Hey mac

MAC 'N' CHOC-RY SANDWICHES

It has been a tiring week at work. I haven't been cooking as even the simplest task of boiling water for pasta and tossing it with a few slices of fried garlic and tinned anchovies has been too much for me. My lunches have been mostly from the shops around my workplace but being a little heavy, they make me quite lethargic.

But last night I decided that I needed to bake something and it had to be something simple because I wasn't in the mood to knead, beat or whisk. The item still had to look pretty though.

Well, since I am currently fixated on biscuits/cookies, it would have to be something of that persuasion. The fridge and pantry didn't have much but there was enough to make coconut macaroons. With half a tin of cherries sitting in the back of the fridge and a whole bag of white chocolate on hand, the macaroons could even be sandwich cookies.

Within minutes I was done with the mixing. The oven was heating up and I was ready to spoon portions of the coconut mixture onto the parchment-lined baking sheet when I looked at the instructions again (the recipe is scribbled in rather bad handwriting) and noticed that I had to refrigerate the mixture overnight.

I debated on whether to chance it and go ahead and bake. I mean, the cookies wouldn't turn out bad, surely?

In the end, the instructions won and I turned off the oven, put the coconut mixture in the fridge. The chocolate cherry filling wasn't difficult to make and I wanted it in the fridge too so it was quickly made and I washed up.

As soon as I was up this morning, the macaroons were shaped, baked and cooled before I sandwiched a pair with the pink crème that had nicely firmed up overnight. Not an ideal breakfast, but cute enough to keep me happy until the end of the day. TGIF.

CHOC-CHERRY COCONUT CRÈMES

Makes 10 sandwiches

Dainty little bites

50g dessicated coconut
50g caster sugar
2 medium egg whites
½ teaspoon coconut extract
Pinch of salt

• Stir together all the ingredients. Refrigerate, covered, at least 1 hour or overnight.


• Preheat the oven to 175°C. Line baking sheets with parchment. Form heaping teaspoonfuls of the coconut mixture into balls and place on the sheets; flatten into discs. These cookies do not spread so they can be placed close together. Bake, rotating the sheets halfway through for even cooking, until edges begin to turn golden, 9-10 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; cool completely.


• Sandwich two cookies together with the Chocolate Cherry Filling (recipe follows).

Chocolate Cherry Filling
70g white chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons sour cream
35g tinned cherries, drained (about 7)*
Dash of balsamic vinegar

• Melt chocolate and sour cream together in the microwave or in a double boiler over simmering water. Remove from heat and stir in the cherries and vinegar. Cool, then blend until smooth. Refrigerate to firm up to a spreading consistency before using.

* Alternatively, use a little more than a tablespoon of cherry jam (or other red fruit jam).

PRINTABLE RECIPE