Inspired by my many Adventures in Domesticity, my mother asked me if I wanted to make something for the Passover dinner this year. How could I say no? Well, very easily, but as it turns out, I was intrigued by the offer. But what could I make? Then it hit me. I could whip up a batch of Ina Garten’s homemade macaroons, which I had previously enjoyed thanks to the fruitful efforts of Sly last summer. I figured that if Sly could make these things; so could I. Turns out it was a pretty easy recipe. The only tricky part was navigating my way around my parents’ kitchen. Nevertheless, I think things turned out pretty well. Pictures after the jump…
Things start off with my mom’s old stand mixer, which may or may not be related to the push-button stove from my former abode.
Eggs. They’re supposed to be at room temperature, but I’d be lying if I said they weren’t as cold as a witch’s teat.
While the eggs warm up, I get out a few more ingredients: 14 oz. of sweetened, shredded coconut and 14 oz. of sweetened, condensed milk.
My dandruff. Oh, I KEED! It’s the coconut. Obvs.
Pouring in the condensed milk. A rather slow and sticky process.
I also add some vanilla extract, and then it’s time to mix. Easier said than done.
A few minutes later and with the help of a soup spoon, I manage to mix all the ingredients together.
Meanwhile, the eggs are still chilly. Nothing that a little TLC from my hand can’t help. That sounded wrong.
After a few minutes of clutching the eggs, I grow bored with the process and decide to move forward. I separate the whites into a bowl (with a dash of salt) and whisk away.
Stiff peaks! Like the Himalayas in a bowl!
Time to fold in the whites. All the comments online said this process had to be done GENTLY, lest the macaroons turn into mushy puddles in the oven. Needless to say, I was a tad nervous.
Here’s the thing about folding egg whites into the coconut mixture: you can’t be gentle. The coconut and condensed milk is so sticky and thick that you have to sort of be a little aggressive. Here’s the bowl after a few minutes of regrettably hostile folding.
On the baking sheets and ready to load into the oven.
A future superstar?
Macro shot!
About twenty-three minutes later, the top rack was ready to come out. The macaroons looks much more burned than they actually were.
A few minutes later, the bottom rack was done. No puddles here. Success!
The verdict? AWESOME. These macaroons received rave reviews from everyone at the Seder. Some people even said they were the best macaroons they’d ever had in their life. To be honest, this is one easy recipe, and considering how few ingredients are involved, it’s shocking how rich and tasty they are. Major win.
To make them yourself, check out Ina Garten’s recipe here.
That’s interesting. The recipe I use to make them (and sell in my store) does not include using any eggs. And in some we put chocolate chips, sprinkle with sugar, or drizzle with chocolate.
Bastard! I was hoping you made a typo and these were to be macarons! Btw, while you were mid-air, I was craving for some fried lobster Wednesday.
Firecat — I was going to dip these in melted chocolate but never got around to it.
SinoSoul — if i had known that, I would have had you pick me up. I told my friend all about the lobster on the drive from LAX. I wanted to go so badly.
Ahhh. The Oster Kitchen Center…a fabulous power base with all the kitchen appliance attachments you would ever need. I love mine. Does that mean I am old enough to be your mother????
Thanks for the trip down memory lane. My mom had the same mixer, The Osterizer and my Aunt Ruthie made the best macaroons. I will try this recipe. I constantly crave cookies & rave reviews.
My mom had the Oster Kitchen center as well. Those cookies look soooooo good! Yum! Thank for making me drool
I have my mom’s Mixmaster. It makes the best cheesecake although I haven’t ever attempted it myself.
I am in the Osterizer as a kid club too! In addition to the had the following attachments (most of which were retardedly superfluous: blender, coffee grinder, meat grinder, citrus juicer, pasta roller, and probably a bunch of other crap I can’t remember. Also, good looking macaroons!
the cookies look good B! One question- I know that Passover meals are supposed to be dairy free, so why aren’t eggs considered a dairy product?
Boy, they looked good.
We were too poor to have an Osterizer has a child. 🙁
zoobabe — Passover meals don’t have be dairy, but people who keep kosher don’t mix dairy and meat. So, if the meal is both kosher and has meat, it can’t include dairy. Eggs are neither meat nor dairy. Called ‘parve’. People always associate eggs with dairy, but dairy is really milk-based.
That concludes the lesson portion of the post.
I have an amazing recipe for macaroons: just coconut (2.5 cups), egg whites (2), sugar (3/4 cup, but I usually halve that), vanilla (1 tsp). Sometimes I dip in chocolate. Sometimes, I put them in mini-muffin tins, bake and top with chocolate. (my ex-husband also liked a dab of raspberry jam inside, as ‘a surprise’.) And no need to clean the Oster mixer, no matter how amazing it might be. 😉
thanks for the info rj! I remembered watching an episode of Dinner Impossible where he cooked a Passover meal for a synagogue’s congregation and he couldn’t use any dairy. In fact- the whole dairy refrigerator was locked up for the week, and they used different cooking utensils too. I just couldn’t remember if he used any eggs in his recipe, which is what caused my confusion. He did make them macaroons though.
I thought my mother was the only one who still had that relic of a mixer!
Thanks for sharing the recipe and the pictures. I copied it for Easter and everyone loved them. Easiest recipe I ever made. The shredded coconut made me choke though. Next time I will look for a smaller type or maybe try to chop it smaller myself. Tasted great though.