicious! You hardly need any time to put these together and you can sink your teeth into these sweet things, which are crispy on the outside and chewy inside.

Just a few of things go in here.

Ingredients: 

Fine Dessicated Coconut, unsweetened - 3/4 Cup ( see note below)

Condensed Milk, sweetened - 1/4 Cup

Baking Powder - 1/8 teaspoon

Baking Soda - 1/8 teaspoon

Vanilla Essence - 1/4 teaspoon

Procedure: Pre- heat oven to 180 degrees C / 350 degrees F. Lightly grease your baking sheet. In a bowl, mix well the dessicated coconut, baking powder and baking soda. Stir in the condensed milk and vanilla essence. Mix well to form a firm dough. And resist the temptation to eat the dough as its quite tasty and you may end up with just 8 macaroons instead of 9:-). 

Divide the dough into8-9 small portions and roll each portion into a small ball. Place them on the baking sheet spaced 3-4 cms apart. Bake for 14-15 minutes or till the macaroons turn light brown underneath and golden brown on top. Remove from the oven, let the macaroons cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes. Cool completely and if any are left, store in an air tight container.

Please Note: You can double the recipe to make more. Don't increase the quantity of condensed milk or decrease the quantity of dessicated coconut as the macaroons will not turn out crisp. The dough must be firm. Even if there is a wee bit (remember-just a wee bit) more condensed milk or wee bit less coconut, the macaroons may flatten out while baking. And then you will have yummy cookies on hand, so no worry. This recipe accommodates taste very well.

I have used fine dessicated coconut here and not the long coconut flakes. The macaroons were just about sweet and I have added no extra sugar.

For crunchier macaroons try baking at 175 degrees C. 

However you bake these, even if you don't get them perfect in texture, you will not be disappointed with the taste. So, go ahead and try them out, you will enjoy these for sure.

These macaroons go to my Blog Anniversary Event . You have time till 8th January  to send me your entries to get a chance to win a copy of The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum!! So hurry!!

These macaroons also go to Champa's Bake -Off.