Holy, Macaroon.

Hey readers! My name is Laci and I have celiac. My mother, Tricia, wrote Cecil Celiac for my nephew once he was diagnosed with this disease, and after learning of his symptoms and his courage to be tested, I decided to get checked out too. 6 months later, I was diagnosed with celiac as well. It was pretty hard to think of all of the foods that I wouldn't be able to eat any more, like pasta and yummy french bread and pastries, pizza OH the pizza I would miss! I'm sure you all have had similar moments when learning this hard truth. But the hardest delectable morsel of food to give up was hands down my grandmother's famous red velvet cake. I balled like a baby when the thought occurred to me that I would never devour, no, inhale a piece of that heaven again. It was my "rock bottom" if you will.

But after a few months of trying a little of this and a little of that, I started to figure out that there IS life after celiac! Udi's bread, Charlotte's Bakery, Sweet Cake's Bakery and flour mixes, Mariposa Bakery, Betty Crocker GF Mixes- just to name a few. Not to mention all of the recipes out there that are naturally gluten free.. HALLELUJAH! It became a personal challenge for myself. What could I make that is gluten free, and how can I make it even better than the same thing that has gluten?

After 2 years of having celiac, I finally have started feeling confident in my cooking skills. -Enough so to even share some of my recipes and finds with you! So to kick of my recipe section here on Cecil Celiac, let's hear it for some MACAROONS! MMMMMM MMMM! Its truly is a party in your mouth. Do you like the candy bar Mounds? Well... this is even BETTER (and bigger..)

Just look at that coconutty goodness...

Here is the recipe I found off of Pinterest- follow my recipe board HERE with all recipes that can be adapted to gluten free! Enjoy!

(You can thank me later)

14 ounces sweetened shredded coconut
14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
chocolate of your choice for melting (I melted chips in the microwave and then put in a ziplock and cut off a tip for easy drizzling)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or spray with Pam to prevent sticking. In a bowl, mix the coconut, condensed milk, and vanilla.

Whip the egg whites and salt on high speed in an electric mixer with the whisk attachment until medium-firm peaks. Fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture.

Drop the batter onto sheet pans lined with parchment paper using a large spoon or an ice cream scoop. Should look like mounds. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. Cool and drizzle chocolate across the tops.


***Original Recipe found on pinterest from HERE