Break-the-Internet Coconut Custard Macaroons
It was the year 2006, and I had a small condominium that this boss bought on her own. I had a couple roommates, the kind you grab off of Craigslist (as one does), and I’d just begun dabbling in cooking and recipe testing. I loved to cook and bake, but I was only just beginning to understand the how-and-why behind it.
I vaguely remember, around this time, eating a cute little haystack coconut macaroon, and honestly I felt like I might be able to make a batch myself! I looked up recipes on the Internet. Hmmm, this was perplexing. So many recipes just called for egg whites and sugar. Some called for condensed milk. That was it. Where was the butter? Why skip the egg yolk? No salt? No vanilla?
I thought, Okay, maybe I take a basic recipe and add the entire egg and a little butter. Um, wow! Could this even be possible? The result was wonderful. Chewy caramel edges from the sweet milk and butter; a slightly salty bite and a creamy custard-like center. This was unlike any cookie I’d ever made! My family was like, “What are these?” My friends were awestruck. The Craigslist roommates? Totally onboard. I began making these little treats for everyone I knew!
Fast-forward just a few years and I’d be opening my first restaurant. These custardy, buttery delights made their way right into the hearts of Tacoma’s denizens. People would line up at lunch time in hopes of snagging just one of these incredible cookies!
In 2016, I remember reading a call for brand new genius recipes at Food52 (@food52 on Instagram). I would have bet they’d love these cookies. I sent my recipe in! It took off! Kristen Miglore, Food52’s creative director of GENIUS and a genius in her own right, crowned my recipe as GENIUS and ultimately found a home for it in the book Genius Desserts.
They took on a life of their own on the Internet. I saw people making them and tagging Food52! It was such an honor. Now, here we are and it’s 2019. The second edition of My Heart’s Table was released in September, and now, all over again, these chewy, wonderful, buttery dreams are making a big ol’ splash in peoples’ lives.
I’d be honored if you tried the recipe and picked up a copy of my book. Here is a link!
Make sure to post a picture and tag me @rusticjoyfulfood on Instagram! Let’s see if we can’t break the Internet over some incredible cookies! Happy baking, friends!
COCONUT CUSTARD MACAROONS
1 14-ounce package sweetened shredded coconut
1 egg
1/2 cup melted butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¾ teaspoon sea salt
1 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
Mix all ingredients until batter is completely mixed. Use an ice cream scoop to distribute equal portions of the cookies onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees until all edges and tops of cookies are golden brown, about 14 minutes. Depending on the weather, cookies may need a few additional minutes to bake. Let cookies set on cookie sheet for about five minutes — no more than 20 or they will stick! Transfer to serving dish or plate to continue cooling.
I made these tonight, but didn’t follow the recipe (intentionally substituted unsweetened shredded coconut as I didn’t have sweetened on hand; failed to realize that a can of sweetened condensed milk is only 10oz in Canada and not 14oz until after baking, not seeing any spreading, and doing the math).
Obviously I had some changes in sweetness and texture due to those changes, but I have some questions for my next attempt:
-do you suggest salted or unsalted butter? I used salted and they seemed slightly salty, but that might help balance the sweetness if using sweetened coconut?
-approx what size scoop do you recommend using with the suggested 14 min bake time?
For what it’s worth for other people considering making this recipe – I used a 1.5 Tbsp scoop and got 32 cookies; probably would have gotten slightly more if I’d had the full amount of sweetened condensed milk. I was happy with the sweetness level and on my next try will continue to use unsweetened coconut even if I don’t get quite the same spreading/texture from it.
Thanks for a fun recipe to try – it was super simple and would be a good one to make with the kids. I plan to drizzle dark chocolate over top of these ones!
I added chocolate chips to some of them so my kids could have a choice of without or with! Delicious 😋