Recipe: Macaroon Kisses

I finished my holiday baking last week. This was the final recipe out of my kitchen for Christmas 2011. One day, I looked in my cabinet and said, “Why do I have 3 bags of coconut?” It’s rare that I have extra of anything. This much coconut could cause a crisis. The crisis was averted through the baking of Macaroon Kisses.
Macaroons are sticky. There is no escaping it. Every time I make macaroons I end up with coconut stuck everywhere. If you are using a standard cookie sheet, you can line it with foil (greased and floured). I skipped that line in the instructions and needless to say, if you don’t grease and flour the foil, there is coconut stuck everywhere and sad looking macaroons that are missing half their parts. Moral of the story: Use your silicone baking mats and avoid calamity.

1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 to 1 ½ teaspoons almond extract
5 1/3 cups flaked coconut
48 Hershey’s kisses

Preheat oven to 325. Line your baking sheets with foil (greased and floured) or with your silicone baking mats. In a large mixing bowl, combine milk and extracts. Stir in coconut. Roll coconut into balls and put on cookie sheet, flattening slightly. If you keep you hands wet/damp with water the coconut will not stick to you as badly. Bake 15 to 17 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven. Immediately press kiss into the center the macaroon (a piece of York Peppermint Patty is also delicious). Remove from baking sheet and cool on rack (or greased wax paper). Store loosely covered at room temperature.