Chewy Chocolate Macaroons

August 12, 2011 Heather Hands

It's been a whirlwind week of sorts.

First, I convinced myself that I have celiac disease.

Then, my doctor told me I have acid reflux.

Next, I convinced him to schedule a celiac test - a small bowel biopsy. He was hesitant, but in the end he went along with it, primarily to get me out of his office.

Then, I bought 200 dollars worth of gluten-free foods.

My husband felt bad for me and baked a loaf of gluten-free bread. It was terrible. I lied and said I liked it.

True story: in order for this biopsy to be accurate, I needed to eat gluten all week. No bigs.

I ate cupcakes for breakfast, cake for lunch. Muffins for dinner and pizza for dessert.

Turns out I have heart burn, not celiac. Go figure.

To celebrate, my dog jumped on the table and ate the gluten-free bread. Now he has diarrhea.

Moral of the story: don't overreact.

This past week, I was riding on an emotional roller coaster, and go figure, I wasn't strapped in. It's true. Ask my husband, my mom, the dentist, the hairdresser, the mailman, the yoga instructor, and my dog.

I was so emotional, I cried every day {at least once}. The mere thought of a life without gluten was too much to comprehend.

Besides crying and moping, I spent most days and nights researching gluten-free recipes. Mostly trying to make sense of guar gum and spelt flour.

Here's what I found: there are a lot of really crafty people out there who have mastered the art of delicious of gluten-free cooking. Here are a few I stumbled across;

Gluten-Free Cupcakes by Elana Amsterdam

Gluten-Free on a Shoestring by Nicole Hunn

100 Best Gluten-Free Recipes by Carol Fenster

The Wheat-Free Cook by Jacqueline Mallorca

I also stumbled across a recipe for macaroons. Heck yes. I love macaroons. Say what? Gluten-free.

Seriously, if you have celiac disease. Gluten intolerance. Wheat allergy. Love coconut. Love chocolate. Have no desire to bake. Don't have a lot of time. Want to impress that cute guy. Want to impress that cute girl. Been a a super crazy drama queen for seven days straight and feel bad for your husband. This is the dessert for you. Macaroons. Totally.

p.s. On the coconut scale, this recipe is a 10. Meaning, 10 times more coconut than your average recipe.

p.p.s. All you need is 20 minutes tops.

[Print Recipe]

CHEWY CHOCOLATE MACAROON RECIPE {makes 20 large}
{recipe adapted from The Joy of Baking}

Ingredients
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 large egg whites
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup white granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups shredded coconut

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325º F.

2. In a double boiler, melt the chocolate.

3. In a large bowl whisk the egg whites, cocoa powder, granulated sugar, and vanilla.

4. Next, add the melted chocolate and the coconut. Stir.

5. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Using a spoon, scoop {20 or so} heaping tablespoons of cookie batter onto the baking tray. The cookies do not have to look like a perfect round ball. You {literally} want to plop the batter onto the tray.

6. Bake for 15 minutes. Do not over bake. The cookies should be soft when taken out of the oven. Let cool on a wire rack for 20 to 30 minutes.