Coconut macaroons

Sometimes I find it difficult to "get the engine started" again after a hiatus of several months. My inactivity in the kitchen has rendered me a little helpless when I had to prepare my own meals again. I found myself lacking when I had to make dinners - this stems from being home long enough to get used to having Mom do all the cooking. As much as I love cooking, I miss that so much!

To address the issue with my cold start, I decided to make something real simple this weekend. As a treat, I made macaroons - with the double O! In contrast with the touchy and high-maintenance French macarons, these double-Os were much easier to make and handle.

In spite of having contrasting temperaments and looking obviously very different from each other, the two cookies are made with a base of egg whites and sugar. However, macaroons do not require the extreme delicacy and painstaking efforts involved in the making of its more elaborate "cousin".

It took no more than 30 minutes to make these coconut-ty goodness with a toasted crunchy outside and soft chewy middle. I'll try adding some dried fruits or/and nuts for a little extra crunch the next time!

What?

• 1 1/2 cups shredded coconut
• 2 egg whites
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

How?

1. Whisk the egg whites, sugar, salt and vanilla extract together until mixture is frothy.
2. Pour in the coconut and stir until evenly moistened.
3. Shape the coconut mixture into small balls of about 1 inch in diameter, and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. 
4. Bake the coconut balls in a preheated oven at 180degC for 10-15 minutes, until the macaroons are golden.
5. Let the macaroons cool for about 5 minutes before transferring them onto a wire rack to cool completely. For a more chocolaty flavour, you can drizzle (or simply dip them!) the cooled macaroons with chocolate!