For the coconut lover this recipe will be without doubt well suited to them.
Very crispy under the teeth this cookies is perfect to accompany an afternoon tea or as a snack.
To be consumed with moderation; high sugar content.
For this recipe we will need a stencil about 5cm diameter and 2mm thick to spread and shape the cookies on the baking silicon sheet.
The stencils are usually made of aluminium or rubber and we can find them in bakery utensils specialty shops.
By using a stencil we are able to make regularly sized and shaped cookies.
First thing we need, as usual, to turn on the oven but this time at the very low temperature of 80ºC to 90ºC (176ºF to 194ºF) depending of the oven.
Following are the ingredients needed for this recipe: Egg Whites: 125g Castor sugar (1): 70g Castor sugar (2): 375g Plain water: 100g Desiccated coconut: 450g Vanilla essence: 4g Another particularity of the recipe is that it cannot be made for a last minute plan, the baking time being 12 hours.
First we need to start cooking the castor sugar (2) with the plain water, and we are going to cook it to the soft ball, this means to 113ºC (235ºF) if we use a thermometer.
When the sugar reach 106ºC (223ºF) we can start whisking the egg whites with the castor sugar (1) preferably with an electric mixer on 3rd gear.
When the hot syrup reach 113ºC (235ºF) the egg whites should have already formed a soft snow.
Then we pour very slowly the hot syrup into the egg white, whisking constantly on second gear, this time.
Then after scrapping the side of the bowl with a long handle mounted scraper, turn the mixer up to the 3rd gear again for a few second (to clean the whisk) and then back to second gear; and leave it for a few more minutes on 2nd gear to cool down slightly.
When the meringue is still warm but not too hot, take the bowl off the mixer and fold in the desiccated coconut and vanilla essence, mixing by hand with spatula or big spoon.
At this stage we get a very sticky white paste.
So we can start shaping the cookies with the help of the stencil and a small palette knife on a the silicon baking sheets, keeping the disks 1cm apart each other.
Once you have finished shaping the whole mix take off the stencil(s) and insert the baking sheets into the oven.
If your oven has a ventilation duct, keep it open.
If your oven does not have a ventilation duck, then it is better to leave a very small opening on the side of the door, as we need the cookies to dry out completely.
The coconut disks should stay as white as at the beginning during the whole length of the baking.
If they start to take a yellowish colour during the baking, this means that the oven is too hot.
After 12 hours of baking the coconut disks should be very crispy, brittle and still virgin white.
Take them out and leave them to cool down completely.
When they are cold, it is a good idea to wrap them up in small airtight packets of ten or twenty or in an airtight container, this way they will stay dry and crispy.
I really hope you enjoyed this coconut disk cookies recipe.
If you need more information about other recipes do not hesitate to contact me.