kageotogi

I seem to remember promising a recipe, so here it be. I made these last night for the first time in ages (read: ever. I've always done a different version before, with peanut butter) because I was craving me some chocolatey goodness. They turned out pretty well, so what better reason to share with you?

Easy Chocolate Macaroons

You'll need:
a cookie sheet
wax paper
1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)
1/2 cup milk
2 cups granulated sugar
6 tbsp cocoa (I use Hershey's, and tend to go a little overboard with the chocolate. If you don't have cocoa, try unsweetened baking squares. The measuring is a little weird and it takes longer to melt, but it works)
2/4 cup shredded coconut
approximately 3 cups oatmeal

First things first, get a cookie sheet and cover it with a strip of wax paper. That (and not eating the chocolate) is the hard part.

Ready for the easy part? Here's the easy part.

Put the butter, milk, sugar, and cocoa in a medium-to-large pot, and put that pot on the stove. Heat, and stir constantly. Bring it to a boil and continue to stir it for another minute or two. Remove from heat.

Add the coconut and oatmeal; mix well. I sometimes add things like nutmeg or cinnamon at this point -- just a little, to add to the flavor without taking anything away from the main attraction.

Once there's chocolate on everything, teaspoon the "dough" onto the sheets. Go ahead and put them relatively close together; they won't spread any further than they do when you plop them on the sheet, promise. Know why? Here's why. Because as soon as you've filled the cookie sheet, you put it in the refrigerator for about twenty minutes (or let it sit on the counter for a while longer) or until the cookies have cooled and firmed up.

Remove from the wax paper. Eat to your heart's content.

The peanut butter version I mentioned before is a good alternative to the coconut, which my mother can't stand (thus why I've never made the coconut version before). Basically, you add a cup of peanut butter just after removing the chocolate mixture from the heat and before putting in the oatmeal. These are also pretty darn delicious.

The end!