Goodbye vacation and hello Coconut Macaroons

My kids had three weeks off for Christmas.  I love our three weeks off.  We slept in, baked a lot, threw a party, went to the movies, played with legos, watched lots of Christmas movies, and went to Target way too many times!  But, Monday came and I got out of bed (before 8:00) and we very slowly made it out the door.  We were welcomed back to school with a downpour.  No joke!  As soon as we got to school the rain started and so we enjoyed our rainy walk to the kids lines. Thankfully we keep an umbrella in the trunk for such occasions (note: it's kind of a miracle that it was there since it hardly rains anymore. . . until lately!).  I managed to make it back to my car without getting completely soaked and headed to the nearest Starbucks to start my celebration.  Not only did the day scream hot caffeinated beverage but so did the weather.  I celebrated by running all those errands that are harder to do with two boys in my tow (Ulta, DSW, etc.).  I even headed to Panera for lunch and a good book!

Now, we are nearing the end of the week and I am ready for the weekend!  Everyone is exhausted around here and sleeping in sounds so delightful!  You know what else is delightful?  These cookies. 

This year, I was on the hunt for an amazing coconut macaroon recipe.  I found one just before Christmas by Ina Garten and I couldn't resist adding them to my Christmas baking plans.  I have a thing for coconut and chocolate combinations.  Almond Joy Bars and Theo's coconut bar are some of my favorite candies.  And really, it was by Ina Garten. . . she's like a goddess in the kitchen, so what could go wrong?

My first batch was great, but it wasn't perfect.  I used my cookies scoop and they came out HUGE and took longer to bake.  They may not have looks as pretty as my second batch, but they received rave reviews and didn't take long to be eaten by everybody.  So when I was thinking of what treats I was going to make for our annual post Christmas party for Jon's work peeps, I knew that a second go at these would be perfect!  I made a few adjustments from what I did to the first batch and they came out perfect.  A friend of mine, willingly became my taste tester for these since my sweet husband doesn't like coconut, and sent me a text telling me they were "to die for."  Completely made my day!

On your next trip to Target, pick up some coconut and sweetened condensed milk and you can easily make these in just a few minutes (plus baking time).  You won't regret it. . . unless you don't like coconut, but for now, we will just pretend everyone likes those white flakey shreds!

Coconut Macaroons
adapted from Ina Garten

Ingredients:
14 oz. shredded sweetened coconut
14 oz sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 extra large egg whites (I used 2 egg whites plus about 1/2 of another egg's whites)
1/4 tsp kosher salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Line baking sheet with parchment paper. 

Combine coconut, sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla in a large bowl.  Set it aside.  On high speed, whip the egg whites and salt with whisk attachment*.  Whisk for several minutes until medium firm peaks (beautiful white peaks will be foamy and stand up when you lift the whisk).  Once, you have reached medium-firm peaks, fold gently into coconut mixture.

Using a spoon, carefully drop spoonfuls of mixture onto baking sheet.  Bake for 24 minutes, or until golden brown.  Cool and serve or dip bottoms into melted chocolate**.

* If you are unsure about what medium-firm peaks look like, Ina even has a video that shows what her peaks looked like.

** Melt chocolate bark or 1 cup of dark chocolate chips + 1 tsp coconut oil.  Dip bottoms carefully into melted chocolate and set on wax paper or parchment paper until cool.  Drizzle tops with chocolate.