Pineapple Coconut Macarons

Whoever originally came up with the pineapple-coconut pairing is a freakin’ genius. I’m usually not a huge fan of coconut, but I love coconut when it’s paired with pineapple or banana. 

This time, I decided to try making tiny one-bite macarons. With this recipe, you can make lots of tiny macarons so you’ll need three large baking sheets. I piped very small rounds of macaron batter that are about the size of a quarter. They’re so cute when they’re tiny! They’re also less messy to eat too.

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Ingredients:

Macaron shells

• 1 cup icing sugar
• 3/4 cup ground almonds
• 4 tsp shredded coconut
• 2 large egg whites
• 3 1/2 tbsp granulated sugar

Filling

• 2 1/2 tsp crushed canned pineapple (drained)
• 2 tsp finely shredded coconut
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 3/4 icing sugar

Directions:

Macaron shells

1. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a food processor, process ground almonds, shredded coconut, and icing sugar for about a minute. Scrape along the inside of the food processor in between to ensure that there aren’t any large clumps and that the ingredients are mixed well.
3. In a medium bowl, sift the almond mixture.
4. In a small bowl (be sure to use a bowl that’s not too shallow), whisk the egg whites with a handmixer on medium-low speed for about a minute until light and fluffy.
5. Increase the speed to medium-high and continue to whisk the egg whites until medium-stiff for about 2 minutes. (If you turn the bowl upside-down, the egg whites don’t slide out.)
6. Gradually add granulated sugar to the egg whites while continuing to whisk on medium-high speed for another 2 minutes to achieve medium-stiff peaks.
7. Gradually fold the egg mixture into the almond mixture, adding only about 1/3 of the egg mixture at a time.
8. Transfer the batter into a piping bag. (Or if you’re frugal like me, you can use a medium sandwich bag instead and just cut a tiny corner of the bag to pipe.)
9. Pipe batter onto baking sheets. (If you’re making bite-sized macarons, pipe very small rounds that are about the size of a quarter and at least 1/2 inch apart.
10. Preheat oven to 325°F. Let the batter sit at room temperature for about 15 to 20 minutes.
11. Turn the oven down to 300°F and put the baking sheets into the oven for 7 minutes.
12. Rotate the baking sheets and bake for 8 minutes.
13. Remove the baking sheets from the oven and allow the macaron shells to cool.

Filling

1. In a small bowl, cream the icing sugar and butter. (I use a single whisk attachment on my handmixer and whisk on low speed.)
2. Whisk in shredded coconut.
3. Whisk in crushed pineapple.

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Fill your macarons, and you’re done!

Low fat pineapple orange cupcake recipe

I ♥ mini cupcakes. They’re just the right amount of sweetness and, well, don’t you think they’re cute?

Low fat pineapple orange cupcakes

(yields 24 mini cupcakes)

Cupcakes:

• 2/3 cup flour
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1 large egg
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/3 cup canned pineapple – crushed and drained
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Icing:

• 1/4 cup whipping cream
• 3/4 cup icing sugar
• 2 tbsp canned pineapple – also crushed and drained
• 1 tsp orange zest

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Let’s get baking:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a mini cupcakes pan with two dozen mini cupcake liners.
2. In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg first and then whisk in the other wet ingredients.
4. Create a well in the dry ingredients, then slowly pour and stir the wet ingredients in. Mix well.
5. Pour the mixture evenly into the cupcake liners.
6. Bake cupcakes for about 10 minutes, rotate the pan and then bake for another 10 minutes. Test the cupcakes by inserting a toothpick in the center. The cupcakes are ready when the toothpick comes out clean. Remove cupcakes from the oven and allow them to cool in room temperature for about 20 minutes.

Preparing the icing:

1. In a medium bowl, beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form.
2. Stir crushed pineapple into the cream. (NOTE: Ensure that you’ve drained out the juice from the pineapple as much as possible.)
3. Stir orange zest into the cream. (I like using a cheese grater to make orange zest, but there are other ways to do so.)
4. Add icing sugar to the cream and mix well.
5. Refrigerate the icing for about 30 minutes before adding on top of cupcakes.