Lemon Macaroons with White Chocolate Cranberry Sauce

Here we go. It’s the holidays, and I knew they were coming, but that doesn’t mean I am prepared. Looking at the calendar, my weekends are pretty much filled up until the middle of January. Holiday parties, traveling, more holiday parties, and boom. December is done and we are falling head first into January.

To try and savor the holiday season, I am working on some sort of macaroon concoction. Using a recipe for Lemon Macaroons Daniel Walker’s (Against All Grains) new cookbook, and I  decided to add a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants-cranberry-chocolate-sauce. I love the flavor of lemons and Susan gave me the idea to create a cranberry sauce to make these a bit more ‘holiday-y.” Be sure to go slow when making both the cookies and the sauce. I took my first batch out too soon, and they crumbled. With my oven, these need to go the whole 25 minutes. The sauce also to be made slowly to get the right consistency so it doesn’t douse the cookies, but coats them, so be sure to add the cranberry juice slowly and mix well.

Lemon Macaroons with White Chocolate Cranberry Sauce

From Against All Grain: Delectable Paleo Recipes to Eat Well & Feel Great

Makes about 24 cookies

Lemon Macaroons

3 c shredded coconut
1/2 c honey
1/2 c coconut milk
1/4 c fresh meyer lemon juice, meyer lemons makes the cookies a bit sweeter, but regular lemons can be used as well
1 egg white
Pinch of salt
3 1/2 tbsp coconut flour

White Chocolate Cranberry Sauce

1/2 c sugar
1 c water
1 c cranberries
6 oz good white chocolate
Preheat oven to 325. In a large bowl, place the coconut, honey, coconut milk and mix. Place the egg white in the bowl of a standard mixer with pinch of salt and beat until soft peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture until well combined.

On a parchment lined baking sheet, scoop out coconut mixture using a tablespoon or ice cream scoop. Lightly pack down and knock off any extra against the side of bowl. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown, rotating half way through. Once done, cool on a wire rack for an hour.

While the cookies are cooling, make the chocolate sauce. Put the sugar, water and cranberries in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer and let some of the water cook out, about 20 minutes. Remove, and strain the berry mixture over a large bowl, pressing down to get all the juices out.

Heat the white chocolate in the microwave until it just starts to turn soft, about 1 minute. Adding the cranberry juice a tablespoon at a time to the chocolate, and continue until you have a rather thick sauce, it should coat a spoon and slowly drizzle off. I used about 8 tablespoons. Drizzle the chocolate over the cooled cookies. Wait till hardened to serve.