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Fruit Macaroons
Cream 1/2 cup margarine with 3/4 cup sugar; add 2 tablespoons milk; mix and sift 1 3/4 cups flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and add to first mixture. Add 1/2 cup chopped nut meats, 1/2 cup candied cherries cut in pieces, 1 cup fresh or canned grated cocoanut thoroughly drained, and 1 teaspoon almond extract.
Drop by spoonfuls on greased baking sheets, after folding into the mixture the whites of 2 stiffly beaten eggs. Bake at 350 degrees until delicately browned. Makes about 40 cookies.
A stiff drop cookie rather than a true meringue macaroon: the flour, baking powder and creamed fat put it closer to a rock cake, with beaten whites folded in for lift.
- Fold, do not stirThe whites go in last, after the fruit and coconut, and the mixture is already heavy. Cut them in with a spatula in a few strokes; overworking collapses them and the cookies bake flat and dense.
- Coconut"Fresh or canned grated cocoanut" points to moist coconut rather than dry desiccated flake; the instruction to drain it thoroughly suggests a wet-packed product. Today use frozen grated coconut or unsweetened shredded coconut soaked briefly in warm milk and squeezed dry. Draining matters, as excess liquid slackens the dough.
- Oven and time350F is stated, and no time is given. Expect 12 to 15 minutes for spoon-sized mounds. "Delicately browned" means the edges only; the coconut on top scorches well before the centre sets if pushed further.
- MargarinePeriod margarine was a firm, water-bearing fat. Modern stick margarine or unsalted butter both work; tub spreads have too much water and will spread the cookies thin.
- Candied cherriesGlace cherries, sold seasonally in many supermarkets. Rinse off surface syrup and pat dry before chopping, or the pieces will stick together in a clump.
- The two yolksOnly the whites are used. Save the yolks for custard or a glaze rather than discarding them.
- Shaping and yieldAbout 40 cookies from this quantity works out to roughly a rounded tablespoon of dough each, spaced two inches apart. They hold their shape and barely spread, so flatten the tops slightly with a damp spoon if you want an even bake.