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
- Sweetened flaked coconut: The base of the macaroons; I recommend Baker’s Angel Flake for the best results, as there’s a lot of variability in coconut depending on the brand.
- Sweetened condensed milk: A key ingredient for making macaroons, sweetened condensed milk is 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. For this recipe, you’ll use just shy of one can. You’ll have to sacrifice some sweetened condensed milk (try adding it to you coffee!), but your macaroons will be perfect.
- Vanilla extract: Adds a lovely depth of flavor.
- Egg whites: Provide structure and help the macaroons hold their shape.
- Salt: Enhances the overall flavor.
- Semi-sweet chocolate (optional): For dipping or drizzling.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
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.
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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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Made a big error, posting here in case it’s helpful to someone else. I have a very large baking sheet that fits my oven so I was able to fit all of the macaroons on it. Put it on the middle rack, and the bottoms had burned within 16 minutes. Separating the batch onto two trays protects the bottoms from getting too hot, something that should have been obvious to me during prep, so don’t do what I did!
So I made these today. I followed instructions to a tee. They taste incredible. However, they all stuck to the parchment paper. I had to use a knife to get the paper off. Needless to say, they got a bit mangled. Next time I am going to use a silicone baking liner. Hope that works cuz these macaroons are delish. Would be five stars if they didn’t stick.
So glad you liked these but sorry that they stuck! Are you sure you used parchment paper and not waxed paper?
Was parchment paper not wax paper.
That’s so strange as they really shouldn’t stick to parchment paper. You could try these again using non-stick foil. Sorry you had a problem with them!
I made your recipe today after ditching the last batch I made today that looked nothing like yours. I was so pleased to see these perfectly rounded macaroons come out of the oven. I had two questions when making these-
1-can egg whites be over beaten and if so, what happens to the macaroons, and 2- what size is a mini ice cream scoop. I have 2, one is a Tablespoon the other is two tablespoons. What is your size?
I made 28 Tablespoon size and 5 two tablespoon size.
You were so precise about your directions I was surprised that I did not find a yield. At any rate, I am overjoyed to have your recipe to add to my Christmas favorites.
Thank you so much
Hi Victoria,
So glad to hear you enjoyed these and that they came out well for you! In response to your questions:
1. Yes, egg whites can be overbeaten; if they are, they become watery and flat and would create flat macaroons.
2. My mini ice cream scoop holds 1-1/2 tablespoons.
In the box with the full recipe, it indicates that it should yield about 26 macaroons, so the number that you made (using both 1 tablespoon and 2 tablespoon scoops) makes sense.
These turned out great! I drizzled melted chocolate over the tops instead of dipping, in the interest of time. My boys snapped them up before they even cooled.
I made this but I didn’t have enough coconut flakes. I ended up putting half almond flour and half coconut flakes to make the total amount of flakes needed and added a tablespoon or two extra of the condensed milk to get the consistency same as in your photo. I used dark chocolate for the base. They turned out wonderful! Will definitely remake.
Being in the UK I usually skip past all the recipes I come across that have cups in, (Really, I have cups that are for espresso and some that hold a pint!, I just don’t get it). The bag of coconut I bought said 300g e 14 ounces. Now the ‘all knowing’ google says 14 ounces is more like 400g so it must be something to do with volume. I think this incorrect conversion is where the bad reviews have come from. For everyone that doesn’t know how big a cup is, (wave your hands), the recipe should be 300g of coconut (1 bag) to half a can of condensed milk (approx 200g). They came out great – will be using it again. Would have been 5 stars had the recipe been without the crazy cups haha!
Hi thank you so much for explaining that saved me 😇😇😇
I just made these for the first time. They are cooling now, so I haven’t tried them, but I’m sure they will taste great. They have spread and flattened a bit, but I followed the directions exactly. Any tips to prevent this as they don’t look as nice as they should? Thanks!
Hi Dorothy, A little pooling around the bottom is normal, but the macaroons may have flattened a bit if the egg whites aren’t stiff enough. Make sure you beat those egg whites to a stiff peak. Hope that helps!
First of all I`m not a big baker and these are the first macaroons I have ever made b/c I had egg whites left over from pumpkin ice cream I made.Not sure how anyone could have a problem here with this recipe,quite simple and delicious.Followed exactly as written,they stuck a tiny bit on the Silpat but not really any issue and the parchment perfect.Of course I tried one of the warm Golden Brown Delicious(GBD) nuggets,soon as they cool will take a dip in chocolate.Can`t wait. Nice goin Jenn.
AMAZING macaroon recipe when you follow instructions. (So many people change or substitute things and then complain the recipe didn’t work… that drives me nuts!) Packed the batter into a purple disher (#40 scoop… 1-1/2 tablespoons) and got perfect, domed macaroons with a yield of 28. I did turn the oven down to 300 for the last 10 minutes. 25 minutes was perfect. (Not sure about these people saying 10-13 minutes in the oven???) These are simple and delish.
You changed the temperature and time, and it sounds like the substitutions worked well for you. All ovens are different so 10-13 minutes work for them? For me, I use an oven thermometer to help particularly when it comes to baking (as well as sense of smell).
Why did my macaroons stick to the aluminum foil even after a light spray with oil?
Hi Barb, I think parchment works best here. I think you could get away with non-stick aluminum foil, but I suspect the cooking spray was not enough to keep them from sticking to regular foil.