passover macaroons

[breadster]

i have resisted making macaroons for passover- i thought french macaroons would do the trick- but my customers want the sweet coconut kind- so i tried some from Martha's christmas cookie mag-they were really quite good - not too sweet-not processed tasting

however, they dried out by the next day (we covered them)- the stuff you buy in cans stays moist forever- i shudder to think what additives are in there-

any ideas on how to keep them moist? ingredients=sugar-unsweetened coconut- egg whites

thanks!

[momoreg]

Egg whites will definitely add moisture. Sugar helps retain moisture. A lot of those canned macaroons also have almond paste in them, which is very sweet, and helps retain moisture.

[W.DeBord]

Breadster I use Martha's recipes for my coconut mac. (I like hers best and have tried MANY, the mini choc. chip combo is to die for) and I've never experienced them drying.... wierd huh.

A couple thoughts: I could never get my hands on the unsweetened coconut and always used reg. sweetened coconut, which by the way can be strangely moist in the plastic bag. Then I decreased the amount of sugar added to the recipe.

Could that be the difference, are you using sweetened or unsweetened? There's great differences in the moisture content between manufactors selling coconut. The brands we got in commercially never produced as moist of a cookie as when I'd run out and have to stop by the grocery store and use their name brands.

Also, I've always had a convection oven to work from and it could possibly be a difference in baking temp. and time. Perhaps... you need to raise your temp abit and shorten your baking time? But my money is on the brand of coconut your using being the culprit.

You also could experiment with subbing in dried whites in place of fresh and underbaking abit...but I suppose that will be more costly then fresh.

[momoreg]

Mine never dry out either. I use sweetened coconut too. And meringue. No matter what oven I bake them in, they come out moist on the inside.

[breadster]

yes, i've been using the unsweetened coconut- it is dry in the container- not moist and clumpy like the sweetened stuff ive bought at the store- i like how it's not cloyingly sweet-

i will definitely have to experiment with the sweetened kind- though Martha's original recipie calls for unsweetened-

i also use the unsweetened in my French Macaroons and they never turn out as nice as the other flavors- i wonder.....

also why would dried egg whites lend moistness?

momoreg- my recipe calls for just mixing in the egg whites- do you whip yours? (with the sugar?)

[momoreg]

Yes, I whip them, and add sugar, just like any meringue. This technique works very well for a plain white coconut macaroon. But these are nothing like the ones that come in a can.

(They're better!)

[W.DeBord]

I only whip whites for french macaroons, haven't seen a difference when I was making coconut ones....but I've tried.

The only thing I was refering to with the egg white powder is that you can bake hotter to color, yet it will be less cooked/dried out in the center this way. So dried eggs white might be safe if your pushing toward underbaking.

Do a taste test if you can, I found the people at the club prefered the macaroons with the sweetened coconut and with-out decreasing the sugar. It's totally like a mounds bar with the mini chips....it crosses over to candy level sweet.

[thebighat]

I would just watch out that if you need the macs to be actually Kosher for Passover and you use the sweetened stuff, well, check the ingredients carefully. I've been using the recipe from Alice Mederich's little cookie and brownie book and like it.

[panini]

I really have'nt read this thread completely. You guys probably do this anyway. heat the coconut and the sugar in a pot or dbl. boiler to disolve the sugar. add whites and a little flour.. I ask because I've seen different and they are usually drier.

[momoreg]

I have a coconut candy (sorta like Mounds) that I make that way, but the Macaroons are a French meringue with coconut, salt, vanilla, and a bit of flour (or matzo meal). That's it.

So that's interesting, panini, do youbake them again after cooking the mix?

[panini]

Yes you are right, they are more French (white). depending how long you mix the merengue.
Yes, we cook them. some with different color cherries. Some people like them cooked to color but we keep them pretty pale for softness.
The more traditional we add almond paste.

[m brown]

I heat the whites and sugar and something in the back of my mind says margarine (passover) or butter than add the coconut (sweetened shredded) and roll around the rondo until they are so hot! then scoop or pipe out and bake in a moderate oven until golden on the edges.
I think the cooking before baking keeps them super moist by breaking down the sugar molicues so they invert.
In any case, this method is quite easy and seems to work for me.

[angrychef]

Here in L.A., passover macaroons are the sweet, moist,chewy kind just like how mbrown described. Ingredients usually are coconut, sugar, whites, butter, honey or corn syrup and matzo meal or flour. M brown, do you cool your mix before piping or just pipe straight away?

[W.DeBord]

I've never seen a macaroon recipe with matzo meal and butter, or the ones that you heat first, I'm rather curious. If anyone has either...would you post to share? Thanks!