Chocolate Almond Macaroons

So today was the Bloggers Get Cooking Linkup hosted by myself and Katie.. And for the linkup I made some super yummy chicken, lettuce, quinoa wraps! But y'all know me.. I may live in South Carolina, but go big or go home still very much so applies to me when it comes to blogging. Over the weekend, I whipped up some DELICIOUS chocolate almond macaroons that I am just dying to share with everyone! 

For my birthday, I got a Macaroon Bible from my adopted grandmother, Oma. Most people only recognize French macarons as the only kind of macaron. Or maybe by most people I just mean bloggers. I personally love the American version, Macaroons. What can I say.. I'm a sucker for coconut I guess. So these are not MACARONS but instead MACAROONS. And they are incredible! 

PLEASE MAKE THESE COOKIES. Like I want you to experience how amazing they are, you must make them!

INGREDIENTS

One can of sweetened condensed milk

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

One 14 ounce bag of shredded coconut (you can either get sweetened or non sweetened.. I suggest unsweetened if you're trying to make this slightly more healthy.)

2 large egg whites

A pinch of salt

A bag of almonds (you're gonna need both whole and chopped)

4 ounces of chocolate of your choice (I used  Hershey's Dark chocolate chips)

*Recipe adapted from Dan Cohen's The Macaroon Bible*

preheat oven to 350 degrees  &   line a baking sheet with parchment paper (it's actually very important you use parchment paper because it sticks to waxed paper)

In a large bowl measure out 10 1/2 oz of condensed milk or about 1 cup. Add vanilla and mix with a rubber spatula. Add coconut and combine until completely mixed. 

Add egg whites and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer or a smaller bowl if you're using a hand mixer. 

Beat the egg whites until very stiff peaks form so for about 3 minutes on high. 

Using the rubber spatula, fold the egg white mixture into the coconut mixture until it's one big blog and easier to portion out. 

Get a small bowl of water, two spoons, and a baking sheet with parchment paper. Put the parchment paper on a baking sheet, and spoon out about 24 balls around 1 1/2 inches in diameter one inch apart from each other on the pan. Make sure you dip the spoons in the water and rinse so you can form the macaroons.

Once you get the macaroons on the cookie sheet, press a whole almond into each macaroon. Place the sheet in the oven for 22 minutes. (While they're baking, chop up a few handfuls to sprinkle on top of the cookies when they finish) They should be a light brown color. Let them cool. 

Once they're cool it's time to melt the chocolate. Microwave for 30 seconds. Stir, then put back in for 10 seconds. Stir and repeat until melted. 

dip the macaroons in chocolate, you can either do one half, the underside, the entire top, whatever you feel like! After you dip in chocolate, sprinkle the chopped almonds on top. Put them in the refrigerator, and wait about 15 minutes.. Then Instagram a picture of your creation, and enjoy!

Oconee Reflections

Hey Y'all,

This is the first post that I've written in a week. All my other posts were scheduled so that I could be with my family and enjoy my Spring Break. I went to Oconee State Park, and stayed in two of their CCC cabins. 

On Sunday we arrived at the park. When we went inside the cabin {cabin 5 is the best by the way} we saw that they had left Easter baskets for us!

It was super sweet of them.. Haha! Get it? Sweet.. Like candy? Never mind.. After that, we visited Puerto Nuevo, a local Mexican restaurant. It was amazing! I had a quesadilla and rice. Then we left to pick up some groceries for the week at Ingles. 

On Monday, we woke up early so that we could meet Jocassee Lake Tours at Devils Fork State Park. We went on a 4 hour boat tour. 

We got back around 2, and then we headed off to a honey store. We bought some raw milk, eggs, and of course.. Honey! And then we headed back to the cabin.. We ate some pasta and went on to bed.

On Tuesday, we slept in a bit. It was really rainy in the morning, but the clouds left around 2. We went to Duke Energy, and visited the World Of Energy. We left there, and went to Clemson University. We visited their geology museum. My favorite part were the fluorescent rocks and the huge piece of rose quartz. 

After that, we stopped by the '55 Exchange on campus, and picked up some ice cream. I got strawberry:) 

Then we visited Lake Hartwell state park. We ate some pimento cheese that I had made earlier. After we are.. We headed back to Oconee, ate some beans, and did a little fishing. 

On Wednesday, we got up around 9:30 and ate some cereal. It was cold. I got dressed in a plaid flannel button down, and leggings. 

We visited the Walhalla Fish Hatchery, and I have never seen that many trout in my life. 

Yes, each one of those black lines is a baby trout. How crazy is that? 

After that, we visited Stumphouse Tunnel. It's HUGE.

Since Stumphouse tunnel, and Issaqueena falls are right next to each other.. We went to the falls too! 

And then we headed to Oconee Station State Historic Site for some lunch. 

Y'all know how I am about my flowers.. 

And then we headed back to the cabin. We hiked 5 miles on the Hidden Falls trail at Oconee. 

And of course.. Me and my flowers..

On Thursday we woke up early and headed to the airport. On the curvy mountain roads, sometimes there are scenic places to pull over.

We went to the airport to pick up my Mom's friend. We got there around 8:00 ish.. I think.. And then we headed toward Jones Gap State Park. 

And then we went to Caesar's Head State Park. If you're looking for an amazing view of South Carolina, come to Caesar's Head! It's the very best view in the entire state... 

I mean.. How much more perfect does it get? After Caesar's Head we went to Table Rock State Park.

All those pink things are hellicopter seeds. Y'all.. It's amazing! These trees are everywhere!

Then we headed back to the cabin at Oconee. We built a fire outside, and grilled some hot dogs and chicken. And then we built another fire inside to roast marshmallows. 

Oh and the biggest highlight of the day would have to be right before dinner! I caught a spotted trout in the lake.. 

On Friday we woke up sort of early, and got the car all packed up, and ready to go. We switched over to cabin 2. Cabin 2 is the oldest CCC cabin at Oconee. It sleeps 8 people so it was very large. It has 2 rooms downstairs, a pull out couch, and 2 beds on the loft upstairs. My brother and I slept up on the loft. 

Excuse my Eeyore robe there on the side.. The pink ruffle bag is from Thirty One, my backpack is from The North Face, the duffel bag is from Vera Bradely, and the big tote is from Stilo502.

It's a very homey cabin..

After we got our stuff all moved in we went to the Oconee Heritage Center. 

This was a cart that tenant farmers would use {no replicas.. This is all the real deal} 

This is a Civil war person's outfit...

This is a carpet bag from one of the carpetbaggers that came from the North to the South for political reasons.

This is the inside of a tenant farmer's  cabin. 

After we went there.. We went to Palmetto Sweets and Co. They have the best pastries ever! Oh and I got to try my very first macaroon.. 

It was perfect.. Does anybody have a recipe for macaroons? They are so good.. I finished the night up with homemade pizza {thanks Daddy!} and a warm fire. 

On Saturday we woke up around 9:30 and enjoyed a calm, quiet, and rainy morning. We visited Isaqueena Falls and Stumphouse tunnel again. 

After that we stopped by the grocery store and then went back to the cabin.

Sunday was our last day at the park. We spent most of the day packing up and my battery died so I didn't exactly take anymore pictures.. Sorry to disappoint! 

I hope your spring break was just as great as mine:) 

xx-

Cathleen