Easy Coconut Macaroons

These delicious and Easy Coconut Macaroons are my Mother’s recipe and have become a staple in our home. For as long as I can remember my Mother has been making these delicious macaroons for her Passover sedars. As soon as I started contributing to the sedar dinner I took over making the macaroons. My recipe is nearly identical to hers, because why would you mess with perfection! These macaroons are so good that I make them year round, especially when I’m baking for friends who have gluten allergies.

You may have seen coconut macaroons in the grocery store: they are the round coconut cookies often dipped in milk chocolate, and served around Easter and Pesach.  They tend to be hard, dry, and have only a hint of coconut flavour: these cookies are nothing like those.  These cookies, my Mother’s recipe, are pillows of soft coconut with honey folded in for extra flavour.  They are a little sweet, and have just enough chew to have an interesting texture.  These Easy Coconut Macaroons are a staple in my Pesach baking, but could certainly be made for any coconut lover year round!

TOTAL TIME

• Preparation Time – 6 minutes
• Cooking Time – 15 minutes
• Total Time – 21 minutes

INGREDIENTS FOR EASY COCONUT MACAROONS

All the ingredients for Easy Coconut Macaroons are easy to source from any local grocer.

• 3 large Egg whites, room temperature
• 1 pinch Kosher salt
• 3/4 cups White sugar
• 1 1/2 tbsp Honey
• 2 1/2 cups Coarse unsweetened coconut
• 3 tbsp Potato starch

ARE MACAROONS AND MACARONS THE SAME THING?

Absolutely not. French macarons are beautiful sandwich cookies filled with jam or ganache. The cookie is made with almond flour and has a chewy texture and a beautiful crust. Coconut macaroons are made with whipped egg white merengue and grated coconut. If made correctly they are light, yet substantial.

CAN I MAKE MY MACAROONS SMALLER?

You can certainly make your cookies smaller if you wish, but I wouldn’t recommend it. The size of these cookies is larger to ensure that they remain soft, chewy, and fluffy.

WHY DO MY EGG WHITES NEED TO BE ROOM TEMPERATURE?

In order to make the fluffiest macaroons possible, you need to start with a light and fluffy merengue. In order to make a fluffy merengue, you need to start with well aerated egg whites. Room temperature egg whites whip up fluffier than cold egg whites, so you definitely want to leave your egg whites out for a bit.

INGREDIENT SUBSTITUTIONS

CAN I USE FINE COCONUT INSTEAD OF COARSE?

In order for the macaroons to remain fluffy while still maintaining some texture you need to use either medium or coarse coconut. If you use fine coconut it will get lost in the merengue, and the result won’t be anywhere near as delicious.

CAN I USE A DIFFERENT KIND OF SUGAR?

Although I often use brown sugar in baking, a light, white macaroon is not the place to this. If you really wish you could use a sugar substitute like stevia in these macaroons and maintain the integrity of the dish.

CAN I USE SWEETENED COCONUT?

I would strongly suggest that you use unsweetened coconut for this recipe. Although my Easy Coconut Macaroons are sweet, there’s a fine line between that and tooth achingly cloying. If you like overly sweet macaroons, this is not the recipe for you.

EQUIPMENT FOR EASY COCONUT MACAROONS

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Below is a list of the main equipment/kitchen tools needed to make these Easy Coconut Macarons:

• Baking Pans

• Kitchen Aid Mixer – You can certainly make these cookies by hand if you don’t own a mixer, but you will find it difficult to whip the egg whites without one. I highly recommend purchasing a good mixer if you are able to do so. I adore my Kitchen Aid Professional mixer. It can handle even the heaviest of batters with ease. In addition, it has a large 6.6 L bowl which can accommodate several batches of this batter at once

• Cookie scoop (3 tbsp) – I strongly recommend a cookie scoop in order to make equally sized cookies, and perfectly round dough balls. I love my OXO cookie scoop so much that I own it in three sizes. I use the 3 tbsp large scoop in this recipe.

• Parchment Paper – I highly recommend lining your cookie sheets with parchment paper to ensure they don’t stick. Paper Chef is my favourite brand, and comes in a large format roll that is easy to cut to any size.

• Spatula

COOKING DIRECTIONS

These Easy Coconut Macaroons are delicious and also incredibly simple to prepare as long as you follow a few simple rules:

1. Use room temperature egg whites to ensure they will whip up fluffy for your merengue.
2. Always use coarse grated coconut for the best textured macaroons.
3. Bake until the edges are just starting to turn golden, then allow to cool slightly before gently removing them from the baking sheet.

MAKE AHEAD STORAGE

These Easy Coconut Macaroons cannot be made in advance.

Your delicious macaroons will keep at room temperature for three to four days in an airtight container. They can be frozen, just be cautious because they will break easily if jostled before defrosting.

FINISHED DISH

Enjoy your delicious Easy Coconut Macaroons!

OTHER DESSERTS

Chewy Chocolate Macaroons

Nutella Oatmeal Cookies

Rich Chocolate Cheesecake Hamantaschen

The Best Fluffy Scone Recipe

Healthy Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?

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