I was very excited to receive a copy of my friend Lori Longbotham’s latest book, Luscious Coconut Desserts (Chronicle Books, 2009) in the mail last week. I had recently been out to dinner with Lori, and she told me about this tribute to coconut. I’m a coconut fanatic, so I naturally wanted to make every recipe in the book immediately. Since this didn’t seem like a practical idea, I painstakingly narrowed my choice to the chocolate-dipped Big Coconut Macaroons. These cookies are really, really easy to make (almost disarmingly so), and practically foolproof. I used a ½-ounce scoop to form the cookies, which turned out perfectly-shaped little domes of batter. After baking and cooling the cookies, I dipped them in chocolate. Though they are delicious undipped, a little chocolate turns these macaroons into something exceptional. For dipping, I used TCHO Proline conventional-blend 68% block couverture. Though Lori’s recipe doesn’t instruct you to temper the chocolate, I did so, because I wanted the chocolate to be shiny and streak-free. TCHO tempers easily and has become one of my favorite chocolates because of its workability and complex, full flavor. The finished macaroons were big, beautiful and utterly delicious, as billed. Luscious Coconut Desserts is full of my kind of flavorful, accessible recipes, with beautiful photos that will inspire you to crack a coconut or two. You’re the best, Lori.
