Blackberry or Raspberry Coconut Macaroons - dairy free & gluten free

I'm sorry, people. I've been hiding these from you for a year. These, being these yummy, pretty, dairy and wheat free macaroons. Heck, I have more to apologize for if you consider the berries (chock full of antioxidents!), the egg whites (the only fat comes from the coconut!), and the ease of making these mini morsels (they took only two short commercial breaks to make!). To be fair, it took another couple to scoop them, but, still, you have my deepest apologies.

I've made these with both raspberries and with blackberries, and they're both winners. I think strawberries, huckleberries, marrionberries, or maybe even blueberries would work. So not only can you pick your favorite, you can further color coordinate your next party.

This week at work, we've been making macaroons and almond horns like crazy, and the cake decorators have been creating bunny cakes and cupcakes. The convergence of two really important religious holidays during the same week makes for nonstop mixing and baking as we try to please everyone's palate. This weekend, for so many of you, will be filled with family, and meals with those families. Perhaps you need to bring some sort of offering? Purple cookies are sure to grab some attention away from your boyfriend you didn't really want to introduce yet (if at all?), annoying questions about why you chose (insert: That Awful Thing) for your upcoming wedding, nosey questions about your sex life (i.e. why aren't you pregnant yet?), or any other subject you'd really like to avoid. Just a thought. (You're welcome. I'm here to help.)

I know that Passover has extra-special dietary restrictions, and I don't promise to be an expert on what is Passover-friendly and what is not, but besides these pretty mini cookies, I especially recommend Brown Sugar Meringues among my gluten free offerings.


Blackberry or Raspberry Coconut Macaroons - dairy free & gluten free
adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Make sure you pick up sweetened coconut from the store. If you use unsweetened, you'll have to add a lot more sugar; please refer back to Deb's original recipe for more information about that. Handily, bags of coconut happen to be 14 ounces (at least here in the states), so you won't have to worry about measuring. Next: I can only imagine how yummy these would be dipped in or drizzled with chocolate. In fact, I'm imagining it so well, I think I'll go take care of that now. Finally, these freeze well (dip in chocolate after they've thawed), should you need to make them ahead of time or should you happen to make 60 coconut cookies even though your spouse doesn't like coconut. ahem. 

Yield: 50-60 mini macaroon cookies

14 ounces (400 grams) sweetened, flaked coconut
2/3 cup (130 grams) granulated sugar
3 egg whites (from large eggs)
Heaped 1/4 teaspoon flaked sea salt or level 1/4 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 pint (6 ounces, 170 grams or 1 1/4 cups) fresh blackberries or raspberries (if washed, patted very dry)

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a food processor, blend the coconut for a minute. Add sugar, blend another minute. Add egg whites, salt and almond extract and blend for another minute. Add berries and pulse machine on and off in short bursts until they are largely, but not fully, broken down (somewhere in the 10-15 pulses range). Some visible flecks of berry here and there are great- they had little bursts of flavor when you bite down on the finished product. When you open the machine, you’ll see some parts of the batter that are still fully white while others are fully berry-colored. Resist stirring them together. No, really, resist. Trust me on this one. Proof.

With a tablespoon measure or cookie scoop, scoop batter into 1-inch mounds. You can arrange the cookies fairly close together as they don’t spread, just puff a little. Scooping a little of the purple batter and a little of the white batter into the same cookie makes them look extra marble-y and pretty.

Bake cookies for 25 to 30 minutes, until they look a little toasted on top. Let them rest on the tray for 10 minutes after baking (or you can let them fully cool in place, if you’re not in a rush to use the tray again), as they’ll be hard to move right out of the oven. They’ll firm up as they cool, but still remain softer and less dry inside than traditional macaroons.