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Light and chewy on the inside with a crisp exterior, this is hands down, the best coconut macaroons recipe around.
I fell in love with coconut macaroons when I was working in my stepmother’s catering shop.
For a while they were a big customer favorite, and it seemed as though we served them every other weekend.
Unfortunately, when my stepmother sold the business, the cookbook went along with it and now neither of them are around anymore. So I’ve had to do my best to recreate some of our favorite dishes on my own.
And I finally hit upon a coconut macaroons recipe that brings back all the awesome memories of being in that commercial kitchen.
Good macaroons are both light and chewy on the inside, with a crisp shell of coconut on the exterior that gives just the right amount of bite. And these, my friends, fit all of those requirements.
Coconut Macaroons without Sweetened Condensed Milk
You read that right…there’s no sweetened condensed milk in this recipe.
I know that many of the most popular recipes use condensed milk, but in my search for the perfect recipe I tried some of those popular recipes…and let’s just say I was not happy with the results.
I may have even referred to some of them as weapons, they were so dense. Yuck!
This coconut macaroons recipe is made light and chewy with egg whites that have been whipped into a meringue and with a light coat of flour on the coconut flakes.
It’s a bit more work than just mixing condensed milk and coconut, but so worth the effort.
Coconut Macaroons vs. Almond Macaroons vs Macarons
Did you know these are actually three completely different kinds of cookies?
Yep, and there’s a lot of history behind it, and they all start with a meringue of egg whites and sugar. But the results are completely different:
Coconut Macaroons
Coconut Macaroons are chewy, dome-shaped cookies made with, you guessed it, coconut. They are easy to make and easy to adapt with all sorts of garnishes.
Almond Macaroons
Almond macaroon cookies are thought to actually be the original macaroon, and came out of Italy. These are a fairly flat cookie made with almond paste or ground almonds and then garnished with almond slivers.
Macarons
Macarons are a sandwich cookie that is also made with almond flour, but is far more technically precise than either of the above cookies.
Tips for The Best Coconut Macaroons
- Make sure that no yolks get into your egg whites. The whites will not whip properly if that happens. Tip: Separate each egg white into a small bowl before adding it to the primary mixing bowl. This way, if any of the yolks break and get into the egg white you can discard that egg without contaminating any of the egg whites you already separated.
- Don’t skip refrigerating the dough. The refrigeration time allows the egg whites to soften the coconut, which is how you get that perfectly chewy interior. (Yes, this is experience talking!)
- Once you’ve scooped the cookies onto your parchment paper, use a dampened finger to tuck in any stray pieces of coconut. This helps prevent those pieces from burning.
- Use a cookie scoop to get perfectly shaped and evenly sized coconut macaroons. I used the smallest scoop in this set, which is approximately 1.5 tablespoons of batter
- Store your macaroons at room temperature in a well sealed container for up to one week.
Macaroons with Chocolate
There are two ways you can add chocolate to your macaroons: dip the bottoms of the macaroons in melted chocolate, or drizzle chocolate on the top.
I’m not actually a huge fan of chocolate, so I prefer to drizzle instead of dip.
When I worked in catering, we always added a chocolate drizzle by flicking a chocolate covered fork back and forth over the macaroons. It was a beautiful, but messy.
These days, I prefer to use a makeshift piping bag by filling a bag with melted chocolate and then cutting the corner.
These little bag clips are fantastic for keeping the chocolate in the bag until you’re ready to pipe the chocolate onto the coconut macaroons. Easy peasy.
What You’ll Need
- Two large mixing bowls
- Electric mixer or stand mixer
- Wooden spoon or spatula for folding
- Parchment paper
- Cookie scoop
- Quart size sandwich bag
- Bag clips
- scissors
Yield: 20
The Best Coconut Macaroons Recipe
Light and chewy on the inside with a crisp exterior, this is hands down, the best coconut macaroons recipe around.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Additional Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 30 minutes
Ingredients
- 14 oz shredded coconut
- 6 Tbsp all purpose flour
- 4 large egg whites
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 1/2 C granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup cold water
- 4 oz semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
Make the Coconut Macaroon Batter
- Mix together the flour and shredded coconut in a large mixing bowl.
- In a second bowl, add 4 large egg whites and whip with a mixer until a meringue starts to form, about 3-5 minutes.
- Add sugar, salt, and extracts and continue to mix until well combined, about 1 more minute.
- Carefully fold together the coconut and meringue mixtures, trying not to let the egg whites deflate too much.
- Refrigerate the coconut mixture for 1 to 2 hours to let the coconut soften.
Scoop and Bake the Macaroons
- After the batter has had time to soften, preheat your oven to 325 degrees F, and prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Scoop 1.5 tablespoon size balls of batter and place on the prepared cookie sheet.
- Dip the tip of your finger into the cold water and use it to tuck in the ends of any stray coconut pieces.
- Bake the cookies for 18-20 minutes at 325 degrees F until lightly brown on the outside.
- Cool completely on the cookie sheet before drizzling with chocolate
Drizzle with Chocolate
- Place 4 oz semisweet chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl.
- Microwave the chocolate chips for 30 seconds on high heat and then stir the chips. Continue stirring and microwaving in 10 second increments until melted and smooth.
- Fill a quart size zip top bag with the melted chocolate. Clip one corner of the bag and cut off about ⅛ inch of one corner of the bag.
- Drizzle the chocolate over the cooled macaroons, going back and forth in a wide sweeping motion.
- Allow the chocolate to harden before serving.
Notes
- Make sure that no yolks get into your egg whites. The whites will not whip properly if that happens. Tip: Separate each egg white into a small bowl before adding it to the primary mixing bowl. This way, if any of the yolks break and get into the egg white you can discard that egg without contaminating any of the egg whites you already separated.
- Don’t skip refrigerating the dough. The refrigeration time allows the egg whites to soften the coconut, which is how you get that perfectly chewy interior. (Yes, this is experience talking!)
- Once you've scooped the cookies onto your parchment paper, use a dampened finger to tuck in any stray pieces of coconut. This helps prevent those pieces from burning.
- Use a cookie scoop to get perfectly shaped and evenly sized coconut macaroons. I used the smallest scoop in this set, which is approximately 1.5 tablespoons of batter.
- Store your macaroons at room temperature in a well sealed container for up to one week.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
20Serving Size:
1 Servings
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 150Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 97mgCarbohydrates: 21gFiber: 2gSugar: 15gProtein: 2g
**The nutrition information provided above is estimated using an automated calculation system. Actual nutrition will vary depending on brand and measurements used in your recipe. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutrition information for any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information using the actual ingredients you used in your recipe.
This recipe is adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction
