I recently came into about 5lbs of coconut. I love coconut. I like to eat it, use it in recipes, and I even drink a carton of Vita Coco coconut water every day. But… What to do with 5lbs of it? Bake bake bake!

I found a super simple, low ingredient recipe in Alex Guarnaschelli’s book The Home Cook: Recipe to Know by Heart for Coconut Almond Clusters. Let me tell you, this is one recipe I definitely know by heart now. It’s only four ingredients (egg whites, sugar, toasted almonds, and coconut) and so quick to throw together. Variations can easily be made without affecting the balance and integrity of the cookies too much… Depending on the varying ingredients used, of course.

They were light and airy as a feather, but delicate so mind that you don’t handle them too much. I prepared some bags for friends (some crumbled in route, sadly), I ate some (ok, maybe 5… both batches!), and I boxed some up for The Mr to take with him to his crew at the restaurant.

The batter was sweet and sticky like marshmallow fluff, but the finished product is a not-too-sweet, crispy-on-the-outside-tender-chew-on-the-inside meringue treat that was so much easier to create than I would have ever imagined! The texture was almost reminiscent of French macarons. Maintaining the foundation of egg whites and sugar, what additions would you bake into these cookies?