April | 2012 | Evie's Gardens

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Archive for April, 2012

Lime in the Coconut Macaroons

I needed a dessert. I needed one that would be worthy of finishing a meal of mouth-watering BBQ ribs with all the fixings. The finishing touch to an evening with great friends, good food, and a good movie.

To be truthful, nix the good movie. I crashed after eating so many of these. (Can’t help it, there was chocolate, coconut, lime, and pecans!)

What more can I say?

Other than, yes, we have lime in the coconut… macaroons!

Every since I opened that bottle of lime juice, it has stayed… quietly for a while, and then there it was again… louder and louder… you put the lime in the coconut

It’s the song from that movie in my head and it won’t go away. I can’t remember the title. (Someone help me out here!)

Okay, now it’s jumping around in your head, isn’t it?

So are you dancing around the kitchen table?

It’s okay, I won’t tell!

Well, I did. Dance around the kitchen, that is. (You put the lime in the coconut!) See, I told you. Can’t get it out of my mind. (Sorry! 🙂

Okay, I will try to stay focused and give you this recipe for umm, umm good cookies!

Seriously! 🙂

Starting from a basic macaroon recipe, I changed and added ingredients, changed measurement amounts, and tried another flavor.

Yep, that’s right, I put the lime in the coconut… macaroon, that is. They’re a bit on the nutty side and then so am I!

Here’s the cookie recipe. Hope you enjoy it.

Lime in the Coconut Macaroons

2 1/2 cups flour (all-purpose)
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

2/3 cups butter, softened
6 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 egg yolks
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 tablespoons lime juice

5 1/3 cups sweetened flaked coconut
2 2/3 cups sweetened flaked coconut (This is not a typo… get one large bag and a smaller bag, the smaller one is for rolling the macaroons.)
2/3 cup pecan pieces (the crushed little chips are great for this!)
1 bag Hershey Kisses (48 pieces)

In a medium bowl, mix the first four ingredients. Set aside.

Meanwhile, mix the butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, lime juice, and vanilla. Beat by hand until smooth. (At room temperature you can easily mix the butter and cream cheese without messing up the mixer!)
Mix flour, one cup at a time, in to the butter mixture. Add 5 1/3 cups flaked coconut and the pecan pieces. Stir to combine.

This is what it looks like after it is all mixed together. Now refrigerate the dough for 1 hour.

So what are you going to do with that hour? First of all, unwrap those Kisses and place them close by the cookie sheet! Protect those little babies from all chocolate lovers in the home or you won’t have enough for these scrumptious cookies! Now go play on Pinterest for a while!

Preheat oven to 350. (DO NOT GREASE PAN!)
Scoop dough into about 1 inch to 1.5″ balls (about the size of a medium to large walnut.) Shape into balls, then roll in the remaining coconut (2 and 2/3 cups).

Press one Kiss into each cookie. I used this utensil to flatten the cookie for the Kiss placement.
Arrange on baking sheet at least an inch apart (cookies will spread a bit).
Bake 10-12 minutes, until the cookies are very lightly browned. (Oven temperatures vary. Watch your first batch closely!)

You can also wait until the macaroons are just about done, then add the Kiss, and return to oven for one minute. This way the Kiss will just be melted, not baked. Either way, it is good!
Remove pan from oven. Move cookies to a rack to cool.
Makes about 4 dozen cookies.
Note to self: Hide from hubby or there won’t be any left for later.