Chocolate Macaroons, Naturally Gluten-Free

Nearly all macaroon recipes I've ever made have no wheat. This is one of my favorites. It's chocolaty, with a soft and chewy center, and fairly easy to make. I found it on allrecipes.com a few years ago, and have made it over and over again. If you're not a fan of coconut - no worries. There's so much chocolate in these that the coconut definitely takes a back seat in the flavor category. I used Ghiradelli semi-sweet chocolate chips - on sale this week several places so I stocked up. They are my favorite chips.

OK - so it's not the prettiest cookie on the block, but it's nothing that a light dusting of powdered sugar can't fix... which is what I plan on doing before serving these at an up coming event. For now - into the freezer they go, right next to the pretty cookies :-)

Gluten-free Chocolate Macaroons

Ingredients:

• 3 Egg Whites (room temperature best, but not required)
• Pinch of Salt
• 3/4 cup White Sugar
• 2 1/4 cups Shredded Coconut, unsweetened
• 1 1/4 cups Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
• 1/2 cup Chopped Nuts (Almonds or Walnuts are good)
• 1 tsp Vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F degrees.

1. Melt chocolate in double-boiler (aka bowl over simmering water) and let cool.
2. Using an electric hand mixer whip the egg whites until foamy. Then slowly add salt and sugar a little at a time, until the mixture stands in peaks (about 5 minutes).
3. Gently stir in the Vanilla.
4. Gently fold in the chocolate, coconut, and nuts until completely blended.
5. Scoop (about a heaping tablespoon) the dough about 2 inches apart onto parchment-lined cookie sheets. Use your fingers to shape them into a dome.
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
7. Let cookies cool on cookie sheet for about 5 minutes before carefully moving to cooling rack.

The cookies will be soft until completely cooled. Makes 3 to 4 dozen cookies, depending on size.

Note: the dough may become dry and crumbly while you're working with it. Just press it together with your hands to form the domes and they will hold together.

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