Coconut Macaroons

There is a wonderful bakery in a small town called McMinnville, Oregon near my town and they make the best coconut macaroons I have ever had. I have searched and tried many a macaroon recipe trying to duplicate this cookie to no avail, until today.

I have found a recipe and unfortunately I don't know the source. I read it months ago and took screenshots of the recipe where it has been sitting on my phone. I decided to give it a whirl today and it is a perfect macaroon.  Loaded with coconut, sweet, gooey in the middle, crunchy around the edges....just delightful. The other positive thing is that it is an easy recipe to make with no need for getting out the mixer. 

Coconut Macaroons

4 egg whites
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp honey
1/4 tsp salt
Mix together in medium saucepan over low until tepid. Do not overheat.

Add:
1/4 cup flour
1 cup toasted coconut
1 1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 tsp vanilla

Heat over medium heat stirring constantly until mixture resembles thick mashed potatoes.

Put mixture in bowl and cool to room temperature.

Preheat oven to 350 deg.

Place mixture in 1/8 cup mounds on parchment lined baking sheet.

Cook for 18-20 minutes until golden brown.  Cool on rack.

Pan de Cristal (Glass Bread)

 

With a rainy Monday and no plans, I decided to try my hand at a recipe that looked intriguing from King Arthur's Baking website. I get a weekly newsletter from this excellent company and have always found them well tested with plenty of helpful hints to achieve success.

This was last weeks King Arthur's Recipe of the Week and the pictures posted of this bread looked so delicious. A dark crust, just how we like it at our house and an extremely porous looking texture. Here's the thing; it takes a minimum of six hours to make so it's not something to tackle if you're not dedicated to running in and out of the kitchen all day.

I started by printing out the recipe and it was FIVE pages long. A bit intimidating and I thought  "What have I gotten myself into?" I read and reread the recipe a few times and then pulled up my sleeves and got started. Initially, when I got the ingredients (bread flour, salt, yeast, and water) it was so loose it was almost like waffle batter. That, apparently, is the secret to making the phenomenally crackly crust. 

Well, throughout the day as I went in every 20 minutes to twist and fold this dough, it turned very manageable and when it was time to bake, it had nice fat bubbles erupting on the surface . It makes four small loaves, approximately 5" x 7" and it can be reheated in the oven to refresh the crispness.  

The Husband and I cut into and tasted the first loaf still hot from the oven because who can wait and I can honestly say it was the best bread I have ever tasted. Seriously delicious.   Here is the link to the recipe if you're looking to challenge your bread making skills, https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/pan-de-cristal-recipe