Coconut Macaroons

1. Stage

Preheat the oven to 425°F: Line a baking sheet with parchment or silicone mat.

2. Stage

Pulse the coconut: Pulse the coconut in a food processor until coarsely ground. Start with ten 1-seond pulses and do as many more pulses as it takes to get the coconut coarsely ground.

3. Stage

Mix and quickly cook the batter: Combine the egg whites, sugar, coconut, and applesauce in a medium-sized, thick-bottomed saucepan. Mix well and heat on medium low heat, stirring frequently, until the ingredients are well incorporated, and the mixture forms a smooth paste and is warm to the touch (about 120°F). If the mixture seems too dry or stiff to pipe through a piping bag, add a little more applesauce. If the mixture seems too wet, add a little more coconut.

4. Stage

Pipe or scoop mounds onto the baking sheet: Place warm mixture into a pastry bag and pipe tall mounds onto a baking sheet, about an inch and a half apart from each other. Alternatively, form mounds with a 1 tablespoon-sized scoop. Let the formed cookies dry out for about 15 minutes before baking.

5. Stage

Bake: Bake the cookies until they start to get color on the edges where the cookie meets the pan, 5 to 7 minutes.

6. Stage

Cool: Let cool on the pan for a couple minutes, then carefully lift the pan liner with the cookies off the pan and place on a rack. The cookies will firm up as they cool. Once cool, remove from the pan liner. Store in a covered box for up to 5 days at room temperature.