IS IT ME, or do you too conjure up goofy images when you think of coconuts? Gilligan’s Island? Coconut shell bikini tops? Tropical drinks with straws on the half shell? Coconuts falling from a tree and bouncing off Curly’s head from a Three Stooges skit? Tropical=casual=fun. Although the coconut has a laid back attitude-who is going to take it seriously when you need a mallet and lots of determination just to get at it’s exotic, sweet flesh?!- it does have some amazing nutritional and beneficial properties. It’s value is overlooked in our newly marketed dietary guidelines, but you may want to think twice before assuming it’s not healthy. I poked around a bit just to get reacquainted with what I had learned as a young consumer growing up in Hawaii.

Organic Facts website declares:

The health benefits of coconut oil include hair care, skin care, stress relief, maintaining cholesterol levels, weight loss, increased immunity, proper digestion and metabolism, relief from kidney problems, heart diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes, HIV and cancer, dental care, and bone strength. Coconut oil is often preferred by athletes and body builders and by those who are dieting. The reason behind this being that coconut oil contains lesser calories than other oils, its fat content is easily converted into energy and it does not lead to accumulation of fat in the heart and arteries. Coconut oil helps in boosting energy and endurance, and enhances the performance of athletes.

For those of you who love coconut regardless and want to enjoy it in close to pure form, try it in a macaroon. I remember making this cookie long ago using only shredded coconut, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla. This macaroon is more confection than cookie, really. So, recently, I experimented with bringing more variety of texture and more flavor to the macaroon and tried to keep it still pure but simple. No egg whites folded in and no flour to stretch the batter. I used three different kinds of coconut and toasted two of them before mixing them with the sweetened condensed milk. The flavor is more intense and the texture more dense and chewy. You may also try dipping some of the macaroons in bittersweet chocolate as the picture above shows. Those didn’t last long in my kitchen.

Coconut Macaroons

Turn the oven on to 350, sprinkle unsweetened coconut (both) onto a parchment lined baking sheet and toast in the warming oven until light golden in color. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix the sweetened coconut with the condensed milk and vanilla. Add the toasted coconut to the bowl and mix evenly. Using your fingers, grab a tablespoonful of the mixture and make a mound on the parchment. You can place the mixture somewhat close together as they really don’t spread that much. I have found that if your fingers are dampened with water, the mixture doesn’t stick.

Bake the macaroons for 20-30 minutes depending on how toasted you like them. I prefer to have them crunchy on the outside and softer in the middle-this takes about 25-30 minutes. Let cool on the sheet pan about 15 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely before storing. They will harden as they cool.

Keep in mind that once these are stored in an air tight container, they do soften up. You can refresh their exterior crunch by popping them into a toaster oven for a few minutes first, then let them cool. Yum!

This entry was posted on Friday, March 6th, 2009 at 6:31 pm and is filed under Coconut Macaroons. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.