Coconut Macaroons
Macaroons are made with either almond paste or shredded coconut.
They require less flour than regular cookies (You only need 2 Tbsp of all-purpose flour to make 32 cookies.) as the main ingredient – egg whites hold all other ingredients together.
INGREDIENTS & EQUIPMENTS
Equipments
Double boiler
Cookie scooper
Ingredients – Makes about 16 cookies
3 1/2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
(I replaced to sweetened coconut since that’s what I had at home.)
1 cup sugar (divided use)
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 tsp grated orange zest
2 tsp vanilla extract
6 large egg whites
HOW TO MAKE
Making Coconut Macaroon Dough
1-2. Mix 1/3 cup of the sugar with the flour.
3. Place 2/3 cup sugar, the coconut, and egg whites in the top of a double boiler. (I did not have unsweetened coconut, so I used sweetened coconut and 1 cup sugar as the recipe said-I wanted to adjust the amount of sugar, but I forgot. The truth is that everybody loved extra sugar coconut macaroons!)
4. Heat over simmering water about 3 minutes.
5. Stir constantly until the mixture thickens and hold together.
6. Remove from the heat and add orange zest and vanilla extract.
7-8. Add and fold the flour mixture (flour and sugar) in to the egg mixture.
Scooping Cookies: Preheat the oven to 350 F.
9-10. Drop tablespoonfuls of batter onto the prepared cookie sheets by using a spoon or a cookie scoop.
(I like to use a cookie scoop because it lets me drop the same size of cookie batter.)
Baking
11. Bake about 20-25 minutes until the macaroons turn in light golden brown on the outside, but still soft inside. (Transfer the macaroons to a wire rack with the parchment paper on the bottom.)
Chewy & Gooey Coconut Macaroons!
Alexa’s Tips
1. My batter was a little bit liquid. I didn’t do anything to it, but I think adding a little bit of flour could help.
2. Macaroons are very soft when they just come out of the oven and that is why you should move then with the parchment paper to a wire rack to cool.
3. You can use sweetened coconut instead of unsweetened coconut. If you think that will be too sweet, cut down the amount of sugar to 2/3 cup.
4. If you don’t have orange zest, don’t worry and just skip it.
5. You can dip them in ganache, if you desire.
Coconut Macaroons with a hint of orange zest!
Alexa,
I just had to take the time to thank you for your wonderful recipe for Coconut Macaroons. I made these as part of my “cookie collection” gift boxes for Christmas. They were incredibly easy to make and very delicious. It was the beautiful picture you took & posted that drew me to your web site.
I read your notes about the extra liquid in the batter, so I added an additional tablespoon of flour. I was a little anxious because I used Wilton Meringue powder as a substitute for the egg whites but there was no problem there either.
I’m looking forward to trying more of your recipes … thanks again & have a Merry Christmas!
Best regards,
Donna Perry
Phoenix, AZ
Hi, Donna!
Thank you for taking your time to write such a sweet comment. I’m really glad that your coconut macaroons came out well! I am always wondering how other people like the sweets that I made. =] Also, thank you for giving your own tip about substituting meringue powder for egg whites. I would like to try that method next time.
I’m not sure if you have noticed, but English is my second language. I hope that I will get better at expressing my thoughts and incorporating some personal stories with my articles in the future. My husband and I are planning to move in early 2009. Once we are done with the moving project, I will make more sweets and share them with everyone on here. I can’t wait to have more time and space to make a mess in my kitchen. So, please come back soon. =]
Thank you for visiting and I wish you a very Merry Christmas!
Alexa