Say hello to your new favorite holiday cookie staple! These coconut macaroons come together with just a few ingredients you probably already have in your pantry. These get the “easy” title because there are no eggs to separate or whip, just a half a can of sweetened condensed milk. That means they can be whipped up in a matter of minutes! They’re sweet and chewy, and when you add a drizzle of chocolate on top, they look like they take a lot more effort than they actually do.
What is a coconut macaroon?
Coconut Macaroons are a small, dense mound cookie made from coconut (shredded or flaked) and bound with eggs or sweetened condensed milk. They generally bake up with a light, golden crisped outside and a soft, chewy center. Not to be confused with the colorful french sandwich cookies, these coconut-based cookies are the perfect addition to any holiday baking.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Made from pantry staples. You can make these with just a handful of ingredients, all of which are shelf-stable pantry ingredients.
- No eggs or meringues. These are more of a “cheater” macaroon, you don’t need to whip, separate, or deal with making a meringue to get them to stick together.
- Easily double. We usually make a regular batch with a half a can of sweetened condensed milk, but they’re easy to double and make a BIG batch of cookies.
- Ready in under 30 minutes. These cookies look like they take a big amount of effort, but they come together so quickly.
Recipe Ingredient Notes
These are the ingredients you’ll need to make this macaroon recipe, plus some notes about each ingredient.
- Sweetened Flaked Coconut: gives it the texture and flavor you want for this recipe. Unsweetened coconut can work, but the cookies will be noticeably less sweet (and potentially a little drier).
- All-Purpose Flour: we keep it simple and budget-friendly with a regular, AP flour. If you want to make this gluten free, you can swap out the flour 1:1 for your favorite gluten-free flour.
- Salt: just a pinch to balance the sweetness
- Sweetened Condensed Milk: you need half a can (about 7 ounces) to make this size batch. It’s the binder in this recipe instead of whipped egg whites. You can double the batch for holiday baking and use the full can or save the other half for fudge!
- Vanilla and Almond Extracts: add these for flavor. The amounts can be adjusted depending on personal preference (and the almond can be entirely replaced by vanilla extract or coconut extract if you need a nut-free option).
- Chocolate Chips: this is optional as well, but a great addition to make it look even better (and who doesn’t love a little chocolate and coconut flavor?). You can use semi-sweet, milk, dark, or white chocolate.
How to Make Easy Coconut Macaroons:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the coconut, flour, salt, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract and almond extract until completely combined.
- Drop the coconut mixture onto the prepared baking sheet using a small cookie scoop (I used a #70 scoop). Make sure to keep about one inch of space between cookies. I was able to make 18 cookies at this size.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies start to turn golden brown. Remove from the oven and let them cool for about 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack.
- Place the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and melt in 30-second intervals, stirring in between, until they are completely melted and smooth. Drizzle the chocolate over the top of the cookies. Let it set up, and then serve.
Tips for the Best Coconut Macaroons:
- Don’t use the whole can of sweetened condensed milk unless you double the rest of the recipe. Too much sweetened condensed milk can make a gooey mess instead of packed, dense cookies.
- Pack that scoop tightly when you’re making the cookies so they hold their shape better in the oven.
- Watch them closely the last few minutes of baking. The outer edge with coconut can go from crispy and golden to burned really fast.
Variations to Try:
- Dip instead of drizzle. You can dip the top (like the Matterhorn Macaroon from Disneyland) or the bottom instead of drizzling it for a higher chocolate to coconut ratio.
- Almond Joy version. Add an almond to the center of each cookie before baking and dipping them in chocolate.
- Holiday version. Like Disney does, dip them in chocolate and add holiday sprinkles (or birthday!) for a more festive version.
Storage and Freezing
Store cooled macaroons in an airtight container on the counter for up to a week. You can flash freeze these in a single layer, then transfer them to a ziploc bag or freezer safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw them at room temperature before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Coconut macaroons are dense, chewy coconut cookies, sometimes dipped in chocolate. French macarons are colorful almond-flour sandwich cookies with filling. Despite the very similar names, they’re completely different cookies (but both delicious!).
Not for this recipe! Whipping egg whites as a binder can be a little tricky, so we made this recipe as simple as possible by using sweetened condensed milk as the binder instead.
We would only recommend using the whole can if you double the rest of the ingredients, too. Too much condensed milk to coconut and flour ratio can make them a sticky, gooey mess instead of a dense, chewy cookie. Half a can with this amount of flour and coconut gives it the right texture.
Yes, but the texture will be a little more dry and noticeably less sweet.
This usually happens when the texture is too wet or the mounds weren’t packed tightly enough before baking. Next time, you can try adding more coconut + a tablespoon of flour to get them to pack well and keep their shape.
Make another batch of cookies! 😉 You can also stir it into coffee or hot chocolate, use it in a half-batch of fudge, or drizzle it over fresh fruit!
Looking for more cookie recipes? Check out our entire Cookie Collection or try one of these favorites:
- Haystack Cookies
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies
- Super Soft Sugar Cookies
- Andes Mint Cookies
Easy Coconut Macaroons Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 ¾ cups sweetened flaked coconut
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 7 ounces sweetened condensed milk, ½ a 14 ounce can
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon almond extract, optional
- ½ cup chocolate chips or melting chocolate
Equipment
- Large Bowl or Medium Bowl
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the coconut, flour, salt, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract and almond extract until completely combined.
- Drop the coconut mixture onto the prepared baking sheet using a small cookie scoop (I used a #70 scoop). Make sure to keep about one inch of space between cookies. I was able to make 18 cookies at this size.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies start to turn golden brown. Remove from the oven and let them cool for about 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack.
- Place the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and melt in 30-second intervals, stirring in between, until they are completely melted and smooth. Drizzle the chocolate over the top of the cookies. Let it set up, and then serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.
