Classic Coconut Macaroons Recipe
This Classic Coconut Macaroons Recipe is absolutely the best! These cookies are perfect with your cup of afternoon tea as well as excellent for the holidays.
Coconut Cookies are some of my favorites, but unfortunately, my family does not share my passion for coconut. This Alice Medrich recipe got rave reviews from my friends, and now is the gold standard for the Best Macaroon Recipe.
Why You Must Make
- The recipe comes from Alice Medrich, the baking guru and cookbook author.
- These macaroons are perfectly sweet and chewy.
- This is a classic recipe, made without sweetened condensed milk.
Ingredient Notes
There are only five simple ingredients in this recipe!
- Kitchen Staples – Sugar, Salt, Real Vanilla Extract
- Egg Whites
- Sweetened Coconut – Like Baker’s Angel Flake Coconut
Expert Tips
If you’re used to making a macaroon recipe with sweetened condensed milk, this recipe has an extra step. But, I promise you, it’s worth the extra time.
- PRO-Tip: If you don’t have a double boiler, you can create a makeshift version by boiling water in a saucepan and nestling a heatproof bowl into it. The bottom of the bowl should not touch the water.
- The mixture must be stirred frequently while being heated until it thickens and becomes opaque, or loses its transparency. At that point, the mixture can be taken out of the water and cooled.
- Use a cookie scoop to place rounds of the batter onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- To bake, the macaroons start at a higher oven temperature at first, then decrease after 5 minutes in the oven.
I will never make macaroons with a can of sweetened condensed milk again. This is the ultimate recipe. They’re sweet, moist, chewy. Just spectacular!!! One of my local foodie friends proclaimed these as the best macaroons she’s ever eaten. Go ahead, coconut lovers, give this recipe a try!
Frequently Asked Questions
These coconut cookies will last up to a week if stored in an air-tight container at room temperature. They can also be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months.
There are a number of reasons your macaroons can be sticky. First, if they’re stored in a location with high humidity, they can easily get sticky. Other possibilities include over-whipping the egg whites or not baking long enough. But don’t worry, even sticky macaroons are delicious!
Macaroons are made with egg whites, sugar, and coconut. Coconut is key as it’s not a macaroon without coconut. Many versions are made with a can of sweetened condensed milk, which definitely makes for an easy recipe. But to taste the real classic macaroons, make a batch with egg whites. The texture of a macaroon is chewy.
Macarons are French sandwich cookies. Best made with older egg whites, macarons also contain almond meal. Where macaroons are always coconut flavor, macarons can be made in numerous flavors and filled with just as many flavor alternatives. Macaroons (with the double “o”) are super easy to make whereas Macarons (use your best French accent and roll your “R”) are fussy. The goal when baking up your macarons is for each “cookie” to have a “foot” or base that’s a slightly different texture. The resulting macarons are not chewy, but instead crisp like a baked meringue.
You May Also Like:
- Banana Coconut Sweet Bread from Cravings of a Lunatic
- Coconut Cream Pie
- Coconut Truffles
- Chewy Coconut Cookies
- Coconut Cupcakes
- Chocolate Dipped Macaroons
- More Cookie Recipes
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Classic Coconut Macaroons Recipe
This classic macaroon recipe from Alice Medrich is the best you'll ever make!
Ingredients
- 4 egg whites
- 3 cups sweetened coconut (like Baker’s Angel Flake)
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment. Set aside.
- Fill a skillet halfway with water and bring to a simmer. In a heatproof bowl, combine all ingredients and place the bowl into the skillet.
- Cook, stirring frequently for about 5 minutes, till the mixture thickens and becomes opaque.
- Remove the bowl from the water and let it cool for about 30 minutes.
- Scoop out about 2 tablespoons of batter (I used a medium cookie scoop) and place about 2 inches apart on baking sheets.
- Bake for about 5 minutes, then decrease oven temperature to 325º and bake till cookies are lightly browned with some darker edges, 10-15 more minutes.
Notes
Eggs separate best when cold. The yolk is less likely to break.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
16Serving Size:
1 cookieAmount Per Serving: Calories: 115Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 92mgCarbohydrates: 18gFiber: 2gSugar: 15gProtein: 1g
83 Comments on “Classic Coconut Macaroons Recipe”
I love macaroons…and yours look delicious Liz.
Thanks for the recipe and hope you are having a great week 🙂
I love this macaroons love to try it. It is my favorite order in a near by bakery.
I’m embarrassed to admit this but…I’ve never had a macaroon before!! They look absolutely divine, though!
We all love macaroons in our family, and I don’t make them often enough.
Lizzy yours is exactly how mine looks, except w/ chocolate drizzle that the little guys love so much. Yumm) xo
My husband is crazy for macaroons! I will try these for sure as I haven’t found a really good recipe, thanks Lizzy!
Ooooh girl! Sign me up for this one! You know my fridge is just LOUSY with coconut so this is perfect for us 🙂
I love such easy desserts. I make macaroons with coconut, dates and banana. I will try your version soon.
Yes, a macaroon – not a macaron! Seems easy enough – I”m going to have to try your recipe. Total coconut freak, so that made Mounds my favorite candy bar back in the day 🙂
Oh nice is has more of a meringue base to it, they look awesome. I like them, my dad would devour them all.
Oh I love macaroons! I should try this recipe!
I have only tried to make these once and they were pretty good, but I think I will try your recipe some time!
Macaroons are one of my favourites and thanks for the reminder. These look amazing and I bet were a huge success at the tailgating.
Great recipe! The condensed milk version is pretty good, although awfully sweet. Definitely need to give these a try – thanks.
I hear that angels eat this stuff… =)
We love them – I usually make Ina’s recipe, but will definitely give this one a try. Absolutely lovely photo!
my husband loves these, i will have to surprise him with some!
nice macaroons
Lizzy , if only the other macaron is as easy to make as this macaroon , I’ll be a happy camper ! lol I guess this recipe is much better than the one using condensed milk which is overly sweet and much more dense 😀 Beautifully-made and looks yummmmmm !
I’m not a macaroon person myself, but my significant other sure is. Good to have a can’t miss recipe on hand!
My friend Liz.
Oh my God!! Please, share with me those delights of macaroons, I love these mainly coconut. hummmmm delicious! …. Kisses Gina