Coconut Macaroons

Coconut Macaroons are easy!

Coconut Macaroons are quite pricey if you have to buy them.  There’s no reason for paying a lot though, because they are not tough to make.  I made this recipe to be done with an electric hand mixer, just to show you that you don’t even need any special equipment.

The eggs you use are important

You want to use nice, fresh eggs and the better the quality, the better your macaroons are going to be.  I freely admit to being a bit biased in this regard, because we are egg farmers.  Sorry, I can’t help it if I think fresh, local eggs are the best.  I’m sure you forgive me, right?

Just a few ingredients

In addition to the eggs, you’re going to need sugar, vanilla, a bit of flour, and shredded coconut.  I used sweetened coconut, but I have made these before with unsweetened coconut.  The result is just as good, but not quite as sweet.  If you use unsweetened, you might want to dip the bottoms in melted chocolate, just to add a bit more flavor.  Either way, they are yummy.

Separate the eggs carefully

It is essential that no yolks at all get into the whites because that will prevent the whites from whipping as you need them to for these Coconut Macaroons.  If you’re already confident in separating the whites and yolks, use whatever method works best for you.  Or, you might want to try something like this handy little egg separator. See my notes below for how I do it.

Start the mixer on low

After adding the sugar to the egg whites in the bowl, set your mixer to low and beat until they start to become frothy.

Then, raise the speed to medium/medium-high, and beat until you have medium peaks.  Medium peaks will flop over slightly when you raise the beaters and turn them sideways.  You don’t want stiff peaks, because that increases the likelihood that the macaroons will ‘break’ when you bake them, meaning liquid will separate out.  Medium is all you need.

They should look like the photo, above. Then, beat in the vanilla, which will only take about 30 seconds.

Fold in the remaining ingredients

It’s important to use a rubber spatula for mixing in the flour and coconut.  You don’t want to knock all the air out of your batter, for these Coconut Macaroons so be gentle.

Use parchment paper on the baking sheet

Fat is the enemy of fluffy egg whites, so I don’t even like to use it on my baking sheet.  Parchment paper, or silpat is a better option. I used two small forks to get the batter on the baking sheet, so that I would end up with an uneven, rustic texture, with lots of little peaks to get crunchy.  If you like a more rounded appearance, you can use a cookie scoop.

Here’s how to make these Coconut Macaroons, in detail:

Beautiful!

Important things to remember

• don’t get any yolks in the egg whites, or they won’t whip
• fold in the final ingredients, so that you don’t know all the air out of the batter
• store in a tightly covered container, or they will go stale quite quickly.

A great cookie for Easter

You often see Macaroons in Christmas Cookie collections [like mine! 🙂 ], but I think they are also a nice choice at easter.  Desserts with coconut remind me of the coconut cake my grandmother always made at Easter time I guess.  Coconut Macaroons are a lot less trouble though!

Looking for another recipe that uses a lot of eggs?  Check out my Deviled Eggs recipe.