By the time I’ve finished cooking food for two Seders, the last thing I want to think about is Passover desserts. I’m exhausted, grumpy and quite frankly, know I’ll be annoyed when no one touches my desserts because it’s 1:00 am and everyone is too tired and too full to eat another bite.

Case in point, last Passover I wanted to make the beautiful Chocolate Chip Cheesecake (page 260) in Susie Fishbein’s Passover by Design cookbook. I spent hours shopping for the ingredients (some of which seemed impossible to come by in Dallas) and then more hours making the cheesecake, which was barely touched during the holiday because everyone was way too full of Matzo! Nuff said.

This year I decided to go easy on the desserts but still wanted to make something instead of buying the ready-made stuff, so I was thrilled to find this recipe for Almond-Coconut Macaroons from Martha Stewart. The ingredient list is short and the preparation is quick and easy. Perfect for the very tired Passover cook who HAS to make dessert but doesn’t really have much energy left.

Plus, we love the store-bought macaroons that come in a can, but I’m guessing they are probably not the healthiest treat around so this recipe seemed like a great alternative. On baking day, I didn’t have any almonds on hand so I substituted pareve chocolate chips instead. I think you could play with this recipe and use all sorts of different ingredients like dried fruit such as cranberries or raisins.

Chocolate Chip Coconut Macaroons for Passover

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup(s) sugar
• 1 large egg white
• 1 cup(s) unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/4 cup(s) whole almonds, chopped (I used a handful of pareve chocolate chips instead)
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) pure vanilla extract
• Pinch of coarse salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a nonstick baking mat or parchment. Whisk together sugar and egg white in a large bowl. Stir in the remaining ingredients.
2. Form dough into eight 2-tablespoon mounds, and drop each onto sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake macaroons until golden-brown on bottoms and edges, about 15 minutes. Let cool on sheets for 5 minutes. Transfer to wire racks, and let cool. Macaroons will keep, covered, for up to 1 week.

The above recipe only makes 8 or 9 macaroons so if you’re feeding a large group, you might want to double or triple the recipe … or you could even make multiple batches with various substitutions for the almonds such as chocolate chips or raisins, etc. Let everyone choose which one they like best.

Happy – try to keep your sanity – Passover and Happy Kosher Treif Cooking!

The Kosher Connection, an informal group of creative kosher food bloggers from all around the world, proudly present our monthly kosher recipe challenge.  Each month we will present you with recipes on a different theme from all the kosher food bloggers.

This month is Passover Desserts!  Follow our recipes on Twitter with #KosherRecipes.

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