Coconut Macaroon Brownies

Chocolate and coconut are always a delicious combination. Sometimes, they meed in the form of a chocolate-dipped coconut cookie and coconut is the star. Other times, coconut is added to chocolate for texture and the chocolate takes center stage. In these Coconut Macaroon Brownies, both of these flavors share the spotlight: fudgy chocolate brownies are packed with shredded coconut and topped with a crisp-chewy coconut macaroon topping.

To make these Coconut Macaroon Brownies, you’re going to start with my recipe for Fudgy One Bowl Brownies and add chocolate chips and shredded coconut to the batter. Chocolate chips are an addition that I usually make, just for even more chocolate, and the shredded coconut adds a nice texture and subtle coconut flavor to the mix.

The brownie batter is divided into individual muffin cups – I recommend lining them with paper liners – before being baked. You could bake the brownies in a square pan (following the directions for the original brownie recipe), if desired, but I love the look of these individual brownies and feel they have the perfect edge-to-center ratio for this recipe. The brownies are baked, then topped with a coconut macaroon mixture and baked again until the coconut is set and lightly browned. You don’t want to bake it until it looks completely dry, as you want the macaroon to be chewy in the middle (like the brownies) and crisp on the top.

The brownies are ready to eat as soon as they have cooled completely and they can be stored in an airtight container until you’re ready to serve them. They should be crisp, chewy, coconutty and very chocolaty. The somewhat generous portion size makes them a little bit decadent – and you can also share them by cutting them in half, if you don’t think you can eat the whole thing by yourself.

Coconut Macaroon Brownies
1 batch of batter for Fudgy One Bowl Brownies
1/2 cup chocolate chips
2/3 cup shredded coconut

Topping
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 1/4 cups shredded coconut
2 large egg whites
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.
Prepare the brownie batter as directed by the brownie recipe (without adding extra chocolate chips or nuts, as suggested by the original recipe), then add in 1/2 cup chocolate chips to the batter, along with 2/3 cup shredded coconut.
Divide batter evenly into prepared pan.
Bake for about 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached.

While brownies are baking, prepare the topping. In a medium bowl, whisk together confectioners’ sugar, shredded coconut, egg whites, vanilla and salt, until ingredients are all moist and well-combined.
When brownies are ready, pull them out of the oven and quickly divide the coconut mixture on top of them, gently spreading the mixture with a knife so that it covers (or mostly covers) the brownies.
Return brownies to the oven for 8-10 minutes, or until coconut is lightly browned.
Allow brownies to cool completely before serving.

Makes 12

The post Coconut Macaroon Brownies appeared first on Baking Bites.