Inauguration Day

Well, I’ve always wanted to start a food blog. Nah, actually in kindergarten I wanted to be a doctor and have two guitars because (a) my dolls were such cooperative patients and (b) my dad played the guitar and I thought it was the coolest thing ever. Why two guitars? To one up my dad, I suppose.

Let’s start over. My most recent ambition has been to start a food blog. Up until now, I have been stymied by my complete lack of photography skills. I still don’t have any. But since Google hasn’t come knocking on the door with a job for me yet, why not? For once, I have decided to throw caution and logic to the wind! Armed with an iPhone camera and self-taught basic HTML skills, Claire Hwang is starting a food blog!

And yes, my first post is a recipe for decidedly un-glamorous coconut macaroons. I just needed to do something about the egg whites languishing in my fridge. Also, my sister turned down my offer to make coconut toast for her. (She doesn’t like coconut-flavored things! How is it that we’re related?) So…coconut + egg whites = coconut macaroons. In essence.

Coconut Macaroons

Makes 26-28 macaroons. Or you can be like me, double the recipe, and make 56 macaroons all at once. Aww yeah.

Ingredients

14 oz sweetened shredded coconut
7/8 cup condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
1/4 tsp salt
chocolate for dipping (optional)

Macaroon Time!

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line two pans with parchment paper.
2. Dump the coconut, condensed milk, and vanilla extract in a large bowl. Mix thoroughly, but not with a flimsy rubber spatula like I did, cuz your mixture gon’ be thick. If, however, you haven’t worked out yet today and your arm is raring for a challenge, go ahead and grab that flimsy rubber spatula.
3. Beat the egg whites and salt with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.
4. Fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture. Highly recommend using a stiff rubber spatula. Flimsy will work too, but see #2 for advice.
5. Use two spoons to drop heaping tablespoons of the coconut mixture onto your baking sheets, spacing them one inch apart. Then use your two spoons to make the mounds nice and pretty. You’ll have to get over the fact that they’ll probably never look like those perfect store-bought ones, but that’s alright.
6. Pop them in the oven for 25 minutes until lightly golden on top and deeply golden on the bottom.
7. Allow to cool on wire racks. If you want to add a few more calories to your cute little coconut bombs, melt some chocolate in the microwave (or in a double boiler, but this is California and water is precious, so microwave all the way). Dip the bottoms of the macaroons in the chocolate, then set them back on the lined pans, and pop them in the fridge for 10 minutes or so until the chocolate is set.

Thus concludes my inaugural address. Stay posted for broken campaign promises and more amateur food photos, coming as soon as I finish the food in my fridge and am allowed to cook more.