Sunday, February 12, 2012

Very Berry Coconut Macaroons


With Valentines Day approaching your mind naturally deviates to reds, pinks, baking, and most definitely SWEETS!  It is that time of the year and most definitely one of those times that all enjoy!  In honor of Valentines Day I thought I might make some cookies that were on the Valentines Day theme.  Marachino Cherries seemed like a good pick to start with.  I originally was going to use some of the liquid from the cherries as an extract to boost the flavor, but the liquid is actually not so very tasty, so I used the extract from another red berry-  Raspberry Extract.  The combination of the two really made for an excellent flavor too!


In the cookies pictured I used coconut sugar which is slightly darker than brown sugar.  The pink color was barely tinged by the darkness of the sugar.

Very Berry Coconut Macaroons

2 eggs
3/4 cup Sugar (I used coconut sugar in the cookies in the picture)
1/4 tsp Salt
1 tsp Raspberry Extract
1/3 cup Rice Flour
1/2 cup Tapioca Starch
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
2 1/2 cups Coconut 
1/4 cup Chopped Marachino Cherries, well drained (abt 15)
Red Food Coloring (4-8 drops)


Thoroughly mix first 4 ingredients in Medium sized mixing bowl. Then add remaining ingredients and mix until well combined. Drop on to cookie sheet in tablespoon drops shaped in a ball. Bake 325 for 20 minutes. Then raise temperature to 350 for an additional 3-5 minutes.
 
*If you have an allergy to egg, you can use 2 small-medium bananas instead of eggs.  Bananas will only slightly affect the flavor.