Lemon Coconut Macaroons

Sometimes I'm slightly nefarious.

I'll make things that are unabashedly laced with flakes of coconut.

I will make things unabashedly laced with coconut knowing that no one else will get as rambunctiously excited about it as I do.

I make things with coconut for purely selfish reasons; for me, myself and I. (We're fantastically happy about it!)

This was my first go at making coconut macaroons. And how wise of me to have had the foresight to know how quickly they'd tear down my "only three" rule.

I ate a lot of these darlings. And by a lot, I mean 10-12...in the course of two days.

But I ran fast and far, like a mouse in cat's alley, fast and far. So that counts for something. Right?

Lemon Coconut Macaroons

Yields about 10-12 cookies

ingredients

1 large egg white

1/8 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk

1 Tablespoon lemon zest (about 1-2 lemons)

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

1 (14 oz) bag sweet, shredded coconut

method

Preheat the oven to 300 F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium size mixing bowl, combine the egg white and salt. Whisk vigorously for about 2 minutes (you want it to be nice and frothy).

Add the sweet milk, lemon zest, almond extract, and lemon juice; whisk to combine.

Add the coconut and, using a large rubber spatula, fold the coconut into the egg mixture until well combined.

Use a small ice cream scoop, and your hands, to shape the mixture into 1 1/2-inch mounds. (It's very sticky, so have a clean, wet towel on hand.)

Place the mounds onto the prepared sheets, leaving about 1-inch of space between each cookie.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Remove the pans from the oven and allow the cookies to rest for about 2 minutes before carefully transferring them to a cooling rack.