Shockingly Quick Macaroons

Without the chocolate, these are shockingly quick and easy (20ish minutes including prep). They are still easy with the chocolate, but just not as quick. You have to wait for the chocolate to set. I would NEVER make these without the chocolate however. They are nowhere near as good without the chocolate. The original recipe called for semi sweet chocolate. I highly recommend very dark chocolate. It is the prefect pairing with the sweet chewy cookie. The cookie is like a mounds bar, but the coconut is toasted (bonus). The recipe also called for a half dipped cookie. I hate wasting leftover dipping chocolate. (It wouldn't actually got to waste. I'd sit down and eat it all with a spoon) So, in order to use chocolate more efficiently, I only dipped the bottoms. When I was nearly out of chocolate, I spread the remaining melted chocolate on the final cookies with a knife. This recipe is from Cooks Illustrated The Quick Recipe.

Shockingly Quick Macaroons
yield 10 cookies
Can be doubled

INGREDIENTS
1 large egg white
1/3 c sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 1/4 c coconut
2 T cornstarch
4 oz semi sweet chocolate chips or most of a Hershey's 60% dark chocolate bar.


1. Adjust oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly spray the parchment with a nonstick cooking spray.
2. Whisk together the egg white, sugar, and salt in a small bowl. Toss the coconut with the cornstarch in a medium bowl. Be sure to coat the coconut thoroughly. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix with a rubber spatula until evenly moistened.
3. Drop heaping tablespoons of batter onto the parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing about 1 inch apart.
4. Bake until light golden brown, 12-14 minutes, rotating the baking sheet from front to back halfway through the cooking time. Cool the macaroons on the baking sheet 2 minutes. Us a spatula to transfer the macaroons onto a cooling rack. Cool 10 minutes. You can stop here if you wish.
5. The original recipe says to melt 3/4 semi sweet chocolate in a microwave on half power. Start at 1 1/2 minutes, stir, and add 30 seconds at a time as needed. Add the remaining chocolate and stir until smooth. Dip the macaroons halfway into the chocolate mixture. Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Place the cookie sheet in the refrigerator until the chocolate is set.
I melted the dark chocolate in the microwave in a ramekin barely bigger then the cookies. I dipped and twisted only the bottoms of the cookies. Then I placed them on a parchment lined cookie sheet and put them in the fridge.