Smackaroons: Coconut Crème Kiss Filled Macaroons

Hi!  It’s Renee again from Attack of the Hungry Monster. Also, it’s macaroon time. But these macaroons have a secret. While not obvious to the untrained eye (my eye is trained in chocolate, in case you are wondering), it is most definitely a coconut crème Hershey’s kiss!

I decided to call these smackaroons because they are kisses (*smack*) stuffed inside coconut macaroon cookies.  I really need to trademark that.

Here’s how they came about: I am a bargain shopper through and through.  No discounted item goes unnoticed by me.  I hit that Target clearance weekly like I’m storing a bunker…full of discount clothing and old Easter candy.

So, after Easter when I came across these bad boys, I knew where they’d end up.

I love the idea of stuffed cookies and have tried other people’s variations — such as brownie stuffed cookies and Oreo stuffed cookies, and they were excellent. But now that warm, sunny days are here, I feel like I need a springtime stuffed cookie in my life. That’s where these come in.

I have never actually made coconut macaroons before, but I sure enjoy them on the Chinese buffet.  These were super easy to make and way fresher than packaged macaroons!

Smackaroons

Makes 16 cookies

4 egg whites
4 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/8 tsp salt
2 ¾-3 cups sweetened flaked coconut
16 Hershey’s Coconut Crème Kisses* *If you cannot find these limited edition kisses, try it with another variation, like caramel kisses or the ones with almonds —yum!
Dark or semi-sweet chocolate for drizzle (optional)

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 300°F. Prepare pans with parchment paper.

Whip your egg whites for a minute or two, then add sugar, vanilla, almond extract, and a pinch of salt until combined.  Stir in coconut.

Scoop the dough (or is it a batter?) into mounds (I used a standard cookie scoop) and place them on the parchment paper, leaving about 2 inches between them.

Unwrap your kisses and place one on each batter/dough mound. Then form the dough around the kiss with your hands (you might want to spray them with some spray oil first).

Bake until tops are pale golden in spots, 15 to 20 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely, about 15 minutes.  Drizzle with melty chocolate if you want.

Basic macaroon recipe adapted from Yummy Mummy.

And the money shot…

By the way, ES-ers, I got some weird reactions to my Sweet Potato, Butterscotch, Bacon & Goat Cheese Quesadilla I posted last week. Apparently the world is not ready for this jelly.  If you have a more adventurous palette, you should give it a try!

“hungry monster” is Renee from http://attackofthehungrymonster.blogspot.com/, a cooking and (occasional) crafting site.  She’s a self-taught home chef who likes to put her own spin on classic recipes.  Go visit her blog and say hi.

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4 comments

  • Chelle Chapman April 26, 2012  

    YUM!!!! I am so gonna make these this weekend!!! Coconut Kisses? NEVER heard of them but boy, NOW I’m on the hunt!!! I am a coconut hound! I love the coconut creamer in my coffee too. If I DO find some coconut Kisses I will have to buy the store out & freeze ’em, especially since you say they are a limited edition! Again, thank you for this yummy recipe.

  • kris June 4, 2012  

    i am not a fan of almond extract, by any means, do you think i could just use more vanilla extract, or perphaps even coconut extract in place of the almond?

  • hungry monster June 4, 2012  

    Kris, I think you could definitely sub vanilla for the almond extract. It’s not that noticeable, really.

  • Karin Gravallese March 31, 2013  

    The recipe doesn’t indicate to whip the egg whites to stiff peaks….but I did this anyway. I also added 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut and a pinch of cream of tartar. They came out beautiful! I used raspberry kisses and drizzled them with dark chocolate.

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