Coconut Macaroons

Hello and welcome, everyone! Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, so I want to share a great holiday cookie recipe. Last year, I brought these Coconut Macaroons to Beth’s Holiday Cookie Exchange and they were a big hit. Christmas cookies most often seem to be frosted sugar cookies, snickerdoodles, thumb jam cookies, or the like. So these cookies are an unexpected surprise. They’re quick and easy to whip up, too. Another plus is that this recipe is gluten free!

There’s hardly any prep, so let’s jump right in! Arrange your oven racks to the two middle positions and preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper. Mix together the coconut, sweetened condensed milk and the vanilla in a large bowl.

With a mixer, whip the two egg whites with the salt until stiff peaks form. Then add the egg whites to the bowl with the coconut.

Fold in the egg whites until well incorporated.

Using a small cookie scoop, or a spoon, scoop a heaping tablespoon of the mixture and form small mounds on the parchment-lined sheet pan, about 1 inch apart.

Place both sheet pans in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, rotating the trays from top to bottom and back to front at the halfway mark. Bake until the bottoms and sides are deep golden brown and the tops are golden.

Once removed from the oven, after a couple minutes, transfer the Coconut Macaroons to a wire cooling rack. Dipping them in chocolate is optional. I have a very dark chocolate, I think it’s 70% cacao. I like the taste and texture of the bittersweet chocolate combined with the sweet, crunchy, chewy cookie. But you can use whatever type of chocolate you like.

I melted a handful of the chocolate chunks in a double boiler and dipped the macaroons from there. My super dark chocolate needed to stay warm to spread properly so I needed to keep it over the simmering water in the double boiler. If you’re using milk chocolate, you can melt the chocolate in the microwave on half power. Stopping to stir at 30 second intervals, until smooth.

Dip and spread the chocolate with a knife or offset spatula and set on the parchment-lined sheet tray. Then place the whole lot in the fridge for 10-15 minutes, until the chocolate is set. Store the Coconut Macaroons in an airtight container at room temperature for a week, or so.

Today’s recipe is short, but sweet, as I am sure you all have Holiday preparations in the works. Thank you so much for stopping by and spending some of your Wednesday with me. I hope you give these Coconut Macaroons a try, they really are super quick and easy! If you’re looking for another sweet treat for the holiday, try my Eggnog Cinnamon Rolls. And remember, you can find me on Instagram, facebook and Pinterest.

Print Recipe

Coconut Macaroons

(3 votes, average: 3.33 out of 5)

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Dessert – American

By Original Recipe by Jenn Segal – Serves: Makes 20-24 Cookies

Prep Time: 20 minutes – Cooking Time: 20-25 Minutes – Total Time: 40-45 Minutes

Soft and chewy on the inside; crispy and golden on the outside, these Coconut Macaroons are a perfect gluten free Holiday cookie.

Ingredients

• 1 14-oz bag Sweetened Flaked Coconut, such as Baker's Angel Flake
• 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp. Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
• 2 Large Eggs Whites
• 1/4 tsp. Salt
• 4 oz. Semi-Sweet Chocolate, High Quality Chocolate, such as Ghirardelli, chopped (optional)

Instructions

1

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Position two oven racks near the center of the oven. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper.

2

In a large bowl, mix the coconut, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla extract. Set aside.

3

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the egg whites and salt until stiff peaks form.

4

Use a large rubber spatula to fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture.

5

Using a small cookie scoop or a spoon, form heaping tablespoons of the mixture into mounds on the lined sheet pans, about 1" apart.

6

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to back, until the tops and edges are golden.

7

Let cool on the pans for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

8

If dipping the macaroons in chocolate, melt the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl at medium power, stopping and stirring at 30 second intervals, until smooth. (Alternatively, melt the chocolate in a double boiler over simmering water.) Dip the bottoms of the macaroons in the chocolate, smooth the excess with an offset spatula or knife, and return to the lined baking sheets.

9

Place the macaroons in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes until the chocolate is set.

10

The cookies keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for about a week.