Spiked Coconut Macaroons

Pi/Pie Day has come and gone, along with a half dozen birthdays, the ever popular St. Patrick's day, and at least a half dozen other food related, little known holidays, and yet this site has stayed quiet. Believe me, I enthusiastically participated in all of them. There were pies made when pies were called for, cakes and cupcakes made for all the March birthdays, cookies when no theme was given, and tarts when I had free reign. In fact, there was so much late night baking that there were almost no pictures to serve as proof for all this activity, not to mention absolutely zero energy or brain capacity to do any sort of a write-up. But I must get back on track, and I'm going to start with these:



These are spiked coconut macaroons that I had made for St. Patrick's day for work and squirreled a handful for myself for later. Luckily, these get better after they sit for a day or two, though not after a week, then the bell curve of their goodness begins to plunge once more.



They come together faster then anything you can imagine, they're way less fussy than macarons, their very very very distant cousins, and with a splash of booze and a few drops of green make perfect little treats to celebrate St. Pats. Because, you know, making nothing for a holiday would be a travesty of epic proportions. Though there's also nothing stopping you from just leaving them white, or adding lime juice in place of the booze, or standing on your head when you eat them (or, ahem, talking about them a week after the holiday has passed). Really, get as crazy as you like, they wont mind one bit.



Spiked Coconut Macaroons

2 14 oz bags sweetened coconut flakes
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
2 Tbsp sour cream
2 Tbsp Irish Cream or Frangelico (or heavy cream if you don't want booze)
1 Tbsp Vanilla
A few drops of food coloring if you want

- Preheat the oven to 325F.
- Combine all the ingredients in a stand mixer bowl and give it a quick stir with a spoon, otherwise when you turn the machine on all the coconut will fly out and hit you in the eye. I'd like to prevent casualties whenever possible.
- Mix for a few seconds in the mixer using the paddle attachment, just until everything is evenly distributed. Scoop onto a baking sheet. You can make these into any size you want. I wanted them smaller so mine are about the size of ping pong balls, but there's nothing stopping you from making tennis ball sized macaroons. Well, unless you fear your dentist (these babies are sweet).
- Bake for about 15-20 minutes, depending on the macaroon size, or until the bottoms and just the tips of the top are very light golden color. Don't worry if they still seem soft, let them cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes and they'll firm right up.
- Dip in chocolate if you like or enjoy au naturel.