(Photo: spirit_of_nature/iStock)
(Photo: spirit_of_nature/iStock)

I’m not super confident in my baking abilities, but I do possess an amazing Passover chocolate chip macaroon recipe that makes me look like the best baker who ever lived. I’m not joking! My mother acquired a variation of this recipe years ago, from a Jewish woman in Miami. Back then, my mother babysat for the woman’s children. With time (and partly because of her baking abilities), this woman became like a second mother to my mom and, eventually, was known as my “aunt.”

Every year for Passover, we would drive four to five hours from Safety Harbor, Florida, down to Miami to celebrate with my grandparents. My “aunt and uncle” usually joined us on the second night, and all my mother could talk about was how she couldn’t wait to eat those amazing chocolate chip macaroons. It wasn’t a Passover seder without them. Personally, I can’t even touch the canned ones. Throughout the years, the chocolate chip macaroons started appearing at other Jewish holidays and often at school bake sales. Still, these macaroons always remind me of Passover meals at my grandmother’s house, filled with great food and company.

If you look in my baking cabinet (or my mother’s!) you’ll find all the ingredients listed below. We keep them on hand because you never know when you’ll be in the mood to whip up some decadent morsels. They are best served right from the oven, but let them cool at least a few minutes, or you’ll surely burn your tongue.

Chocolate Chip Macaroons

Ingredients

  • 14 ounces Baker’s Angel Flake Coconut (sweetened)
  • 14 ounces (1 can) sweetened condensed milk (Carnation brand preferred)
  • ¾ bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • Parchment paper

Directions

  1. Mix coconut, condensed milk and vanilla with a wooden spoon. Stir in chocolate chips.
  2. Scoop heaping spoonfuls of the mix onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. (You can also use greased cookie sheets, but I recommend the parchment paper.) Make sure the macaroons are one inch apart.
  3. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees, or until golden on top (depending on your oven, it might take up to 15 to 17 minutes).
  4. Place macaroons on cooling rack before serving.