Jamie and I are in the middle of getting ready to move.  In preparing our kitchen, and my precious cookbook collection, I left out only a few cookbooks and packed away the rest.  What that means, is in the next few weeks be prepared for a spike in recipes from Make it Paleo appearing on Ruby Reduction 🙂

So, I was craving something sweet, and I went through all the bookmarks that I had placed in Make it Paleo to look for a scrumptious dessert treat.  I will say I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of dessert recipes that can be made Paleo or Primal.  There are over 30 different dessert recipes in this cookbook alone!

As I was browsing through the dessert pages, the coconut macaroons caught my attention.  With only four ingredients (egg whites, coconut, vanilla bean and maple syrup), I figured these would be easy and quick to make.  Let’s face it, when a person wants something sweet, they want it now, not three hours from now!

I gathered up the ingredients, and re-read the recipe to ensure that I didn’t have to refrigerate the dough for a few hours before I went forward with making up this cookie. 🙂  As I started to make this cookie, it dawned on me that I have never made macaroons before!  I know!   These are so easy; I am surprised they weren’t one of the first desserts that I ever learned to make.

After whipping up the egg whites into stiff peaks (it is amazing how a liquid egg white can be incorporated with enough air to make it defy gravity), I added in the coconut, vanilla bean and maple syrup.  I had to look at the recipe twice, as it called for ½ a cup of maple syrup for only six egg whites.  You know that these are going to be a sweet cookie.

When I added all the ingredients together, it created quite a mountain of batter.  I was surprised that the recipe indicates that this would make only a dozen macaroons, I used my handy-dandy cookie scoop and got about thirty bite-sized treats out of this recipe.

So, you are waiting for the verdict…

These are pretty good.  You can definitely taste the coconut and they have the perfect macaroon consistency.  The vanilla bean adds a subtle richness to this coconut delight.  The maple syrup is almost overpowering in this cookie.  In fact (and you will be surprised to hear me say this) it is a bit too maple-y.  I actually thought that this cookie was too sweet. Of course, I have an idea for next time; omit the maple syrup, add in lemon zest and squeeze fresh lemon juice on them when they come out of the oven.  Just picture it now, little lemon-coconut clouds of heaven.

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Courtesy of:
Make it Paleo – Bill Staley & Hayley Mason

Ingredients:

• 1 vanilla bean pod
• 6 egg whites
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• 3 cups unsweetened coconut, shredded

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F.
2. Slice open vanilla bean pod from end to end.  Pressing the bean pod flat against a cutting board, splayed open, run a knife from end to end, scraping out the vanilla beans.
3. Place egg whites in a kitchen mixer and beat until stiff peaks form.
4. Fold in the maple syrup, shredded coconut and vanilla beans.
5. Form into one-inch balls, and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the edges get crispy and golden.
7. Bet you won’t stop till they are all gone! ;