Coconut Macaroons
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This coconut macaroon recipe makes cookies that are crisp on the outside, wonderfully chewy inside, and delicious plain or dipped in chocolate.
As a coconut lover, I’ve tried dozens of coconut macaroon recipes over the years, and this is the one I always come back to. The macaroons bake up crisp and golden on the outside while staying rich and chewy in the center. Getting that texture comes down to the right ratio of coconut to sweetened condensed milk. Most recipes call for one full can of condensed milk to one full bag of coconut, presumably to keep things simple, but I’ve found that’s a bit too much liquid—the excess pools around the macaroons as they bake and can burn. Using slightly less condensed milk makes all the difference.
These macaroons are delicious plain, but I especially love them dipped in chocolate. And because they keep well for days, they’re perfect for making ahead for holidays, parties, or gift-giving.
“These are so darn good…easily the most delicious macaroons I’ve ever made!”
What You’ll Need To Make Coconut Macaroons
- Sweetened flaked coconut: I recommend Baker’s Angel Flake for this recipe. The texture and moisture level of packaged coconut can vary quite a bit by brand, which can affect how the macaroons hold together and bake.
- Sweetened condensed milk: Gives the macaroons their sweetness and rich, chewy texture. You’ll use just shy of a full can; using too much can make the mixture overly wet and cause the macaroons to spread and pool as they bake.
- Egg whites: Whipped to stiff peaks and folded into the coconut mixture, they give the macaroons structure and keep them from being overly dense.
- Vanilla extract & salt: Vanilla enhances the coconut flavor, while salt balances the sweetness.
- Semisweet chocolate: Optional, but I love the contrast of bittersweet chocolate with the sweet coconut. It’s melted and used for dipping the bottoms of the cooled macaroons.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
How To Make Coconut Macaroons
Make the coconut mixture: Combine the coconut, sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla in a large bowl and stir until evenly combined. The mixture should be moist and sticky but not loose or runny.
Whip and fold in the egg whites: Beat the egg whites and salt until stiff peaks form. When you lift the beaters, the peaks should stand straight up without drooping. Gently fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture, taking care not to deflate them too much.
Shape and bake: Scoop the mixture into mounds on the baking sheets, then bake until the macaroons are golden on top and around the edges. Let them cool for a few minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
Dip in chocolate: If using the chocolate, melt it gently until smooth. Dip the bottoms of the cooled macaroons in the chocolate, letting any excess drip off, then place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate briefly, just until the chocolate is set.
A Few Notes On Coconut Macaroons
Coconut macaroons are especially popular at Passover since they’re naturally flourless and don’t require any leavening. If you’re planning a holiday menu, you can find more ideas in my Passover recipes collection. And despite the similar name, macaroons are quite different from French macarons, the delicate meringue-based sandwich cookies made with almond flour. If those are what you’re looking for, try my French macaron recipe.
More Coconut Sweets You’ll Love
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 egg whites
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 oz semi-sweet chocolate, best quality such as Ghirardelli, chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C). 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 in (2.5 cm) 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.
Notes
- There is a lot of variability in coconut depending on the brand you purchase. For the best results, I recommend Baker’s Angel Flake.
- To measure ⅞ cup of sweetened condensed milk, use ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons.
- Freezing 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
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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I’ve made this recipe over and over and it’s the BEST. I couldn’t locate the Bakers Angel Flake at one point I went with a different brand. They did not turn out. Follow this recipe exactly and they will be the best cookie you’ve ever made.
Thank you for the great recipe!
I read some reviews who said their macaroons came out flat and my advice is to really mix the egg whites for a while About 10-15 min. But also if the egg whites are “fluffy” while beating and are not becoming stiff, the macaroons will also fall flat. I had that before and didn’t think it would make a difference but it has. I started over when making this batch because half way while beating , I noticed the egg whites were not as stiff as needed. Second batch of egg whites were more stiff and the macaroons came out peaked and not flat. Hope that helps someone.
Macaroons are simple & scrumptious beings, containing just a handful of cheap and delicious ingredients, so it’s hard to get a macaroon recipe wrong. I had high hopes for this recipe because it claims to have “perfected” and improved on the more common recipes out there, which tend to use a full tin of condensed milk. The chef explains their reduction of condensed milk was in order to avoid a pool of moisture forming around the cookies while they’re in the oven. Their logic for this seemed sensible, and I’d never made macaroons before, so I trusted the recipe and went by the metric conversion of the measurements provided. As I was preparing the dough, however, it quickly became apparent that the recipe is colossally wrong: 2 parts coconut to 1 part condensed milk (which is approx. what this recipe calls for) is simply too dry, and even though I’d never made these before, I knew there was no way that texture could be right. I went by instinct and gradually poured in nearly the whole tin of condensed milk; if I’d been more confident, I would have used the whole tin and the macaroons would have turned out even better. They turned out fine in the end, but only because I defied the recipe and because I added one further step before baking: I rested my batter. I believe this is where the author of the recipe must have gone wrong and why the classic recipes out there didn’t work for them. From my experience with baking similar styles of recipe (like Italian amaretti), I can say that resting your batter is non-negotiable with ingredients like this. The coconut is literally dried to oblivion (we don’t call it desiccated for nothing); it needs a chance to absorb the moisture of the milk and the lovely vanilla flavour, otherwise the cookies will almost certainly turn out chewy and drier than they should be. When the coconut has absorbed the moisture, not only will your macaroons hold their shape better but you will not have the pooling problem when baking. I think the author of the recipe just omitted this crucial step and thought they were making an improvement on the classic macaroon recipe by drying it out…whereas they just needed a better method. My advice: rest your batter in the fridge for at least an hour before baking. And follow a more classic recipe with a higher moisture content; this one is just wrong.
I should also add that the advice to bake these for 23-25 mins at 165C is…inexplicable? These are cookies! 11-13 mins is the maximum amount of time they should stay in the oven. Predictably, my first batch came out as little coconutty coals. So for the remaining batches I baked for 10 mins, then turned the tray around in the oven and baked for a further 2-3 mins. That worked out just fine.
I think location might make the difference here, as in the States we don’t have “desiccated” coconut. The ubiquitous Bakers coconut the author suggests is actually fairly moist. This recipe worked great for me (including cooking time).
How many macaroons does this recipe make? We remember how wonderful these cookies are! Thanks!
Glad you like them! The recipe makes approximately 26 macaroons.
This recipe is for Americans and very patient Europeans, as the measures are in imperial only, with no metric conversion. I’m an impatient European so methinks I’ll try a different site for my recipes. Ciao!
Hi Charlie, The great majority of my recipes (including this one) include conversions to metric/weight 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!
I have been making this recipe for years and it is always the biggest hit at the party! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
If I Google what’s 14 oz it says 1.75 cups. And that’s what I used. But then I see in the reviews, you said it’s just over 5 cups. How did this not happen to anyone else?
These did not turn out…
Hi Jessica, I’m sorry for any confusion regarding the amount of coconut needed for the macaroons. Fourteen (14) ounces is the weight, slightly less than one pound. The volume of the coconut is 5 1/3 cups. (If you take a look at the packaging on the bag in the picture of ingredients near the top of the page, they handle it in the same way.) Hope that clarifies!
The same thing happened to me, Jenn….twice! Maybe a quick side note would help avoid confusion in the future (like how you did for the condensed milk measurement). These are fantastic…when the recipe is followed properly! 🙂
One of the easiest recipes I’ve ever made. The macaroons turned out looking and tasting like they were professionally made. A big hit with my friends.
Chewy, sweet and hard to stop eating. Easy to put this together in no time and they’re great with a cup of coffee. I did not dip them in chocolate because the macaroons were great as is.
AMAZING recipe!!! I was anxious about how difficult it would be, but it was so foolproof that they turned out fabulously! I got rave reviews from my family and in-laws. An easy yet sophisticated recipe, I highly recommend bakers of any caliber to try this amazing recipe. I’d give it 6 stars if I could!!!