Thursday, April 17, 2014

Easter Macaroons from "Cook The TV"!!

Hey everyone!  I'm about finished up with my renovation and will move in next week...finally!!  In the mean time, my friend Di from Cook the TV has a great tasting, easy recipe for Easter and she's been kind enough to share it here on my blog!  Please give a warm welcome to Di!

Hi everyone. Thanks Danni so much for the kind invitation to do a guest post. I have been a huge fan of Silo Hill Farm for a  long time.

My name is Di. I blog over at CTV. I started the blog about a year and a half ago. At the time, I was watching a lot of cooking shows on TV and thought it would be great fun to take the famous TV chef's recipes and make them more accessible for busy moms and home cooks.

A little about me: I'm 50, divorced, have 3 beautiful grown daughters, 2 grandsons and 1 granddaughter. I love my girls and miss them being home, even after having an empty nest for about 4 years now! I'm pretty sentimental about my kids. I even exchanged a few tearful emails with Amy of While Wearing Heels about her daughter going off to kindergarten! I think the "tearful" part was mainly on my end! Haha.

Today's recipe is a fun take on a very easy macaroon that I originally made on the blog earlier this year. 
The original recipe is from Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa. I saw this in a magazine and had to do it for you. I simply made the macaroons, indented them slightly with a spoon while they were warm out of the oven, and placed tiny "eggs" in them. This recipe makes about 20 cookies. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients
  • 14 ounces sweetened shredded coconut
  • 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk- 1 can
  • ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 extra-large or large egg whites, at room temperature
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • candy in the shape of tiny eggs, I used Cadbury Mini Eggs, chocolate with a candy shell

Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Combine coconut, condensed milk, and vanilla in a large bowl. Whip the egg whites and salt on high speed with a hand-held electric mixer, or in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, until the egg whites form medium-firm peaks. Carefully fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture.
  3. Drop the batter onto the baking sheets, using either a 1¾-inch diameter ice cream scoop, or 2 teaspoons. Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes, until golden brown. 
  4. Remove from oven and immediately indent the center of each cookie, using the back of a small spoon. 
  5. Remove from pan and let cool. 
  6. Drop 2 or 3 "egg" candies into each "nest". 

Thanks so much for your time everyone! And thanks, Danni, for letting me strut my stuff on your wonderful blog:0 Happy Easter every one:)

31 comments:

  1. Dearest Danni, Thank you for allowing me to guest post. Your blog is very inspirational and I'm so proud to be included. You really made my day, and my week!
    I'm so excited for you finishing up your renovation. Congratulations! I know you will love your new home:)

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  2. Delicious and adorable looking? Perfect! The Barefoot Contessa is a fabulous muse.

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    1. Haha, oh yes, she is! Thanks for the kind words Cheryl:)

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  3. Woo hoo, you're getting so close, Danni :) I sure have missed you!

    These cookies look very tasty - perfect for Easter :) Thanks to Di for sharing!

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    1. Aww, thanks so much Stephanie. I appreciate it:)

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  4. These look wonderful and I bet they taste even better! Thanks for the recipe. We are having Easter at our house this year. These would be PERFECT for the kiddos, OK and the grownups, too! ;-) -Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures

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    1. Hi Marci, thank you:) Yes, I think the grownups would like them too. My mom absolutely loved them when I made them last time (no Cadbury eggs that time).
      By the way, your blog looks fun. We go to a lot of Arkansas state parks, your Missouri state parks look great too:)

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  5. Perfect for Easter! I don't have any little kids around anymore, so maybe I can steal some from a playground to make these for. :)

    -andi

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  6. Andi, your comments always make me laugh! Stealing children, uhoh...think how much you would have to do for them besides making macaroons...that's a lot of work!!

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  7. Those macaroons look yummy.

    I have been behind in bog reading lately with unforeseen issues and so I have been reading backwards through your blog. It looks like the house is really coming along. I love that utility tub - I could use something like that, but we have no spare bathroom and nowhere in the laundry area.

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    1. Thanks for the kind words on the macaroons:) I appreciate that! Di

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  8. Those look delicious. Ina is one of my favorites. Thanks for sharing. I look forward to following your blog now too.

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    1. Oh, how sweet you are, thanks so much! I checked out your blog and love the goodies for teachers, how cute!

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  9. Oh my big fat diet! These look amazing. I love coconut anything and these are so cute!

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    1. Oops, please see my response to your comment below. I keep forgetting to hit the reply button, haha!!

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  10. Hi, Thanks for taking the time to comment:) I browsed your blog. Whoa! Averaging over 4 pounds a week lost. That's so great:) I learned something new, too. Eating the same things helps you stay on track...I don't remember that one, thank you!
    PS. the hose wreath is so cute!!

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  11. Two of my favorite bloggers in the same place! Another delicious looking recipe Di. You always leave me wishing we were neighbors so I could hit you up for your tasty treats instead of making my own.

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    1. Thanks Amy. You and Danni craft, I'll cook, any day!

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  12. You must be so excited to be finally moving in soon! What a journey, and what a reward at the end. Have a relaxing and enjoyable Easter weekend, Danni.

    Di, those macaroons look so yummy and perfect with the little eggs for Easter. Ina has one of my favourite shows (when I get around to watching TV), her recipes always look so delicious...and I'd love to visit her neck of the woods and check out the shops she shows. I wonder if I have time to make these for Sunday when the kids & grandkids come for dinner?
    Happy Easter to you as well!
    Debbie :)

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    1. Hi Debbie, thank you so much:) These little treats are very quick and easy, you can definitely whip them up in time.
      I love Ina too. And her hubby is so adorable :) great show. Thanks for the sweet comment! Di

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  13. Yummy. Anything with coconut is a must in my tummy! Cheers and a great post Happy Easter1

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    1. Oh yes, me too! Love coconut. Thank you and Happy Easter:)

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  14. I'm a coconut macaroon "nut", I just love them and your Easter Egg macaroons look deliciously good.I've never made macs before, but your recipe looks so easy to follow, I'm going to have to give it a try. Have a great weekend and Happy Easter, Di!

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  15. Hi Amy, thank you for your kind words:) Def give these a try, they are really easy. I'm not much of a baker so if I can make them easily, anyone can!!
    I'm like you, a macaroon nut, haha! You can make them all year round too, just leave off the "eggs" and don't make the indentions. I hope you like them Amy. Thanks and Happy Easter:)

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  16. How exciting Danni, that the move is imminent. Good luck with everything.

    I've never made macaroons because whenever they show them on tv here, they look pretty tricky, but I think perhaps I should give them a go as these look delicious.

    Happy Easter to both of you x

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    1. Thanks so much, Fiona. These macaroons are really simple. I would say the trickiest part is the beating the egg whites, but this isn't hard and doesn't take long, probably a minute or less. Beat until soft peaks form. If you aren't sure, stop beating, use your finger or the back of a spoon, place in the beaten egg whites and lift gently. They should rise and stay there or fall over slightly.
      The other thing to watch is to make sure you do not over brown them while cooking. They should be slightly golden. Don't worry, Fiona, you can make these, and they are so good:)
      Happy Easter to you, too:)

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  17. How exciting to be so close to moving in! Can't wait to see it all done up.

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  18. So tasty!!! Di, I love Ina, she's about my favorite, so I'm glad you chose this recipe to share.

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  19. These look absolutely delicious!

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