No Bake Coconut-Caramel Macaroons

Hints of caramel and vanilla, woven into an already awesome marriage of coconut and dark chocolate. Just ask the Almond Joy. Plus, these chewy gems are no-bake, gluten-free and undeniably easy. The hardest part is unwrapping 40 caramels...

One of Kyle's favorite cookies - the coconut macaroon. And, trust me, I've made my share of them over the years. They are fabulous. But I didn't feel like turning on the oven today. And, I wanted to see if I could create an equally awesome cookie with a handful of DIFFERENT ingredients (something other than egg whites and sweetened condensed milk).

Wow, this was SO easy, and SO spot on. I may never go back to the baked version. In fact, I brought these to a track outing and even the kids who said "I don't usually like coconut" devoured them. I guess it's the caramel...

And, because caramel hardens after it's been melted and cooled, the cookies hold together beautifully. No need for baking at all. You just have to wait for them to "set".

If you're impatient, like me, you can speed up the "setting" process by popping the cookies in the refrigerator. In fact, you can do that two times - once to harden the cookies and next to harden the chocolate. You'll cut prep time down to virtually nothing.

No Bake Coconut-Caramel Macaroons
Click HERE for for a PDF/print-friendly version.

11-ounce package caramels, wrappers removed
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
14-ounce package shredded sweetened coconut
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon vegetable shortening

In a large saucepan, combine the caramels, milk and butter. Set the pan over medium-low heat and cook until the caramels and butter melt, stirring frequently (don't bring the mixture to a boil). Whisk until smooth. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the vanilla. Fold in the coconut until completely blended.
Drop tablespoons of the dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet (using a cookie scoop is the easiest way to scoop!). Cool completely (refrigerating will speed up this process).
Melt the chocolate and shortening together in a small saucepan over low heat, or in the microwave, checking and stirring every 20 seconds. Dip the bottoms of each macaroon into the chocolate and return to the parchment paper. Use a fork to drizzle the top of the macaroons with the remaining chocolate. Cool until the chocolate is set (again, refrigerating will speed up this process!).
Store leftovers airtight container (at room temperature or in the fridge).
Makes 30 macaroons

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