These Coconut Macaroons are so easy, only requiring 5 simple ingredients. With a moist and chewy inside and toasty outside, they are completely irresistible!
Good coconut macaroons will send any coconut lover into a frenzy. Little mounds of deliciousness that taste like the inside of an Almond Joy or Mounds Bar!
Macaron vs Macaroon
Macarons and Macaroons may seem similar in pronunciation and spelling, but they are completely different cookies.
What’s a macaron? A macaron is meringue based. They are a delicate French sandwich cookie made with almond flour, usually made in a variety of colors and flavors, and require some finesse.
What’s a macaroon? A macaroon (this recipe) is coconut based, usually shaped in little mounds and have a chewy texture. They are crazy easy to make!
How to Make Coconut Macaroons
They’re so easy to make! If you’ve got some sweetened shredded coconut, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, vanilla, and salt in your kitchen, then you are only 30 minutes away from one of the best treats!
Here’s a brief summary of the steps to make them (scroll below for the detailed printable.)
- Mix together the coconut, condensed milk, and vanilla.
- With an electric mixer, beat together the egg whites and salt until stiff peaks form.
- Fold together both mixtures.
- Form balls of the mixture and place on a cookie sheet with space in between each one.
- Bake for about 23 minutes until the tops are just turning golden.
- Allow to cool and enjoy!
Coconut Macaroon Recipe Tips
When done right a coconut macaroon is moist, light, and chewy. When don’t wrong, they’re dry and crumbly.
- Sweetened coconut flakes are needed for Macaroons. Unsweetened won’t cut it, sorry!
- Pulse the coconut in a food processor a few times. This helps break down the flakes and create a more compact cookie.
- Make sure you only use egg whites. No remnants of egg yolks at all! Egg whites are important in this recipe – they add moisture to the macaroons and provide structure.
- Bowls used for the egg whites should be completely clean, dry, and residue-free. Otherwise the egg whites might not reach stiff peaks.
- Whip those egg whites to stiff peaks. If the egg whites are not beaten until stiff, the macaroons will be runny.
- You need sweetened condensed milk for this recipe. Sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk are not the same thing – don’t try and substitute or you’ll have a soupy mess.
- Use the proper amount of sweetened condensed milk. You will need 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons for this recipe, not a full cup.
- Use a cookie scoop. This helps with uniformity and ensures that all the cookies bake at the same rate. (A medium cookie scoop that gives you 1 1/2 tablespoons of the mixture is what you want.)
- Pack the mixture in the cookie scoop. This will give you a tighter cookie.
- Line your baking sheets with parchment paper, not wax paper. The macaroons will stick to wax paper.
- Avoid over-baking, or you’ll end up with dry, crumbly cookies.
Recipe Variations
There are so many ways you can tweak and dress up macaroon cookies!
- Toast the coconut just slightly before adding it to the egg whites, for an even deeper coconut flavor.
- Gently fold into the batter 1/2 cup of finely diced dried fruit, rainbow sprinkles, mini chocolate chips, or nuts.
- Drizzle melted chocolate over the cooled macaroons.
- Dip them in white or dark chocolate, then in ground up nuts (as pictured!)
How To Store Coconut Macaroons
Macaroons store really well!
- Room temperature: these are best kept at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 7 days (or uncovered at room temperature for up to 3 days.)
- Can you freeze coconut macaroons? Yes. They may be individually wrapped (after baking and cooling completely) and frozen in an airtight container (separating layers with parchment paper) for up to 3 months. Before serving, remove the cookies from the container and let them come to room temperature.
Watch them Being Made
They are a favorite for the coconut lover, anyone observing Passover, those who need to avoid flour (because macaroons are naturally gluten free cookies), or anyone who just loves sweets!
Other Coconut Recipes
I hope you love this delicious and simple recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!
Perfect Coconut Macaroons
Ingredients
- 14 ounces sweetened coconut flakes
- 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large egg whites , room temperature
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup dark chocolate morsels , melted (optional)
- 1/3 cup finely ground pistachios (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Set two oven racks near the center of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, stir together coconut flakes, condensed milk, and vanilla until well combined.
- In a separate bowl combine the egg whites and salt. Using an electric mixer, beat until stiff peaks form.
- Gently fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture until completely combined.
- Using a 1 1/2 tablespoon-sized cookie scoop, scoop mixture into balls and place onto prepared cookie sheet, at least 1-2 inches apart. (The mixture will be very sticky! If necessary, it's okay to get your hands a little wet in order to shape the balls.)
- Bake for about 23-25 minutes or until tops are just beginning to turn golden brown, rotating pans halfway through. (All ovens run differently, so keep an eye on them!)
- Let macaroons cool on the pans for a couple minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- IF you are dipping them in melted chocolate, make sure they are completely cooled. Dip the bottom of each macaroon in the chocolate, followed by the pistachios. Place back on the baking sheet to set. Repeat with remaining macaroons.
- Eat and enjoy!
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Notes
Nutrition
Other Notes
I was intrigued by this recipe when I read the measurements for the sweetened condensed milk! But when following directions to the letter, it makes a perfect macaroon. I love this recipe! Well done!
Unbelievably easy and yet so tasty! Fail proof and foolproof! Every time!
Outstanding!! I LOVE a good macaroon and now I get to make them at home??? They do not get better than these. Thank you for sharing this beautiful, simple recipe.
I made this recipe but used coconut condensed milk. They turned out so good. So easy to make too!
I never made macaroons before and these turned out perfect! I found we like ours toasted a little more than most bakeries make them for extra crunch. Thank you!
These are fantastic and so yummy. Only thing is mine always flatten out and I was wondering why? My family loves them. Please let me know, thank you.
We loved these!
These had the perfect texture and taste – loved the addition of chocolate and crushed nuts as the base!
These were absolutely delicious! Question, do you double the salt if you double the recipe? Please let me know. Thank you
If I was doubling the recipe, I would double all the ingredients including the salt. But you don’t have to if salt is a concern for you.
So delicious. Moist and chewy. Love the chocolate bottom.
5 stars for sure! First time making these and I have to freeze them so I don’t finish off this beautiful presentation of cookies. I drizzled chocolate over the top and put them in mini cupcake holders. Thank you for such an easy beautiful cookie recipe.
This is my go to recipe for Passover !
Delicious recipe. Crispy on the outside but the inside melts in your mouth. I didn’t properly whip thr egg whites to stiff peaks but I refrigerated the dough overnight and then they didn’t get runny at all when I baked the cookie the next morning. They turned out perfectly
I loved it easy and simple
Warning: If you make these, you’ll be in charge of making them every year for Passover! I made them for the first time and they got rave reviews from my in laws! They were described as the best macaroons that any of them had tried!
I’d never made macaroons before and these were so much easier than I ever thought they’d be. We all loved the added chocolate, but left the nuts off because I didn’t have any and didn’t feel like running to the store. Lol. Next time!
Super easy and super delicious
What a great twist on macaroon cookies. They have got to be outstanding.
I have never ever made a macaroon. I think it’s because I used to hate coconut. Now that I am over that though I need to get on it! These sound delicious.
Easy and delicious. I used almond extract instead of vanilla.
I’ve always just made these plain, but the chocolate and pistachios took them to a new level. Everyone loved these!
These are beautiful.
Fantastic recipe…easy instructions, easy to make, and everyone loved them. WINNER!