An ongoing tradition at Easter time in my family is sitting down with an afternoon coffee and taste testing a range of home-made biscuits. Each year there will be the regular classics my family makes along with a collection received from friends and family after sharing a plate of their latest batch to others. To supplement this variety, I too bring along a plate of my own.
One of the biscuits I tried this Easter which by the way go well with chocolate Easter eggs, are these chocolate coconut macaroons. It’s from a recipe I found here, and adapted to suit the ingredients I had available. They’re a really light and delicate treat with a crisp outer and chewy centre. You’ll also notice they’re gluten-free.
Ingredients:
2 eggs whites (58gm eggs)
½ cup fine caster sugar
50gm dark eating chocolate (45% cocoa solids)
1 ½ cups shredded coconut
½ cup almond meal (fine ground almonds)
50gm dark chocolate melts
- Line 3 baking trays with baking paper (40x30cm).
- Preheat your oven to 150°C or 130°C fan forced.
- In a large bowl grate the dark eating chocolate.
- Then add the shredded coconut and almond meal and mix until well combined.
- Separate your egg whites from the yolks. (After I separate one egg, I transfer the egg white mixture to the bowl I’m going to beat it in. I do this in case the next egg doesn’t separate well and then it’s just one egg white that goes to the bin).
- Beat the eggs whites until stiff peaks form. You can check this by lifting the beater and seeing if your eggs white hold a peak shape.
- Add the fine caster sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, beating thoroughly between spoonfuls. This helps the sugar dissolve.
- This may take about 5 minutes and you’ll notice the mixture becomes thick and glossy looking.
- Using a large metal spoon, fold in the coconut mixture into the egg whites/meringue until combined. Careful not to over mix this.
- Using a teaspoon, scoop up a heaped spoonful of mixture and use another teaspoon to scrape it carefully on to the baking tray. Try and keep the scoops of mixture the same size so they all bake evenly.
- Leave some room between each macaroon for spreading and even baking.
- Bake one tray at a time for 15 minutes. The macaroons will be firm to touch and a very pale colour.
- Cool completely on the trays.
- When cool to touch, carefully place all macaroons side by side on one tray.
- Place a small bowl over a pan of simmering hot water. Make sure the bottom of your bowl doesn’t touch the water underneath.
- Add the dark chocolate melts to the bowl and stir with a metal spoon until melted.
- Use the spoon to drizzle the melted chocolate lightly over the biscuits in one direction.
- Allow the chocolate to set.
- Store the biscuits in an airtight container and enjoy over the next few days.
I made a total of 35 macaroons. Enjoy!
My measurements are based on Australian metric standards. Please see my Measurements page for a guide on the conversions for other countries.
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