By Sixty-six. My birthday. Denise organized a gathering — the yard, the family, the cake. Kayla baked it again (her skills are improving: the layers were even this time, which is either practice or a miracle, and I choose to believe both). Coconut cake, same as last year. Twenty people in the yard — Denise and Robert, Kayla and Devon, Monique and James, Earl Jr. and Carolyn from Atlanta with Amara and David Jr., Patricia and Wayne from Jacksonville with Alexis home between travel assignments.
Amara is three now. She runs. She talks. She has opinions about everything and shares them loudly. She hugged my legs and said, "Happy birfday Gah-gah!" The mispronunciation is part of the gift. David Jr. is seven months old, crawling, grabbing everything within reach, looking at the world with the Henderson intensity that I recognize from every photograph of Earl as a baby. The eyes. Always the eyes.
I said, "I'm sixty-six and I don't recommend it." Everyone laughed. The tradition holds. The joke gets truer every year.
Alexis — Patricia's youngest, the travel nurse — she sat with me on the porch after cake and told me about her assignments. She's been to Colorado, California, Texas. She says the food in Colorado is "fine but confused" and the food in Texas is "aggressive in the best way." I told her to eat vegetables. She said, "I eat vegetables, Granny." I said, "In a smoothie?" She said, "Sometimes." I sighed. The girl will learn. Or she won't. Either way, I love her.
The book. The advance copies arrive this week. I am trying not to think about it every hour. I am failing.
Now go on and feed somebody.
Kayla’s coconut cake was the centerpiece of the whole afternoon, and I kept thinking about coconut the rest of the evening — the smell of it, the sweetness, the way it somehow feels both festive and familiar at the same time. These Lime & Gin Coconut Macaroons carry that same spirit: a little bright from the lime, a little grown-up from the gin, and entirely worth making for any table that has people you love sitting around it. When the advance copies of the book arrive and I finally let myself exhale, I plan to make a batch and eat two before I share the rest.
Lime & Gin Coconut Macaroons
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 24 macaroons
Ingredients
- 3 cups sweetened shredded coconut
- 2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
- 2 tablespoons gin
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoon lime zest
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 large egg whites
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven. Heat your oven to 325°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Combine the coconut base. In a large bowl, stir together the shredded coconut, sweetened condensed milk, gin, lime juice, lime zest, and vanilla extract until everything is evenly combined.
- Whip the egg whites. In a separate clean bowl, beat the egg whites and salt with a hand mixer on medium-high until stiff peaks form, about 2–3 minutes.
- Fold together. Gently fold the whipped egg whites into the coconut mixture in two additions, taking care not to deflate the whites. The batter should be light but still hold its shape.
- Scoop and shape. Using a rounded tablespoon or small cookie scoop, drop mounds of batter onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 1 inch apart. Lightly press each mound into a compact round.
- Bake. Bake for 18–20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through, until the macaroons are golden at the tips and set in the center.
- Cool completely. Let the macaroons rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. They firm up as they cool.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 85 | Protein: 1g | Fat: 4g | Carbs: 11g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 45mg