Coconut Macaroons

Anymore, it is rare for me to overindulge with sweets. When baking, I usually sample one treat from the batch when it’s fresh, maybe eat a couple more once things have cooled, and pack away the rest to give to friends. My husband will sample a few more of the treats, but my sweet tooth has calmed down over the years (and for that, my waistline is thankful).

These cookies, however….they hit different. As soon as I tried one fresh out of the oven, I knew it would be much harder to share these with a generous heart. With the crispy crunch of toasted coconut and cinnamon, balanced with a light and fluffy center, I could have eaten the entire pan. In an hour. While we were able to space out our consumption of these cookies to an entire weekend, not a single one escaped our house to be shared with friends. Sorry guys…they’re that good.

Jump to Recipe

Coconut macaroons are something I’ve enjoyed sporadically over the years, but never attempted to prepare from scratch until recently. Like meringues, they are a great recipe to make if you have a lot of extra egg whites that you don’t know what to do with — and these cookies don’t require a lot of finesse.

It is worth noting that these cookies are not macarons! While both types of cookies are made with egg whites, these use wheat flour and coconut flakes for their haystack-like structure. Macarons use almond flour, and end up as tiny, delicate sandwiches. While I encourage anyone to try baking macarons, preparing these coconut macaroons is a much less involved process, and they are a safer bet for the risk-averse baker.

Start by preheating your oven to 325 degrees F. In a clean, dry bowl, whisk together egg whites until they are frothy. You don’t need them to be at soft-peaks stage, but they do need some strength.

Combine all of your other other ingredients in a separate bowl. Slowly fold these dry ingredients into the frothy egg whites.

• 

• 

Drop tablespoons of the batter onto a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. (I recently recieved some silicone baking sheets as a gift, and they are a wonderful alternative to going through boxes of parchment paper!)

Bake the cookies for 20 minutes, or until edges start to brown. Allow to cool on pan after removing from oven. Try not to eat the entire pan in one sitting. 😉

There you have it! I told you it was easy. If you try this recipe at home, please tag #WhiskAverseBaking on social media or leave a message here in the comments.