Holiday Almanac December 24: Battle of the Macaroons
/For more information on the Holiday Almanac, go here. Or to see what I've been up to on past Holiday Almanac days, check out this page.
Today's task is to make macaroons (from macaroon mix, which evidently was a thing in the 1950s), and since I had two macaroon recipes to make from the box, I'm here with another recipe battle. (Previous recipe battle, for Apple Crisps, is here).
Anyway, I'm pretty meh on macaroons (macarons, on the other hand-- the French almond-based cookies-- are my very favourite dessert), but I was excited to try making them myself because I figured they'd probably be far better homemade than storebought, and I was right.
The simpler, three-ingredient macaroons ended up being far easier to make than the more complex 'Cornflake Macaroons,' but the overall flavour of each was pretty solid. Either way, I'm still on the fence about macaroons overall, but these definitely moved me from 'actively against' to 'tasty if homemade,' which is progress.
The verdict:
Macaroon 1: Super-easy, three-ingredient macaroons.
3 spoons out of five. They were insanely easy and definitely moister and tastier than I was anticipating, but overall they still lacked anything really interesting to set them apart as a dessert, and I was glad that each one was only the size of a truffle.
Macaroon 2: Crunchy, Complicated macaroons.
3 spoons out of five. These ones, although tastier and more interesting than the simpler versions, didn't hold together at all in the way they were supposed to be made, but I added a glug of condensed milk and that helped hold them together long enough to get them fully baked. Once they were cooked, they were super tasty, but putting a bowl of cornflakes into a mixer is probably not a great idea, and having to add extra ingredients at the last minute was not my favourite either.
The recipe:
Super-Easy, Three-Ingredient Macaroons
the directions:
Preheat oven to 175C/350F and grease a cookie sheet.
Combine all ingredients and mix well.
Drop by teaspoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheet 1 inch apart.
Bake 8-10 minutes until light brown.
Remove from pan immediately and place on a cooling rack.
Makes 24 cookies.
the ingredients:
½ c condensed milk
2 c flaked or shredded coconut
1 tsp vanilla
the recipe:
Crunchy, Complicated Macaroons
the directions:
Preheat oven to 190C/375F and grease a cookie sheet.
Beat egg whites until stiff and dry.
Fold in sugar slowly.
Add vanilla, coconut, cornflakes, and pecans, stirring well.
Add condensed milk gradually, stopping as soon as mix comes together and appears to stick together.
Drop by teaspoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheet.
Bake 8-10 minutes until light brown.
Makes 3 dozen cookies
the ingredients:
2 egg whites
1 c sugar
½ tsp vanilla
1 c coconut
2 c cornflakes
½ c pecans, chopped
¼ c condensed milk