Blueberry Coconut Macaroons

September 10, 2014

blueberry coconut macaroons | une gamine dans la cuisine

"Bid the last fruits to be full;
give them another two southerly days,
press them to ripeness, and chase
the last sweetness into heavy wine."  

                                           ~ Rainer Maria Rilke, Autumn Day (translated by Galway Kinnell)                    

September, my birth month. Growing up I unfairly wove September into the obscure first-day-of-school ambiance. It carried the scent of pencil shavings and new plastic binders - it felt awkward; an uncomfortable silence, punctuated by the scrapping of chairs on shiny linoleum floors. Now that I've outgrown itchy plaid uniform skirts and falling knee socks, I'm in love with September. It's mercurial and temperamental, but, when in a benevolent mood, September is a magnificent host of two seasons.

I take comfort in the little berries of blue that make peppered appearances at the market, and I'm hesitantly thrilled to see figs, pears and plums. (If the day is lucky, I can still get my eager hands on a few pints of raspberries.) Originally I was going for raspberry macaroons but I've been daydreaming of the ocean with its foaming waves and autumnal shades of Odysseus blue. I wanted something sweet and marbled with deep purple...Penelope's unanswered love letter in the form of coconut and blueberries.

I adore coconut. This recipe shall be made often, with various fruit. If you're not a fan of coconut, I honestly believe you will enjoy these not-too-sweet macaroons (berries + almond extract take a sensuous bite out of coconut's sweet tooth). The "cookies" are tender and, quite literally, gushing with crushed blueberries. Even my mom, who cannot stand the sweet, white flakes, could not stop herself from enjoying these whimsical macaroons. xo

blueberry coconut macaroons | une gamine dans la cuisine

blueberry coconut macaroons
makes about 30-35 cookies

ingredients
14 ounces (usually one bag) sweetened coconut
2/3 cup granulated sugar
3 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
170 g (about 1 1/4 cups) fresh berries of blue

method
Preheat oven to 325 F. Line baking sheets with parchment.

In the bowl of a large food processor, blend the coconut for about one minute. {Note: if your food processor is finicky, like mine, stop half way through blending and use a spoon to scrape the bottom. Mind the blade!) Add sugar and blend for another minute. Add the egg whites, salt & almond and continue to blend for another magic minute.

Add blueberries and pulse in quick, tiny bursts - just until the berries are semi-combined with coconut mixture. Don't over-blend or the cookies will lose their colourful blue + white appearance.

If the dough feels too moist to handle, cover and refrigerate for about 30 minutes. Use a tablespoon to measure out 1-inch mounds of dough. Place on prepared sheets.

Bake 25-30 minutes, or until coconut turns light golden brown. {Note: mine took about 45 minutes, but my oven is a spaz.) Remove sheets from oven and place onto a cooling rack. Allow cookies to rest + firm up for about 15 minutes minutes before enjoying.

adapted from smitten kitchen.

blueberry coconut macaroons | une gamine dans la cuisine

12 comments:

  1. Mmmmm, I hope this means I can eat macaroons for breakfast!

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  2. Exquisite! They look quite addictive.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  3. "Penelope's unanswered love letter" … swoon. Like Odysseus, these are worth waiting for.

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  4. What lovely macaroons, your ratio of of blueberries to coconut looks just right! :)

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  5. Sounds wonderful with a nice cup of tea. Catherine

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  6. Our dreams meet on some distant horizon, where waves ripple lapis lazuli blue and the scones are plentiful; both have been on my mind incessantly. The dark and light hues are dreamy in these photos, and these scones look so lovely; not too big, perfect for tea on a September morning.

    And I cannot wait to see what you come up with for your birthday. No doubt it will be wonderful!

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  7. These are exquisite - such beautiful light and the marbled purple of the berries is just stunning.

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  8. Happy birth month, Valerie! I'm keeping my fingers crossed so all your wishes comes true, including Tom :) Now for these macaroons, they look really good. I bet the coconut and almond extract give them a beautiful fragrance.

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  9. I too love September! My hubby and I got married in September and just celebrated 16 years. Happy birth month to you! These little blueberry coconut beauties look and sound divine!!!

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  10. Just wanted to let you know I made and loved these! It would be awesome if you could check out my blog post! http://piesandplots.net/blueberry-coconut-macaroons-sundaysupper/

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Thanks for visiting, and for taking the time to read through my ramblings!
If you have a recipe comment or question, I'd love to hear from you.

Happy Baking!
♥ Valerie

 

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