So, there’s this rule.
If you give me food, and my dog likes you, I bake for you. It’s not up to me — it’s just the rule.
One evening last summer, I was walking my dog in the neighborhood near our house. A small dog flew up to us and began yelling at Crowley. It was dark, and the two dogs began growling, snarling, and tussling around. It sounded bad.
A petite young woman ran up and began trying to pull her dog from the scrum. Once the pooches were separated, and she and her husband apologized for their dog not being on a lead, we said our goodnights and I went on my way.
But I got to thinking about how that tiny woman — whom Crowley surely outweighed — had run right in to protect her dog and get him to safety.
The next night, the husband Stacey was outside and I told him to please tell his wife that I thought she was really brave. You’ve gotta admire that kind of blind, foolhardy courage.
We all became friendly, and when I was out with Crowley we’d chat.
I learned that Stacey, like me, was a sucker for Christmas. I also learned, that like me, he was the only one in the house with such proclivities, and also suffered from the teasing that comes with it.
One night near Thanksgiving, they gave me a big bag of all kinds of homemade holiday cookies, including a whoopie pie(!). Petey and I spent the evening devouring the treats.
A couple of weeks later, I purchased a truck-load of Christmas CDs at a thrift store. After I ripped them to my computer, I carried the lot to Stacey (I just asked he not drive his poor wife ‘round the bend with non-stop Christmas carols). And when Mom had her cookie frosting party, I took a bag to the couple. Stacey, like every other human on the planet, loved them. But, I found out Melly has celiac disease, and couldn’t even have a nibble.
I decided to make her something that she could eat. I baked her naturally gluten-free coconut macaroons. Half of them I dipped in chocolate, and while still wet, set into chopped homemade butter-toasted, salted pecans.
Mel loved them.
Melly’s Coconut Macaroons
1 14-oz bag sweetened flaked coconut
7/8 cup sweetened condensed milk (3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs whites
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup pecans toasted in butter, salted, then chopped coarsely
Preheat oven to 325°. Set two oven racks near center of oven.
In a medium bowl, mix together the coconut, sweetened condensed milk, ¼ teaspoon salt, and vanilla extract. Set aside.
With an electric mixer fitted with the whisk, beat egg whites and ¼ teaspoon salt until stiff peaks form. Use large rubber spatula to gently fold egg whites into coconut.
Using medium scoop, place mounds on 2 parchment-covered baking sheets, spacing 1-inch apart. Bake 23-25 minutes. Halfway through, rotate pans from top to bottom and front to back, until tops and edges are dark golden. Gently slide macaroom-laden parchment sheets onto 2 wire racks to cool.
Melt the chocolate in microwave, stopping and stirring at 30 second intervals, until smooth and creamy.
Dip bottoms of macaroons into chocolate then press into pecans, and return to lined baking sheets. Place the macaroons in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes to allow chocolate to set. Keep cookies in airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.