The brownie base falls into the middle category of cakey and fudgey. The top part is good enough to eat on its own, but is the perfect compliment to the brownie. This recipe is one that I will repeat. Now my mind is toying with drizzling it with chocolate or including chopped almonds for the next batch.
Also, I was recently given the Liebster Award from Diane at The Hidden Pantry and I wanted to thank her for passing it along. Her blog does have a lot to offer. Not only does she have some great recipe posts (like a pineapple walnut cheese ball) she has some very helpful information and tips. There is one post in which she deciphers produce codes indicating which is organic,conventional or gmo and another one with advice on the best utensils to start building your kitchenware. But I will not ramble on, pop on over to Diane's blog to see for yourself at The Hidden Pantry.
Coconut Macaroon Brownies
adapted from The Dessert Bible
Ingredients/Brownie Base
1 cup flour
2 tbs cocoa powder
2 cups sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup or 2 sticks of butter
4 oz unsweetened chocolate
6 large eggs, room temp
Ingredients/Macaroon Layer
1/2 cup sugar
3 cups unsweetened or desiccated coconut
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
6 large egg whites, room temp
3 tbs butter, melted and cooled
1/3 cup light corn syrup
Grease a 9X13 inch pan or line the pan with foil.
To make the brownie layer, prepare a double boiler with water and place over medium heat. Put butter and chocolate in top pan to melt. Stir mixture about every 3 minutes until it all is melted and smooth. Remove pan and set aside.
in another bowl, whisk the eggs and vanilla together until completely blended. Then pour in the chocolate mixture in three increments, whisking after each addition. Stir in the salt. Add the flour, cocoa powder and sugar and mix with a wooden spoon until batter is thick and smooth.
Pour batter into prepared pan and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
To make the topping, whisk the egg whites until a little froth forms. Then combine the corn syrup, vanilla and butter into the egg whites. Mix in the salt and then the sugar. Once all is combined fold in the coconut until evenly distributed.
Using a spoon, drop large scoops of macaroon mixture onto batter. The scoop should be about 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons and the mixture should be placed in 3 rows of 5 on top of the brownie batter. Then take a knife and cut an "X" into each mound. This will help each mound bake and bond together to cover the top of the brownie batter.
The recipe states bake in oven for about 40 minutes, however I left mine in for about 50 minutes. Getting the center cooked in such a large pan is tricky for me when it comes to bars. Brownies are done when the center is firm to the touch. Let brownies cool completely in pan placed on a rack.
**LAST YEAR: Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes**