Night Baking

http://nightbaking.blogspot.com/2010/12/chocolate-dipped-coconut-macaroons.html

Chocolate-Dipped Coconut Macaroons

2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk or Coco Real Cream of Coconut

1 large egg white

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut (or unsweetened coconut flakes, shredded)

10 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped (optional - for dipping)

Preheat the oven to 325F. Line cookie sheets with a silpat or parchment paper.

In a large bowl, stir together the condensed milk/Coco Real, egg white, vanilla, and salt, and then stir in the shredded coconut until well blended.

Drop by tablespoonfuls about two inches apart on the cookie sheets. Most macaroons are drop cookies shaped like rough haystacks. For these, use dampened fingers to press the cookies lightly into a pyramid shape.

Bake, one sheet at a time, until the cookies are light golden brown, about 15-20 minutes. Cool the cookies on the sheet for about two minutes, and then remove them to a baking rack to cool completely.

If you want to dip the cookies, melt 8 ounces of the chocolate in a double boiler over low heat. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining 2 ounces of chopped chocolate. It will melt and become smooth. (If you're only dipping some of your cookies - and a mix would look very nice - you can halve the amount of chocolate.) Holding a cookie by the pointy top, dip it in so the bottom and about 1/2" of the sides are covered. Gently shake or scrape off excess chocolate, and place the dipped cookie on a parchment-lined (cool!) baking sheet to set up. The chocolate will set up by itself, but placing the cookie sheet in the fridge for about 15 minutes helps the process along much more quickly. You can store the macaroons in a container at room temperature once they are set.