Best Coconut Macaroons Recipe

I have to confess - I never liked coconut macaroons.

When a friend recommended that I offer these popular cookies at my farmers market stand, I had to think about it for a while. The way I knew coconut macaroons - they were made with coconut flakes, sugar or sweetened condensed milk, egg whites, flour and almond extract. I liked the flavor - but not the texture of the final bunch of dry coconut in my mouth. I always spit it out. The question was: how could I improve upon a classic recipe?

According to my culinary philosophy - "too rich" is an oxymoron!

If I were to create my own coconut macaroon recipe, it would have to be rich and moist, creamy and flavorful. The coconut flakes must be soaked with vanilla and sweet thick milk so chewing them would provide several stages of caramelized juicyness.

As I researched a bit more, I happened upon a simple recipe including nothing but sweetened coconut flakes, condensed milk, and vanilla. Great, no eggs - nothing had to be fully cooked. That means I could actually under-bake the cookies and preserve even more of the moisture.

The artist's brush in my ear (see photo) finally did its job - inspiration struck: "Tres Leches" it had to be!

Tres Leches is spanish for three milks. We had condensed milk already - why not add a little cream for more richness? And, a couple of spoons of sour cream for even more richness? (Sour cream is also good for moisture retention.) Instead of regular vanilla, let's use Mexican vanilla!

Great, but - how many calories? 385
Good, lets' do it.

We'll make 24 big (3.5 oz) macaroons. Use a #12 ice cream scoop.

Ingredients

4 - 14 oz bags sweetened coconut flakes
2 - 14 oz cans sweetened condensed milk (in Germany, please use only gezuckerte Kondensmilch, like Bärenmarke Milchmädchen!)
1/4 cup sour cream
2 Tablespoons heavy cream
1 Tablespoon Mexican vanilla



Pour 3 bags of coconut flakes into a mixer bowl. I work with a 5-quart KitchenAid "Epicurean". If your mixer is smaller, you might want to consider cutting the recipe in half. You can also do the mixing by hand, with a strong spoon, in a large mixing bowl.



Pour the condensed milk, sour cream, cream and vanilla on top of the coconut flakes.



Turn the mixer to a slow speed.



With the mixer running, slowly add the fourth bag of coconut flakes. If you start out with all 4 bags in the bowl, the paddle might throw some of the mix over the edge of the bowl.



Mix for about 10-15 seconds until combined. Turn off the mixer. Scrape the paddle with a spatula and give the the batter a few turns to make sure all the ingredients are well distributed.



Did your vision get blurry in anticipation?

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Cover your sheet pans with parchment paper.

Scoop out the macaroons and press slightly together - so they hold their shape when you drop them onto the sheet pan.







Now place the sheet into the oven and bake for about 10-12 minutes. The bottoms of the macaroons should be lightly caramelized (medium-dark brown).



Halfway through the baking time...



Finished!

For the dipping of our fabulous Tres Leches Coconut Macaroons, I recommend a dark dipping or molding chocolate. Guittard makes a great product, and I will feature it in the following Amazon module.

Good dipping chocolate can be melted in a microwave, or in a bowl over hot water. (Be careful not to get any steam into the chocolate - it will cause streaks.)

Dip the cooled macaroons halfway into the chocolate and set them back onto a sheet pan covered with parchment. You can reuse the cool baking sheet. The dipped macaroons should be placed in a refrigerator, so the chocolate cools faster and preserves a shine. If you cool the macaroons under room temperature, the chocolate might get dull. You could also place the dipped macs on a smaller sheet pan that fits in your freezer compartment. It takes only 5 minutes for the chocolate to set up very shiny.



If my angel, Chef Karen, weren't watching over me...



...I would look like this -