DARK CHOCOLATE COCONUT ALMOND MACAROONS

Cookies & Milk are OK for St. Nicholas, but these rich Coconut Macaroons made with Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Chips and lightly salted Blue Diamond Almonds are flavored with Captain Morgan's Coconut Rum - and are only for me (and you)!

1. 14 ounce can Bordon's Eagle Brand *Chocolate flavored Sweetened Condensed Milk.
2. 14 ounces sweetened Coconut Flakes (I used Great Value brand from Walmart).
3. 12 ounces Hersey's Special Dark Chocolate Chips *(plus 2 ounces for the condensed milk).
4. 3 ounces lightly salted almonds (Blue Diamond's Low Sodium Lightly Salted Almonds are fine).
5. 2 large egg whites.
6. 1 teaspoon almond extract.
7. 1/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal Salt Sense (or Kosher salt).
8. 1 ounce coconut Rum (optional) - I used Captain Morgan Coconut Rum.

• *I intended to use Bordon's Eagle Brand chocolate flavored sweetened condensed milk, but was not able to find it on the shelves of any of the 5 grocery stores that I visited this morning, so I made my own (see next step)

• If you can't find chocolate flavored sweetened condensed milk, you can easily make your own: Just mix together 2 ounces of chocolate chips with 1 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk and microwave on high heat for about 30 seconds, stirring after every 10 or 15 seconds, or until the chocolate is well blended into the condensed milk. Set aside and let cool for a few minutes before continuing.

Mix together in a large mixing bowl:

1. 14 ounces sweetened coconut flakes
2. 12 ounces chocolate chips
3. 3 ounces lightly salted almonds
4. 14 ounces *chocolate flavored condensed milk.

then add in the almond extract (and the coconut rum if using) and mix thoroughly.

In a separate small mixing bowl, add:

1. 2 *large egg whites (preferably at room temperature)
2. 1/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal Salt Sense (or Kosher Salt)

Beat until you can form slightly firm peaks, then gently fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture.

• (I was inspired to make this recipe after viewing Mom On Timeout's recipe for Almond Joy Cookies on Facebook, but two attempts to make it they way I wanted failed (the chocolate kept running during the baking process and I had to use a pizza cutter to separate the cookies once they cooled). I finally gave up on this project. However a couple of days later I suddenly realized the basic ingredients were similar to the ones used to make coconut macaroons. After reviewing a couple of recipes for coconut macaroons I realized that egg whites could be used to stick the ingredients together and keep them from running during the baking process. I used the whites of 2 large eggs in this recipe, but I think I should have used 3 since the batch of cookies baked on the upper tray of my oven did run just a little; the bottom tray was much cleaner (apparently my electric oven conveys more heat to the top tray).!

• Drop scoop fulls of batter onto a parchment lined cookie sheet (I ended up with 24 scoops and had to use 1 large cookie sheet and one slightly smaller one. This was my first real attempt to bake cookies and I chose a scoop that is about 1-1/2" wide (because the one in the store labeled "Cookie Scoop" looked ridiculously small. Perhaps I should have made my "scoops" a little smaller?

As you can see from the pictures, the macaroons on the upper tray browned a little quicker than the ones on the lower tray (however, both tasted great)!

1. Bake at 323 degrees F for about 25 minutes (the top tray was done after just 22 minutes; I left the bottom tray in for about 26 minutes (you want to bake the macaroons until the coconut becomes golden brown).
2. Allow to cool and enjoy!

(Remember to refrigerate these macaroons since they do contain dairy products).

I be you can't eat just one . . .

I have evaluated the nutrition of this recipe to the best of my ability using the MyFitnessPal Recipe Analyzer; just click on the image to enlarge it. (PLEASE NOTE: These macaroons are very rich and relatively high in calories).