We have a few dozen chickens. This may seem excessive, but it really isn't: besides selling a few dozen each week to our neighbors, we like to be able to eat all the eggs we want. I see fresh, homegrown eggs as an incredible superfood, loaded to the brim with vitamins, minerals, protein and the very best kind of fats.
You might think that, with all these dozens of eggs lying around, I might be less than stingy in making use of them. Nothing could be further from the truth! These eggs are squishy gold inside a calcitic shell. Every one of them is a precious gift, not to be wasted or squandered wantonly. Eggs are one of the most luxurious ingredients known to man; in ancient times they were much harder to come by, only available in quantity on a seasonal basis, and therefore highly prized. Their emulsifiers are a key component in homemade mayonnaise; their richness makes a cheesecake even more decadent; their proteins add structure to baked goods that would otherwise crumble and fall, and makes homemade pasta much sturdier and at the same time richer.
All the things I mention above can benefit from the same addition: one or more extra egg yolks. Mayonnaise benefits more from yolk than from whites; a cheese cake or other baked good can be sent into new atmospheric layers of decadence with the addition of a yolk (or three); and the more yolks you put in your homemade pasta, the more delectable it will be. All this is leaving aside lemon curd, carbonara sauce, and a million other decadent treats that call for extra yolks in the egg department. But all this demand for egg yolks leads to an inevitable dilemma: what to do with the whites?
The obvious answer, meringue, isn't quite as simple a solution as it may sound. Sure, a batch of meringue cookies or even a pavlova (a New Zealand dessert consisting of a large meringue crust filled with fruit and whipped cream) will use up a bunch of egg whites--but only if they whip, which is something that's hard to guarantee as meringue is notoriously tempermental. If I'm going to separate eggs, I want to be sure that I'll be able to utilize the whites. And if I do try to make meringue, I like to have a backup plan in case Jupiter happens to be in the wrong sign and the endeavor fails.
As a result, I present to you the world's most forgiving cookie.
You might think that, with all these dozens of eggs lying around, I might be less than stingy in making use of them. Nothing could be further from the truth! These eggs are squishy gold inside a calcitic shell. Every one of them is a precious gift, not to be wasted or squandered wantonly. Eggs are one of the most luxurious ingredients known to man; in ancient times they were much harder to come by, only available in quantity on a seasonal basis, and therefore highly prized. Their emulsifiers are a key component in homemade mayonnaise; their richness makes a cheesecake even more decadent; their proteins add structure to baked goods that would otherwise crumble and fall, and makes homemade pasta much sturdier and at the same time richer.
All the things I mention above can benefit from the same addition: one or more extra egg yolks. Mayonnaise benefits more from yolk than from whites; a cheese cake or other baked good can be sent into new atmospheric layers of decadence with the addition of a yolk (or three); and the more yolks you put in your homemade pasta, the more delectable it will be. All this is leaving aside lemon curd, carbonara sauce, and a million other decadent treats that call for extra yolks in the egg department. But all this demand for egg yolks leads to an inevitable dilemma: what to do with the whites?
The obvious answer, meringue, isn't quite as simple a solution as it may sound. Sure, a batch of meringue cookies or even a pavlova (a New Zealand dessert consisting of a large meringue crust filled with fruit and whipped cream) will use up a bunch of egg whites--but only if they whip, which is something that's hard to guarantee as meringue is notoriously tempermental. If I'm going to separate eggs, I want to be sure that I'll be able to utilize the whites. And if I do try to make meringue, I like to have a backup plan in case Jupiter happens to be in the wrong sign and the endeavor fails.
As a result, I present to you the world's most forgiving cookie.
Recipe: Coconut Macaroons
1 egg white
1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
1/4 cup sugar, or to taste
Preheat the oven to 350 and grease a baking sheet. Mix the coconut flakes into the egg white 1/4 cup at a time; if the mixture is in danger of becoming too dry to form into a loose ball, stop short of the full cup. Add whatever amount of sugar seems appropriate to you. Form into balls that meet your size preferences, place on cookie sheet, and bake for about 10 minutes. I like them golden with some brown at the loosest tips of coconut.
This recipe can be doubled, quintupled, or otherwise increased based on the number of egg whites you have on hand. It can be made with a failed meringue as long as you remember how many egg whites were in the meringue; just add an appropriate amount of coconut flakes and sugar (if none was added to the meringue before it failed). The cookies can be dipped in melted chocolate for extra decadence.
Bonus Waste-Not Tip: I bought coconut in a 10 lb box from Webstaurantstore.com. Now at very little expense I can make macaroons whenever the necessary egg whites present themselves.
Preheat the oven to 350 and grease a baking sheet. Mix the coconut flakes into the egg white 1/4 cup at a time; if the mixture is in danger of becoming too dry to form into a loose ball, stop short of the full cup. Add whatever amount of sugar seems appropriate to you. Form into balls that meet your size preferences, place on cookie sheet, and bake for about 10 minutes. I like them golden with some brown at the loosest tips of coconut.
This recipe can be doubled, quintupled, or otherwise increased based on the number of egg whites you have on hand. It can be made with a failed meringue as long as you remember how many egg whites were in the meringue; just add an appropriate amount of coconut flakes and sugar (if none was added to the meringue before it failed). The cookies can be dipped in melted chocolate for extra decadence.
Bonus Waste-Not Tip: I bought coconut in a 10 lb box from Webstaurantstore.com. Now at very little expense I can make macaroons whenever the necessary egg whites present themselves.
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