one for all and all for cake: I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconut...

...macaroons that is. BF tends to like our fridge as empty as possible, so I decided to utilize the leftover coconut flakes from his pineapple birthday cupcakes (see "Here you me my friends" entry) to make some macaroons. Now, to be quite fair and honest, I haven't always been a lover of coconuts. No Siree. But BF and his dad (dad-in-law from now on) LOVE tropical fruits. Seriously. I think if dad-in-law could quit all the things he's doing and just be a papaya farmer, he would do it in a heartbeat. I, on the other hand, like the sweeter fruits such as mango and obviously, pineapple (see posting name). But coconut has always been the one thing I just don't have a heart for, especially the flesh. BLARGH in my books. But after living with my old roommate Silent Lamb for 8 years (she is a LOVER of all things coconut), I can finally say that I'm used to the smell of coconut via lotions, candles and air fresheners. My next step - desensitizing my taste buds to coconut so that I can actually taste my creation (to make sure its actually good) and then to actually enjoy eating it. It was also good timing that dad and mom-in-law were coming over for dinner tonight, so I thought I would surprise them all with a Friday night dessert!

EDIT: These tropical treats are based on the recipe on the back of Baker's Angel Flake Coconut package

Coconut Macaroons

Ingredients:
1 pkg (14 oz) coconut flakes
2/3 cup sugar
6 tbsp flour
1/4 tsp salt
4 egg whites
1 tsp almond extract

Directions:
Mix coconut, sugar, flour, and salt in a large bowl. Stir in egg whites and almond extract until well blended. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto greased and floured cookie sheets. (I found that I didn't really need to flour the cookie sheet. Just spraying it with a non-stick spray is good enough)

Bake at 325 degrees F for 20 minutes or until edges of cookies are golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheets to wire racks. Cool completely. Makes about 3 dozen cookies. (I make rather large macaroons, so I only get about 2 dozen out of this recipe).