coconut sweet-slice

Originally this was intended to be Caramel Slice from my Kitchen Classics Picnic Hamper cookbook, but due to impatience and decidedly not enough coconut, I created my own desert. Hah.

125g / 1 c. self-raising flour
90g / 1 c. dessicated coconut
115g / 1/2 c. superfine sugar I used standard sugar
125g unsalted butter, melted

Filling
2 tins of sweetened condensed milk
20g. unsalted butter
4 T. honey
40g. dessicated coconut

Topping
approx. 1 c. toasted coconut

Preheat oven to 350F and lightly grease a shallow tin of your choice and line with baking paper, leaving thepaper hanging over the two long sides.

Sift the flour into a bowl, then mix in the coconut and sugar. Add the melted butter to the bowl and stir thoroughly. Press firmly into the tin and bake for 12 - 15 minutes, or until lightly coloured. Allow to cool.

To make the filling, put all the ingredients into a saucepan over low heat. Slowly bring to boil, stirring constantly, and let slightly caramelize. Quickly poor over the cooled base, spreadin evenly. Bake for 10 - 13 minutes. Meanwhile, toast the coconut in a frying pan over low heat, stirring constantly. Set aside. Remove tin from oven, top with coconut and place in fridge to set for at least 30 minutes.

When ready to serve, lift the slice form the tin and cut into pieces.


***this is so rich that a domino sized-slice is MORE than enough. VERY coconutty, sweet and goopy...delicious.

Citrus Macaroons

The extra-egg whites problem has been around for a long time, and its not surprise that macaroons have a long history. The Penguin Companion to Food tells us that they're found in cookbooks from the late 1600's! Incidentally, the word "Macaroon" is also the name of teh finest grade of grated coconut.
For those who enjoy lime or lemon and coconut, these pretty cookies are as good as it gets. Fresh with a hint of citrus, sweet but not cloyingly so.

2 egg whites
1/2 c. sugar
1 1/4 dessicated coconut, unsweetened.
2 T. pastry or cake flour
1/4 t. salt
1/2 t. vanilla essence
1/4 t. lemon essence, 1/4 t. almond essence
grated zest of 1 or 2 lemons, or limes.

Preheat the oven to 300F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium saucepan, combine the egg whites, sugar, coconut and flour. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture balls up and pulls away from the sides of the pot while mixing. (about 6 - 10 minutes).
Remove from heat and stir in the salt, essences and zest.
Immediately begin shaping the cookies. Using two teaspoons, scoop up a spoonful and drop onto the prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 10 - 12 minutes, until the coconut shreds have turned opaque and the cookies are very lightly browned on the bottom.
Lift the cookies, still on the parchment, onto a rack to let cool and firm. Peel them off the paper when they are cool. Store, once cooled, in an airtight container.
These cookies keep beautifully!



(as you can see, I let them cook for a wee bit too long...but I like them to have a little more crunch.)
(I used lemon.)

Coconut Macaroons

I love these, I love them crispy, chewy, cold, melt-y, dense or airy. I love them any way. It's also one of the few cookie recipes that I've read that actually yields as many as it says it will. It's from the KitchenAide stand mixer cookbook and it's an all day event because you bake them for a longer time at a lower temperature.

4 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar (what exactly is this stuff anyway)
1 1/4 c superfine sugar (I ran table sugar through the food processor for a couple of minutes before I measured it (I read that in a bourgie cookbook once))
1 tsp lemon juice or white wine vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups dessicated coconut (doesn't it sound like it's been mummified?)

Whip egg whites on Speed 4 till frothy. Add cream of tartar and whip at 10 till stiff peaks form. Whisking continuously, add the sugar 2 T at a time, beating well after each addition (I don't know why, but I follow this to the letter. I've never once even been tempted to dump the sugar in all at once and see what happens... weird.) Mixture should be very stiff and shiny.

Sprinkle lemon juice, vanilla and coconut over top and whisk in at Speed 4 for a few seconds or just mixed.

Drop heaping T onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. Leave some room for spreading. Bake for 30 to 35 at 300F until golden and still slightly soft inside. Let stand 5 minutes on pan and then cool on rack. Store in an airtight container.

That's one thing that I do differently sometimes. I have baked them straight on a cookie sheet, no parchment and I didn't mind them. They were hell to get off the sheet though and you can't grease them because it affects the meringue.

Yummy