Classic Macaroons

Freshly baked Classic Macaroons are an extra special delight and they are naturally gluten free without substitutions!  The crisp exterior when they are fresh out of the oven is accentuated by the creamy and chewy coconut interior.  Making them from scratch allows you the freedom to keep them classic, garnish them with a little drizzle chocolate or completely drench them in it if you prefer!  

Classic Macaroons Recipe Development

I have eaten my fair share of store bought macaroons in my day.  Chocolate chip, double chocolate chip, cherry chip, chocolate dipped and drizzled.  Many varieties are generously stocked on grocery store shelves during Passover each year. And I am happy to load up on them!  In the past, it gave me one less thing to bake from scratch.  Then I decided to start baking them and developing recipes. 

I had a few fails getting the moisture and sugar levels where I wanted them and a fun holiday experiment (see the green macaroons) tasted great but didn’t look the way I’d hoped.  Many recipes for macaroons use sweetened shredded coconut along with sweetened condensed milk, which was just too sweet for me.  I found that eliminating the sweetened condensed milk took too much creamy flavor away and left them less chewy and a little too dry.  Therefore, using unsweetened shredded coconut with the sweetened condensed milk created more balance.  See my recipe notes about sweetened condensed milk for Passover as well. 

Since I am always looking for shortcuts, I tried a batch without whipping the egg whites.  They turned out okay, but just a little too dense.  Eventually I found my groove and a dough that has the right balance of flavor and texture and is so easy to work with that you can easily shape and fill them to make Thumbprint Macaroons and Chocolate Filled Macaroons as well. Whoo hoo!

Making the Dough

This is a very simple and easy dough to pull together.  The finer the shred of the coconut, the better for this recipe.  If you can’t find finely shredded unsweetened coconut, you can pulse it in the food processor a few times.  Then measure out the 5 cups needed for the recipe.  You will notice that the coconut loses a lot of volume once it has been shredded! Begin by combining the shredded coconut with vanilla and sweetened condensed milk in a large bowl.  In another bowl, whip the egg whites, powdered sugar and salt until soft peaks form and no liquid settles in the bottom of the bowl. Fold the egg white mixture into the coconut mixture by hand. 

Shape & Bake Classic Macaroons

I use a small cookie scoop to create evenly sized and shaped cookies.  If you don’t have a scoop, you can spoon the batter into your hands and roll it to shape the macaroons.  Leave about an inch between the cookies on the tray.  They won’t spread when they bake, but this will allow air to circulate around them while they bake.  Which will result in a crispy exterior.  You will know they are done baking when the bottoms have browned a little and the exterior is no longer sticky.  Make sure to let the cookies cool before removing them from the tray, garnishing them with melted chocolate or eating them. 

Optional Chocolate Garnish

Any type of chocolate: dark, semi-sweet, milk or white will work.  Place the chips or chopped chocolate in a microwave safe bowl.  Heat for 30 seconds, then in 15 second intervals until the chocolate is partially melted and can be stirred.  Remove and stir until it is smooth.  Now you can drizzle the chocolate on top, dip the bottoms or completely dunk the cooled macaroons in the melted chocolate.  For details on how to make Thumbprint Macaroons or Chocolate Filled Macaroons, follow the highlighted links. 

More Gluten Free Cookies!

Cookie monsters like me, check out Hamantaschen, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies, Pumpkin Whoopie Pies, Dirty Snowballs, Almond Cut Out Cookies, Naked Cut Out Cookies and College Dorm Cookies

Classic Macaroons

Classic Macaroons that have a crisp baked exterior and a chewy interior full of sweet milky coconut flavor.

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Servings 32 cookies

Calories 139

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 5 cups finely shredded unsweetened coconut (*see note)
• 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk (*see note below for Passover)
• 2 egg whites (1/4 cup measured)
• 2 tbsp powdered sugar (*Gefen brand is Kosher for Passover )
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• ½ tsp fine salt
• 1/4-1/2 cup chocolate chips, melted (*optional garnish)

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees and line a baking sheet or two with parchment paper.
• If the shredded coconut is not very finely shredded, pulse it in a food processor a few times.  See note below about this
• In a large bowl combine the shredded coconut, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla.  Stir with a large spatula to combine these very well.
• In a separate bowl, use a hand mixer on high speed to whip the egg whites, powdered sugar and salt until soft peaks form and there’s no liquid settling in the bottom of the bowl.
• Fold the egg white mixture into the coconut mixture.  Don’t over mix, but be sure that all of the egg whites are incorporated well.
• Use a small cookie scoop to make mounds of the batter on the parchment lined baking sheet.  The macaroons will not spread, but leave about an inch between each one to allow air to circulate.  The shape you put them in the oven is essentially the shape they will come out in.
• Bake for approximately 18 minutes, until the bottoms have brown slightly. Remove and let cool.
• *Optional garnish: slowly melt chocolate chips or chopped chocolate (dark, semi-sweet, milk and white chocolate all work well) in a microwave safe container in 15-30 second intervals until soft enough to stir to a smooth consistency. Then dip the bottom of the macaroons in the chocolate or drizzle it on top for garnish.  Let cool on parchment paper until the chocolate hardens before storing or eating.

Notes

Note:  Some brands of sweetened condensed milk may contain corn syrup.  Eagle brand and Publix generic only contain milk and sugar.  They are both Kosher Dairy, but do not have the symbol for Kosher for Passover.  I have not found a brand with the Kosher for Passover certification.  Therefore, if you require this, a substitute would be to make your own sweetened condensed milk, which only requires 2 ingredients!  Combine 2 cups milk and 2/3 cup sugar in a small saucepan over medium low heat.  Stir until the sugar dissolves, then let reduce approximately by 50 percent.  Once thickened and reduce, let cool to room temp then it is ready to use or store covered in the fridge until ready for use. 

 

Note: If using standard shredded coconut instead of finely shredded, you will need 2-3 7oz bags.  Once the coconut has been finely shredded in a food processor, then resume measuring out the 5 cups needed for the recipe.

Nutrition

Calories: 139kcalCarbohydrates: 11gProtein: 2gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 4mgSodium: 61mgPotassium: 128mgFiber: 2gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 33IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 39mgIron: 1mg

Keyword allergy friendly, Break Fast, cookie, cookies, easy, Passover, sesame free, soy free, vegetarian, Yom Kippur

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