Coconut & lime macaroons

Another glorious sun-drenched morning - Autumn is being very generous indeed.

It seems the warmer the weather, the longer my husband takes to get ready in the morning; he just can't seem to leave for work. This particular morning, abetted by the warm winds, we went off in search of water pistols (or rather SuperSoakers) - toy store after toy store later, we remained empty handed as no one sells water guns in Autumn :(. Despite the disappointment we were still in good spirits and sat and chatted outside before he managed to tear himself away from the sunshine and head to his gloomy office.

What I love most about sunny days is the sunlight - nothing beats pitter-pattering around the kitchen whilst beams of light dance across the benchtops. The longer the light lingers, the longer I keep cooking.
I may have chosen this recipe purely to use up left-over egg whites, but after tasting them, I think I will have to search for recipes to use left-over egg yolks instead, as I don't think I could wait for excess whites to make these again.

ease: 5/5.
prep time: 10mins to get them all on the pans ready to go.
cooking time: 12mins.
total: 22mins.

taste: 4/5 - like an island holiday for your tongue.

The smell - my goodness the smell - it was sublime. The sweet, tropical coconut dances with the fresh bitter tang of the lime and creates a delicious breeze transporting me away to the Caribbean and other foreign islands. The aroma alone is worth the baking.

Now, as for the taste, well, let's start with the texture. These little marhmallow-shaped mounds had a wonderful sticky outer crust, tanned around the edges, and with a subtle firmness that only gave my teeth a slight resistance before letting them sink into the spongy, soft inner-belly. The coconut fills your mouth with its tropical sweetness, but before it becomes too much the citrus lime cuts through, it's fragrance stops the macaroon from becoming too sweet and monotonous - they are the perfect pairing.

I ate four of these straight from the oven, I won't lie...well, perhaps five but who's counting. Don't be fooled by their diminutive size and neutral shade, these little monsters are addictive.

I made some small and a few slightly bigger - I preferred the extra sponginess of the larger sized macaroons - I'd guess the recipe would probably make around 15 larger ones, and 24 smaller ones.

would I make it again: Yes.

recipe: Coconut & lime macaroons