Something gluten-free that I used to eat as a child was macaroons. Diagnosed with coeliac disease at the age of 1, there was not much cake and biscuits available when I was growing up, but I remember some form of macaroons. Not to be confused with macarons, a macaroon is made up of egg whites, sugar and shredded coconut or almonds. A macaron on the other hand is a coloured cookie made from egg whites, sugar and ground almonds with two halves that are joined together with a ganache or buttercream. I have never attempted to make macarons; they just seem to be a little finicky and the texture can go wrong, macaroons on the other hand are relatively quick and easy!
This is my standby recipe, and for unknown reasons to be honest, I decided to try them with some lemon curd and made a little sandwich. And you know it was rather good.
Ingredients
3 cups shredded coconut
4 large egg whites
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
¼ teaspoon salt
Additional
Directions
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Combine the egg whites, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a mixing bowl. Whisk until the whites and sugar are completely combined and the mixture is frothy.
Pour the coconut over the egg white mixture and stir until the coconut is evenly moistened.
With wet hands to prevent sticking, shape the coconut mixture into small balls about 1 1/2-inches in diameter and space them an inch or so apart on a baking sheet (the wet hands make this job a lot easier).
Bake the macaroons until golden; about 15-20 minutes (check them after 15 minutes).
Let the macaroons cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Eat as they are or indulge yourself with some lemon curd.
Easy!
You can find the original recipe from thekitchn.com here.
GLUTEN FREE AND VANILLA 