Coconut Macaroons
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Soft and chewy on the inside, crisp and golden on the outside — these are the perfect coconut macaroons.
As a coconut lover, I’ve tried dozens of recipes for coconut macaroons over the years, and these are my all-time favorite. Chewy and rich on the inside, crisp and golden on the outside, they are delicious plain but even more irresistible dipped in dark chocolate. They also keep well for days on end, making them the perfect holiday cookie to bake ahead or give away. (Be sure not to confuse coconut macaroons with French macarons, which are delicate meringue-based sandwich cookies with a sweet filling.)
What You’ll Need To Make Coconut Macaroons
The key ingredient in this recipe is sweetened condensed milk, a canned milk product from which water has been removed and sugar has been added. It’s sticky-sweet and makes the best macaroons. Many recipes call for it but, in my experience, they all have the same problem: too much liquid, which causes the sweet batter to pool around the edges of the macaroons and burn in the oven. This is because recipe developers want to keep their recipes neat and tidy with one whole bag of coconut and one full can of sweetened condensed milk. It’s annoying to have leftover sweetened condensed milk; there’s not much you can do with it except add it to your coffee. For this recipe, you’ll use just shy of one can. You’ll have to sacrifice some sweetened condensed milk, but your macaroons will be perfect.
How To Make Coconut Macaroons
Begin by combining the coconut, sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla.
Mix until well combined.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the egg whites and salt until stiff peaks form.
Stiff peaks look like this when you lift the beaters out of the bowl.
Add the egg whites to the coconut mixture and fold until combined.
Using a mini ice cream scoop or two spoons, form heaping tablespoons of the mixture into mounds onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing about 1 inch apart.
Bake for about 25 minutes, until the bottoms and edges are deeply golden and the tops are lightly golden.
Let the macaroons cool on the baking sheet for a minute, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
If you’d like to dip the macaroons in chocolate, melt the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl, stopping to stir every 30 seconds, until just smooth and creamy. (Alternatively, melt in a double boiler over simmering water.) Dip the bottoms of the macaroons in the chocolate and return to the lined baking sheets.
Refrigerate for about 10 minutes, or until the chocolate is set. That’s all there is to it. Enjoy!
Wondering with to do with those leftover egg yolks? Check out these recipes: Chocolate Cream Pie, Coconut Dream Pie, Millionaire’s Shortbread, Molten Chocolate Cakes, Tres Leches Cake, Rugelach, Banana Pudding Parfaits and Rum Cake.
You may also like
- Chocolate Toffee Matzo Crack
- Rugelach
- Grandma Annie’s Chocolate Chip Mandel Bread
- Chocolate Chip Meringue Cookies
- Sufganiyot (Israeli Donuts)
Coconut Macaroons
Soft and chewy on the inside, crisp and golden on the outside — these are the perfect coconut macaroons.
Ingredients
- 1 14-oz bag sweetened flaked coconut, such as Baker's Angel Flake (see note)
- ⅞ cup sweetened condensed milk (see note below on measurement)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs whites
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, best quality such as Ghirardelli, chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Set two oven racks near the center of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the coconut, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla extract. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the egg whites and salt until stiff peaks form. Use a large rubber spatula to fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture.
- Using a mini ice cream scoop or two spoons, form heaping tablespoons of the mixture into mounds on the prepared baking sheets, spacing about 1 inch apart. Bake for 23 to 25 minutes, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to back, until the tops and edges are golden. Let cool on the pans for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- 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 just smooth and creamy. (Alternatively, melt the chocolate in a double boiler over simmering water.) Dip the bottoms of the macaroons in the chocolate, letting any excess drip back into the bowl, and return to the lined baking sheets. Place the macaroons in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes to allow the chocolate to set. The cookies keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for about a week.
- Note: There is a lot of variability in coconut depending on the brand you purchase. For the best results, I recommend Baker's Angel Flake (see package in the first picture on this page).
- Note: ⅞ cup = ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons
- Note: Make sure to use parchment paper (NOT wax paper) on the baking sheets. The macaroons will stick to wax paper.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The macaroons can be frozen for up to 3 months. (If you plan to dip them in chocolate, wait until you thaw them to do that.) Let them cool completely and store in an airtight container separating layers with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Before serving, remove the cookies from the container and let them come to room temperature.
Nutrition Information
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- Serving size: 1 macaroon (nutritional data includes optional chocolate)
- Calories: 134
- Fat: 8 g
- Saturated fat: 6 g
- Carbohydrates: 16 g
- Sugar: 15 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Sodium: 81 mg
- Cholesterol: 4 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Recipe easy to follow and SO SO GOOD!!! I cheated a little and just used some left over semi sweet chocolate chips .. but still wonderful. Thank you for sharing your recipe
Should the egg whites be room temp or chilled before whipping?
Hi Mell, It’s fine if they are cold. Hope you enjoy!
This was a very easy recipe and they came out beautifully – crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside, excellent. I noticed that the last ones from the bottom of the double batch bowl had a puddle of white around them on the cookie sheet, I think perhaps those are the beaten whites and milk that sat too long and came off the coconut. I wonder if those reviewers who complained that theirs spread out too far and failed mixed the beaten egg whites into the coconut too much and broke them down? I had to be very gentle with that step because the coconut/milk was dense and heavy. I don’t consider myself a baker, so just a thought. Thanks for this and all of your great recipes, Jenn.
Wow, the best I’ve ever had. What a better way to end 2020 with homemade macaroons for the holidays. Bring on 2021 with more great recipes.
2020 – Another Christmas and another two batches of these macaroons! My mail lady mentions these at least a couple of times throughout the year; she loves them! Everyone does. Love the diversity it adds to the Christmas cookie tray. Thanks so much, Jenn!
My macaroons did not stay in a mound. They spread out like a 2 inch cookie. 🙁. I did beat the eggs to stiff peaks and followed measurements exactly.
HI JN, If you’re certain you got the measurements correct and beat the eggs to stiff peaks, I’m not sure why they would’ve spread out so much. A little pooling is normal but they should maintin the heigh. Sorry to hear you had a problem with these!
Same results here. Even flipped the egg whites over my head to confirm stiff peaks! I noticed other recipes include some flour which probably helps absorb unanticipated extra moisture. Prue Leith’s recipe adds 2 tbps of rice flour. Will have to try that later because who keeps extra coconut in the pantry 🙂
These were SO easy to make and unexpectedly SOOOOOO delicious!! I usually don’t like coconut-y things but this reminds me of a GS Samoa. I dipped them in chocolate AND drizzled more on top. This recipe is a keeper!
Would the chocolate melt smooth if I used semisweet morsels? I only have unsweetened and bittersweet chocolate on hand. Thank you.
You could actually use the bittersweet chocolate. While morsels are not the best option for melting because they contain stabilizers to help them retain their shape, you can probably get away with it if you prefer to go with semisweet. Hope that helps!
I took 2 unsweetened coconut flakes and 1 sweetened coconut flakes and two cans of sweetened condensed milk to make about 60 macaroons. Also, added ground cardamom and nutmeg besides vanilla. I made balls like meatballs with my hands. Came out great! Thanks for the recipe.
Followed the recipe exactly, including the condensed milk instructions and the macaroons turned out perfectly! Even the note about rotating the pan in the oven was helpful, all of my cookies browned evenly! Thank you!
These are the Best macaroons , delicious and moist. Instead of dipping the bottoms into chocolate I dipped the sides. It’s also looked very pretty! All my friends went crazy over them. The plus is they are gluten free. A five star recipe in my recipe book! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Yum!
The macaroons baked up beautifully! I drizzled chocolate across mine instead of dipping the bottoms.
Was so excited about this flour-free recipe. What a flop, though. They ran over the cookie sheet and came out looking like mini coconut pancakes. What did I do wrong? They look nothing like your pictures.
Sorry you had a problem with these, Dale! It’s likely that the egg whites weren’t beaten long enough. Make sure you beat them until they form stiff peaks when you lift the beaters out of the bowl. Hope that helps!
Since many reviews mentioned too much condensed milk, I used 3/4 cup. They were almost overdone at 12mins in and too dry. Not presentable on a tray. Not sure if any way to correct ow that they’re baked.
Unfortunately, I don’t think there’s any way to fix them now that they’re baked — sorry!
The taste is great and they didn’t spread, however the bottoms were starting to burn when I went to rotate them, so I put the temp down to 300. Next time I’ll try to bake it at 300/315 the whole way through and hope that they don’t turn out burned.
You might need to check your oven temp with a separate thermometer.
I make these every year, this is by far the best recipe I have used!
I followed recipe but used organic unsweetened coconut and added in semi sweet chocolate chips, used the whole can of sweetened condensed milk. The batter was not runny at all and I chilled it in refrigerator during batches. After the cookies cooled I dipped the bottom in melted dark chocolate. All ingredients were from Aldi (SCM & Chocolate) Organic coconut was from Walmart 2 x 7 oz bags. Cookies came out very good. Not too sweet but just sweet enough.
Can you use unsweetened coconut in the recipe?
Hi Paulette, I wouldn’t recommend unsweetened coconut here. If you’d like to use it, I recommend this recipe instead. I’ve tried it and it’s good. Hope that helps!
Hi Jenn,
Could I use shredded coconut instead of flaked coconut?
Thank you!
Danielle
Yep – that will work here – enjoy!
Hi Jenn,
Can I use sweetened shredded coconut instead of sweetened flaked coconut for this recipe?
Thanks!
Danielle
Yep, shredded coconut is fine here. Hope you enjoy!
Would these be good to ship for a cookie swap? Will they keep for several days if sent in the mail?
Hi Kerri, Because these are a bit soft, I’m afraid that if they get bumped around in transit, they may get smooshed. Any of these would travel well: any of my banana breads, Toffee Almond Sandies, any of my biscotti, or Scottish Shortbread. Hope that helps!
Amazing recipe! Oh my gosh! Made it last night and didn’t have a single issue. Family and parents loved them. Will become a staple in this household. Thank you for this recipe. Hands down best macaroon I have ever had. FYI: I mixed sweetened and unsweetened coconut and I added very fine coconut as well. I also refrigerated the mix for 20 minutes before forming them. These are even better the next day and are all gone less than 24 hours later.
I needed this list, too. Thanks!
OMG! These are the best macaroons we have ever eaten. My husband is raving about them and I can usually take or leave a macaroon, but not these. These are amazing! I used unsweetened coconut as that is all I had and the entire can of sweetened condensed milk. Thank you so very much for this excellent and easy recipe!
They turned out very sweet. The dough structure is runny.
Simply add more coconut until the mixture is not runny anymore. Add half a cup at a time. Refrigerate for 20 minutes as well. Hope that helps.
This recipe is perfect! I made them and they are almost all gone already!
CM
Pretty sure the measurements in this recipe are wrong. It turned out runny and flattened when baking. I used sweetened condensed milk and sweetened flaked coconut of a different brand since we don’t have Angel Flake in the stores around here. I weighed the coconut to 14oz since the bag size was different. Also whipped the egg whites to stiff peaks so this wasn’t the issue.
Despite being a pooled mess after baking, these tasted fine.
As many other reviewers have suggested, I will try using less sweetened condensed milk next time and see if that fixes the issue. The measurement of 7/8 cups is a pretty odd one to use in a recipe. Would prefer if weights were given for everything.
Try switching to unsweetened coconut! The moisture from the sweetened maybe causing them to run and extend the refrigeration time.
Simple fix. Add more coconut until the mixture is no longer runny. You are looking for a slightly moist mixture here. You should be able to form the macaroons and they should be able to hold their shape before baking.
Can I use unsweetened coconut? Is there anything I should change in the recipe?
Hi Tee, Unfortunately, unsweetened coconut will not work here. If you’d like to use it, I recommend this recipe instead. Hope that helps!
This recipe has way too much liquid in it, had to throw away the first batch and add a bunch of extra coconut to the second batch. Followed the recipe to a T.
I had the same issue…BUT…realized I was using the small bag of coconut. Adjusted and bought the big bag…BOOM! So freaking good! Kids couldn’t get enough…and wife too. Great recipe.
SO GOOD. Very easy too
Anyone use a silpat instead of parchment paper?
I did. They stuck a bit, but not too badly. If you let them cool on the pan all the way, you won’t have issues with sticking.
Amazing recipe!!
Something very wrong with the coconut quantity !
Hi Robert, Did you use a 14-oz/397-gram bag of sweetened flaked coconut?
I suggest you weigh the coconut and always have extra on hand in case it is still too moist. That will fix the problem for sure.
Great recipe! Quite different to how I normally make them and a lovely change.
I found amounts odd as I’m UK but it was easily sorted.
Thank you!!
These are delicious! One thing I do differently, I substitute the vanilla extract for almond extract and they are amazing!! Everyone raves over these anytime I make them. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
I’ve made Coconut Macroons before but never whipped the egg whites before. However, I was pleasantly surprised at how ‘fluffy’ they were. I thought they were delicious and will definitely make them again. Please know we are full time RV’rs and the results from baking in an RV oven can sometimes be a surprise so while a bit darker than I would have liked we still enjoyed them very much – my husband thought they were the best so thank you!
I would like to make these for my daughter who is away in college since these are her favorite. Any tips on how I can package it to ship so that they stay fresh and crispy? I will be overnighting them so I would say two days top for transit.
Hi Leslie, these keep nicely for about a week so they should arrive in decent condition, but they won’t maintain the crispy exterior (which would be the case even if you didn’t send them to her and they were just stored on your kitchen counter). Hope she enjoys!
I have to agree with some of the other reviewers; the recipe is too slack and needs a little starch to stabilize and give the macaroons more structure. I’d omit the egg whites completely. Classic recipes use only sweetened condensed milk, coconut, salt, vanilla and a small amount of flour. I like some of your other recipes quite a bit. Blog if you want to…pay no mind to the haters!
Jesus, what a garbage recipe. Duped again by another mommy blogger- I should have know when I saw 7/8th cup 😑😑 DONT WASTE YOUR INGREDIENTS
You don´t have to be rude about it, i made these and they were delicious. Where are your manners for keeping comments to yourself. I´m only 11 and i have way better manners than you.
Brook, you are so awesome! Way to shut down the bullies
Just made 80 macaroons and they all turned out fine!!! I used my smallest ice cream scoop (Tbsp)!!!!
Recipe really easy!! Please try it you will love it…. Promise
She is a classically trained chef and her recipe is to die for. Switch the little tab to metric measurement and you will realize that you judged the recipe and the chef prematurely.
Mine are in the oven now and one pan is running together. And yes they were stiff peaks.
Hi Amy, How did they come out? Did you rotate the pans from top to bottom and front to back halfway through baking?
Making these in the UK with cup measurements would be a challenge if you do not have ‘cups’. Cooked in a Celsius fan oven, and for UK cooks, 15 minutes at 165o top two shelves works well. As we are worldwide ‘web cooks’ now, metric measurements would be helpful. As to some cooks disappointment, weight of egg whites would also help as even large eggs vary on amount of white. Great recipe, thank you.
Hi Bea, Glad you enjoyed these! Actually, the majority of my recipes (including this one) do have conversions to weight/metric measurements. To view them, scroll down to the recipe and immediately under the recipe title on the right side, you’ll see a little toggle. If you move it from “cup measures” to metric, you’ll see measurements that will work for you. Hope that helps!
Mine looks perfectly fine and they are not running together
Thanks for your recipe my family loved them. This is my favorite for coconut macaroons.
When prepared correctly, this recipe is second to none. I make slightly smaller cookies using a small spoon to scoop the batter and a fork to move it from the spoon to the parchment paper. Cookies end up with a great texture and crispy peaks!
This is the second recipe I have used from your website.
They turned out perfectly.
Thank you for the photographic instructions, very useful for amateurs like me.
My Jewish family has been trying various macaroon recipes for literally decades. This is the first recipe, even those handed down for generations, that is a really big hit with everyone. Your recipe is circulating through the suburbs of Phoenix and Cleveland. Thank you!
Made these today. Everything worked out well. I didn’t have the recommended chocolate, so I used Hershey’s dark chocolate. Turned out great. Thanks for the recipe.
Hi Jenn. These are delicious macaroons. I stored some in an airtight container and the outside of the cookie got soft as well Did I underbake them? Thanks for all of your wonderful recipes and I’m excited about your new cookbook.
No, you didn’t underbake them. The outside just starts to lose that crispiness when they’re stored.
Hi Jenn
These are delicious macaroons. I’m wondering if these can be frozen after being dipped in chocolate?
Hi Maria, It’s best to freeze them without the chocolate. When chocolate is frozen and thawed, it often is covered with a white-colored haze known as bloom. Hope that helps!
Please add the “do not freeze with chocolate on them” to the freezer instructions in the recipe AND at the top of the comment section. I thought I should not freeze with chocolate but my hunch, after checking questions/responses, was not confirmed until now.
Hi Suzan, I just added the note the freezing instructions. Unfortunately, I can’t add it to the top of the comments section (as more comments come in, it will be buried).
Hi I have just made your coconut macaroons and the mix seemed a bit runny what did I do wrong?
Sorry you had a problem with these! If the mixture was runny, it’s likely that the egg whites weren’t stiff enough. Make sure you beat the egg whites to a stiff peak. Hope that helps!
It tastes great, but the shape was not right. Please mention that silicone sheets don’t work either.
Hi Carmen, Sorry you had a problem with these! I’ve never used silicone/silpat for these but a few readers have commented that they have successfully. When you say the shape was not right, do you mean that there was some pooling around the bottom?
Update-the first few times i made these macaroons they tasted great but didn’t look like the picture-there was a LOT of pooling of liquid around them. Today i refrigerated the mix for about 20-30 min before baking them and that did the trick!! They had the same great taste but also LOOKED great! (And on a side note-the amount of chocolate for dipping should be doubled-no way could i dip all the macaroons in the amount specified in recipe (without breaking macaroons in the process)??
How many cookies does one recipe make?
This makes about 26 macaroons. Hope you enjoy!
Simply add more coconut until mixture is slightly moist and not runny.
I use a bit less condensed milk to avoid it pooling while cooking. Overall though, a wonderful recipe!
I followed instructions to the nose and the recipe was incredibly runny, even made a second batch to double check and they looked like soup. I whipped those eggs whites like crazy too. I’ve seen other recipes that use flour, has anyone tweaked their recipe?
Hi Jaime, Sorry you had such a problem with these! Is there any chance you mistakenly used evaporated milk instead of sweetened condensed milk?
Measure out the coconut (you need 400 grams) on a scale. If it is still too runny (it shouldn’t be) simply add more coconut. Problem solved.
Delicious! One thing I would suggest adding to the instructions is what speed on the electric mixer to use during the egg white section, other than that this is a fantastic recipe
You start off slow and speed up every minute until you get stiff peaks. Don’t need the highest setting.
Love this recipe. Instead of melting chocolate I add chocolate chips to coconut and condensed milk.
My father’s favorite thing is everything coconut and he loves coconut macaroons. I made these to surprise him and turns out he tells me they are the best coconut macaroons he has ever had! The texture is perfectly crisp on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside with just enough sweetness. Exactly how coconut macaroons should be!
Just made these tonight and they came out perfectly. I can definitely taste the sweetened condensed milk but I love it so no complaints about that. Very easy recipe, I’ve already memorized it! I dipped some in dark chocolate too. 🙂