Cinnamon Chocolate MACAROONS

Submitted by: jej
Last Updated: 3/11/2005

Was clearing away papers tonight, and checked a few food sections before tossing them; one of the main feature sections was a Southwestern meal. It was written that "shrimp, avocado open a low-in-fat meal that leaves room for macaroons." I haven't yet made the macaroons, and maybe won't, since I'm the only one eating cinnamon around here. But they remind me, with the chocolate and cinnamon, of some wonderful Mexican Christmas cookies with those flavors that a teaching colleague brought to school just before I retired.

Cinnamon Chocolate Macaroons

4 egg whites
1 pkg (14 oz) coconut flakes
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup shaved chocolate or chocolate chips
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 325ýF.

2. With electric mixer, beat egg whites until soft peaks form.

3. In a large mixing bowl, toss together coconut, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, salt, chocolate, cocoa powder, cinnamon and cloves. Fold in egg whites.

4. Scoop macaroons onto non-stick baking sheet or baking pan lined with parchment paper in 2-inch-diameter heaps, leaving about 1 inch between each.

5. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until set. Let cool on pan. Makes 16-18 macaroons.

The lady who wrote the article and used her own recipes is May Klisch, "a marketing communications consultant, freelance writer, food enthusiast and home cook" who lives in one of the Milwaukee suburbs.