Coconut Macaroons

This chewy coconut macaroons recipe made with condensed milk and whipped egg whites are chewy, sticky and delicious! I dipped and drizzled them with a little chocolate, but you can just keep them plain. Coconut macaroons are an easy cookie ready in about 30 minutes and just seven simple ingredients!

 

When it comes to anything coconut I’m a huge fan. Whether it’s a coconut cake, coconut cream pie, or in this case these chewy sweet coconut macaroons sign me up. And these easy coconut macaroons are a heck of a lot simpler for me to get my coconut craving taken care of then making a pie or cake.

Yes, coconut macaroons are pretty simple cookies to make. You do need to whip a couple of egg whites and stir that into your batter but all in all, they are fairly quick to make.

I used sweetened condensed milk to thicken and sweeten these macaroons. And a couple whipped egg whites to help lighten the cookies up a bit.

I dipped them in chocolate but that’s totally optional. A delicious option. One I don’t always skip. But even on their own, they are scrumptious. Let’s just say my husband kept sneaking these off the cookie sheet on me.

So if you’re a coconut lover like I am, I know these coconut macaroons are going to quickly become favorite cookies in your house.

The Secret To Perfect Macaroons

To make perfect coconut macaroons, it took a few attempts on this recipe. The first few batches…um not so perfect coconut macaroons. They sort of spread a into coconut looking blobs. Still delicious. Just not the perfect little cookies I was going for.

The key to this recipe was NOT using the entire can of sweetened condensed milk. When I used the whole can I found it was WAY too much liquid. So by using about 3/4 of the can resulted in absolutely perfect coconut macaroons.

You can always use leftover sweetened condensed milk in your next cup of coffee so don’t throw it out!

And the best part about coconut macaroons dipped in chocolate is they are also naturally gluten free.

Ingredients Needed

• Sweetened condensed milk – Sweetened condensed milk is milk with the water removed and sugar has been added to create this sweet sticky liquid. Do not use evaporated milk, as it’s not the same and you will not get the same results when making these coconut macaroons. Your macaroon mixture would be VERY runny if you mixed these up. You will NOT use the whole can and have some leftover sweetened condensed milk. I found if you used the whole can your macaroons spread quite a bit.
• Coconut – I used sweetened shredded coconut for this recipe. If you use unsweetened coconut these cookies may be a little less sweet.
• Vanilla extract – Pure vanilla extract is best, but imitation vanilla will also work.
• Almond extract – When I make coconut macaroons I love using both vanilla and almond flavoring. If you’re not a fan of almond, you can always omit this. Try adding additional vanilla extract. Or replace with coconut extract for more coconut flavor.
• Egg whites – You will need 2 large egg whites for these cookies. These help provide structure for our coconut macaroon cookies. Make sure they are room temperature with no trace of egg yolks so they whip up properly. For help on separating your eggs cleanly, read how to separate eggs.
• Chocolate – I dipped these in some melted chocolate – I prefer using semi-sweet chocolate, but a darker chocolate variety or milk chocolate also works. Or you don’t have to dip them in chocolate at all and you can stir in mini chocolate chips.

How To Make Coconut Macaroons

Prepare your baking sheets with parchment paper (or you could also use silicone baking mat or you can lightly grease with cooking spray) and preheat your oven to 325^oF .

Using parchment paper will result in cookies that don’t stick or for easy cleanup! I love using parchment paper baking sheets so there’s no need to deal with those fussy rolls. If you don’t have parchment paper, a silicone baking mat will also work, or you can lightly grease your baking sheet as well.

Then In a large mixing bowl, stir together shredded coconut flakes, sweetened condensed milk, extracts and salt. 

Whip the egg whites.

In a second bowl, with an electric mixer (hand mixer or stand mixer with your whisk attachment) whip 2 large egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form. You want stiff peaks or your macaroons may spread and fall flat.

You can definitely whip the egg whites with a whisk, but it will take some muscle and a few more minutes but can definitely be done.

Stir in the egg whites.

Using a spatula, gently fold the stiff egg whites into the coconut mixture until it’s evenly combined and there are  no streaks of egg whites remaining. 

Bake the macaroons.

Drop batter onto your prepared baking sheets lined with parchment paper using either a 1 ½ -inch cookie scoop, or use 2 teaspoons if you don’t own a cookie scoop.

For perfect, evenly sized macaroons that bake evenly I always recommend using a cookie scoop.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown.  Remove from the oven. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 1 minute before moving to a wire rack. 

Dip cookies in chocolate.

Chop the chocolate and melt either in a double boiler or your microwave in a microwave safe bowl. Then dip the bottom of each macaroon in the melted chocolate and place on parchment paper to harden.

Again if you don’t want to go the extra step of dipping them, you can enjoy them plain or try stirring in some mini chocolate chips so you get all the chocolate taste without the extra step of dipping the cookies in chocolate.

More Recipes To Try

If you’re craving more cookies be sure to try my super popular lemon cookie recipe! They are a favorite here on the blog and you don’t need to chill the cookie dough.

In the Fall make sure to bake up a batch of my pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. They are soft, chewy and full of pumpkin flavor. And you can’t go wrong with my peanut butter oatmeal cookies any time of year!