Simple Coconut Macaroons are sweet, chewy, and easy to make with sweetened condensed milk—especially delicious dipped in chocolate!
Use leftover coconut flakes in these Coconut Oatmeal Cookies!
My Mom’s Famous Coconut Macaroons
These macaroons are one of my mom’s “famous” recipes. I’ve shared her 7 Layer Bars, Carmelitas, and Rice Krispie Treats over the years, and am finally getting around to sharing this cookie recipe.
She’s known for these macaroons — so much so that people asked her if they’d be served at my sister’s wedding. And they were! In fact, we made several hundred of them the day before the wedding a couple of years ago. Good thing they are super easy to make!
A lot of the cookie recipes I’ve shared over the years can be fairly fussy to prepare, but these macaroons are about as easy and straightforward as they get. The base cookie only requires five ingredients. I’ll discuss those below.
Coconut Macaroon Ingredients
- Sweetened coconut flakes. Be sure to use sweetened flakes, not unsweetened, shredded, or any other coconut product.
- Sweetened condensed milk. Only use full-fat sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated or sugar-free). Check the label to be sure.
- Vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste. Both work here. I do love the flecks of vanilla beans in the cookies when using the paste.
- Fine sea salt. It makes them taste better and balances the sweet taste.
- All-purpose flour. Just a bit helps hold it all together.
That’s right—no baking soda, no baking powder, and no eggs required!
How To Make Coconut Macaroons
Here are my best tips!
- I suggest buying a new bag of sweetened coconut flakes so they’re fresh and have the best texture. I like to gently squeeze bags at the store to find the softest ones.
- Use a stand mixer or hand mixer to mix the batter quickly. You can use a spoon, but the mix is very thick and sticky!
- Line pans with parchment or a silicone liner to prevent sticking and help the bottoms brown evenly.
- Use a cookie scoop! A 1½-tablespoon cookie scoop makes shaping easier and helps pack in the coconut.
- These cookies don’t spread, so you can bake many at once. How these look going in the oven is how they’ll look coming out.
- If the coconut browns a bit on the bottom or top, it will make the cookies taste even better—like toasted coconut!
Dip ‘Em In Chocolate!
These Coconut Macaroons are delicious on their own, but dipping and drizzling with chocolate takes them to the next level! Here are a few tips:
- Use high-quality chocolate chips for a better melt and a richer flavor.
- Microwave the chocolate chips in sturdy, heat–safe bowls instead of using plastic.
- To avoid burned chocolate, microwave for 20 seconds at a time, and stir for 20–25 seconds between each. The chocolate is still melting out of the microwave.
- For drizzling: Place a plastic bag in a tall glass, fill with some melted chocolate, seal without air, push chocolate to one corner, snip the tip, and drizzle over the cookies!
Quick Tip
Be careful when melting chocolate—water can make it grainy, and overheating can make it cloudy or sticky. Melt slowly to avoid issues.
More Delicious Cookie Recipes
- Cookie Bars with chocolate chips
- Cookies and Cream Muddy Buddies with mini Oreos
- Maple Cookies with a maple glaze
- Avalanche Cookies no-bake peanut butter chocolate cookies
- Cinnamon Roll Cookies with cream cheese frosting
Coconut Macaroons
These sweet, chewy Coconut Macaroons come together easily with a secret ingredient—sweetened condensed milk! Dipped and drizzled in chocolate, they’re totally irresistible for coconut lovers!
Equipment
- 2 Large sheet pan (15" x 21")
- Parchment paper or silicone baking mats
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 5-1/2 cups sweetened coconut flakes see note 1
- 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk full fat; not evaporated milk
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract or 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- 1-1/2 cups chocolate chips milk, semi-sweet, or dark; plus 1 teaspoon coconut or vegetable oil; optional, see note 2
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 large sheet pans with parchment paper or a silicone liner and set aside.
- In a very large bowl, add the sweetened coconut flakes, flour, vanilla, and salt. Scoop out every bit of the sweetened condensed milk into the bowl. Use a hand mixer to beat ingredients until just combined; do not overmix. Use a large cookie scoop (1-1/2 tablespoons in size) to get golf ball-sized compressed (press into the cookie scoop) cookies (see note 3).
- Place cookies on the prepared sheet pans, 1 inch apart. Bake for 11–14 minutes or until coconut is lightly toasted on top and bottoms are a very light brown. Don’t overbake! Remove from oven and allow to cool on the pan for 5 minutes before gently moving them with a metal spatula to a cooling rack.
- Optional Chocolate: If you want to dip these in chocolate, wait for the cookies to fully cool. Then, add the chocolate chips and coconut oil to a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in bursts of 20 seconds, stirring between each burst for 20–25 seconds until chocolate is melted and smooth. Chocolate is melting even outside the microwave, so stir for a while to ensure it doesn’t burn. Transfer about 1/4 cup (just eyeball it) of melted chocolate to a plastic bag. Seal the bag without air and set aside.
- Generously dip the base of each cooled cookie in the remaining melted chocolate; transfer dipped cookies back to the parchment-paper-lined trays. Use scissors to cut a tiny tip off the plastic bag with the remaining melted chocolate and drizzle that chocolate over the cookies. Allow to set at room temperature.
Video
Recipe Notes
Note 1: These macaroons rely on soft, fresh coconut for optimal flavor and texture. I feel the bags at the store to find the softest feeling coconut! Make sure to get sweetened flakes.
Note 2: I love milk chocolate best, but any chocolate works. If you’re worried about sweetness, use semi-sweet or dark chocolate.
Note 3: The cookie scoop gets sticky, so spray it with cooking spray or use a spoon to help release the dough. Leave cookies as is for a rustic look or roll by hand for a neater shape.
Nutrition Note: Nutrition information is for Coconut Macaroons without chocolate. There are 176 calories in 1 serving of these macaroons with the optional chocolate.
Storage: These cookies will stay fresh, tightly covered, at room temperature for up to 3 days or in an airtight container in the fridge for 5–7 days. I like them best within 1–2 days. These cookies freeze and defrost well without the chocolate: Place the cookies on a sheet pan in the freezer, freeze until solid, then transfer to an airtight freezer bag or container. Freeze for up to 2 months.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 114kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 78mg | Potassium: 80mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 1IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 3mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’m Chelseas sister and for my wedding she made hundreds of these coconut macaroons for everyone to eat and I still dream about them and find myself coming back to this recipe and making them. They are so simple and seriously so beyond delicious.
Making these this weekend! These look delicious and perfect for an easy weekend dessert 🙂
will be making this soon i love macaroons sooooooooooooo much i never had homemade coconut macaroons before will dm you if i make this and let you know how it goes Thanks Ramya