Fruity, Nutty, Ginger, Cherry Macaroons

Best macaroons in the galaxy, and gluten-free, too. For lactose-free macaroons, see the Notes.

These delicious macaroons are my all-time favourite food. Yummy, chewy and sweet, these macaroons have enough substance to let you know you've had a good snack.

Yield: about 40.

Ingredients

2 cups coarsely shredded coconut
2 cups desiccated (finely shredded) coconut
1 tin (415g) sweetened condensed skim milk
1 1/2 cups mixed dried fruit
125g hazelnuts, crushed (or your favourite nuts)
90g (3 ounces) glace (candied) cherries, halved
90g (3 ounces) chopped preserved ginger in syrup or 1 teaspoon ground (powdered) ginger

Instructions

Turn the oven on.
In a large bowl, stir everything except the sweetened condensed milk. Add the sweetened condensed milk and mix thoroughly.
Dollop teaspoonsful of the macaroons mixture on to a nonstick baking tray. Bake at 145 degrees C (300 degrees F) until slightly golden - about 25 minutes. Macaroons burn easily, so watch them for the last five minutes. Turn off oven and leave the macaroons in oven for another half an hour. (That stops them from going soggy.) We have an old oven bought for $30 in a garage sale, and it helps to bake macaroons high in the oven.
Leave the macaroons on the baking tray to cool slightly - well, okay, you're allowed to eat ONE now - before putting on a cooling rack.

Notes

Use preserved ginger in syrup if you can. Much better than ground ginger. Crystallized ginger, chopped small, also works OK. The macaroons look really tempting if you put half a cherry on top of each one, before putting them in the oven. You'll need about 40 cherry halves.

Lactose-free macaroons: Replace the sweetened condensed milk with 3/4 cup of caster sugar, two large beaten eggs and two teaspoons of lemon juice. Bake at 170 degrees C (350 degrees F) for about 16 minutes. Rescue them just before they burn.

Attribution

Posted by FootsieBear at Recipe Goldmine April 30, 2001.