Coconut Macaroon Recipe
A combination of sweetened and unsweetened coconut creates the ideal texture for these macaroons, neither too dense nor too dry. The cream of coconut (drastically reduced coconut milk) provides the deep coconut flavor. Find cream of coconut either in the baking section of your supermarket, the international food section or the cocktail mixes section (it’s most often used to make piña coladas).
7.5 ounces cream of coconut
2 tablespoons honey
4 egg whites
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
4.5 ounces unsweetened shredded coconut
11 ounces sweetened shredded coconut
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Stir the cream of coconut in the can, then pour 7.5 ounces (a cup) into a bowl. Add the honey, egg whites and vanilla and whisk to combine. Toss together the two kinds of coconut with the salt. Pour the liquid mix over coconut mix and toss to combine. Spoon tablespoons of the batter onto parchment-line sheet pans, then with wet hands, form them into rounded heaps. Bake on upper rackes of the oven for seven minutes. Switch the pans top-to-bottom and rotate, then bake for seven minutes more, until they’re golden brown. Cool and eat.
Hmm. Delicious, simple. The coconut cream is brilliant. But, NOT whipping up the egg whites was difficult for me. What is the food chemistry behind that? Have we been duped into thinking that easy macaroons require whipped egg whites? What gives, Joe?
Hi Millie!
You can whip the whites if you like. I generally like a macaroon that’s dense, chewy and very coconutty, if that’s a word. But if you like them lighter, whip away — so long as you tell me how they turn out! 😉
– Joe
Thanks for the great recipe!
How could the recipe be modified to use freshly grated coconut and potentially homemade coconut milk? I get about 10 oz of meat from 1 coconut, or 1 cup cream + 3 cups milk.
I was thinking of doing the following:
* Extract milk and cream of one coconut. Use the cream to replace the canned cream in the recipe. Freeze the milk.
* Shred 2 coconuts to make 20 oz of flakes. Use 15.5 oz in the recipe. (Reserve the rest to sprinkle on salad.)
Now the part I’m unsure about is how much sugar to add. I don’t know if the cream of coconut you use here is sweetened. But either way, I would have to add sugar to make up for the sugar in the sweetened coconut flakes.
Since freshly grated coconut flakes keep all their oil, I’m also unsure if the rest of the recipe will work well as is, or if other modifications will need to be done. Or if this is just a silly idea, and I should just purchase the flakes and cream 🙂
Hey B!
You’re going to have some trouble with the substitution, I’m afraid. Cream of coconut is much thicker and more flavorful than coconut milk. It’s also extremely sweet, being heavy in the syrup department. But I don’t want to discourage a good experiment. As for the fresh shredded coconut, that stands a much batter chance of succeeding? So I’m thinking…maybe a compromise?
– Joe
Hi Joe,
I love Starbuck’s coconut Macaroons and your recipe came up when I tried to Google them but I need help with the measurements of the coconut… How does 4.5 ounces and 11 ounces of coconut translate into measuring cups?
Hi Kathleen!
There are about 3.5 ounces of shredded unsweetened coconut in a cup. So that’s about 1 1/3 cups and 3 cups respectively.
– Joe
Made these last night and followed your recipe to the letter except for one part. I threw the coconut into my food processor for minute before mixing everything together and baking. This gave me the “fresh from the canister” macaroons I’d been craving. Thanks for another awesome recipe!
Whoa…what an amazing idea! I’m going to do that!
Cheers and thanks, Elizabeth!
– Joe
Hi Joe, this recipe looks amazing, am I really want to try it- however I have an egg allergy- can I replace the egg whites with an egg replacer or I have heard flax seed works as well? Any suggestions please? Thanx
Hello Shilpa!
Yes, this is a great recipe for an egg replacer since all you need it something to bind the ingredients together. Try than before flax powder since egg replacers should give you more firmness.
Cheers and let me know how they go!
– Joe