Recipes! Day one

 As a thank you for all the lovely fic and art I've seen and gotten this year, I'm going to post a recipe a day until Christmas eve, all tried and true.

I made these cookies for the office Christmas/White Elephant party and had a lot of requests for the recipe. I thought y'all might like it too...

(From Chocolatier  Magazine, Dec. 1994)
Double-Chocolate Coconut Macaroons
makes approx. 4 dozen cookies

2 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 large egg whites, at room temperature
Pinch of salt
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups (~7 oz bag) sweetened shredded coconut (break up any lumps)
3/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

Position one rack in the top third of the oven and the other in the bottom third, preheat oven to 325F. Line two cookie sheets with aluminum foil. (Parchment paper might work, but I've never tried it.)

Combine the bittersweet and semisweet chocolates and melt. (I do mine in the microwave at 50% power in 15-20 second bursts. Be careful, since burned chocolate smells worse than burned popcorn.)

In a grease-free medium bowl using a hand-held mixer at low speed, beat the egg whites until frothy. Beat in the salt. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the whites start to form soft peaks. Add the sugar one tablespoon at a time, and continue beating until the whites form stiff, glossy peaks. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the melted chocolate and the vanilla. fold in the coconut and then the chocolate chips. Make sure it's well-combined!

Drop the cookies by rounded teaspoonfuls onto the baking sheets, forming neat mounds (hah!), leaving about 1 1/2 inches between the cookies. Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through, until the cookies are just set and the surface looks dull.

Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for a few minutes, then remove them with a very thin spatula onto wire racks to continue cooling. I re-foil the sheets between batches, but whatever works for you. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days but I've never had them last that long.

Tomorrow: My favorite recipe that combines chicken, canned beans, and salsa.