Healthy Cookies
by Chocolate Covered Katie
4.99 from 61 votes
This classic coconut macaroons recipe is so easy to make… and hard to resist!
Homemade Coconut Macaroons
Soft
Chewy
Vegan
Oil free
Gluten free
Paleo & keto versions
And they have just 6 ingredients
These delicious and deceptively simple coconut cookies are so quick and fun to make that they might just become your new favorite cookies.
How To Make Macaroons:
Stir the ingredients together in a bowl.
Microwave or heat on the stove.
Form balls and bake in the oven.
Eat them all up… then head straight back to the kitchen, to make another batch!
(Above, a video of the chocolate version – Chocolate Coconut Cookies)
Macaroons Or Macarons?
So what is a macaroon? If you google “macaroon recipe,” you’ll find cookies that look like the ones in these photos, and you’ll also see cookies that look completely different.
Modern day coconut macaroons are soft coconut cookies, sometimes made with almond paste or even potato starch. They’re popular for Christmas and are also a popular Passover recipe because they’re unleavened.
Macarons—spelled with one o instead of two, or sometimes called French macaroons—are egg white meringue-based sandwich cookies made with ground almonds or almond flour and often filled with ganache, jam, or buttercream. They come in a rainbow of colors.
The two cookies are adaptations of what was once the same recipe, hundreds of years ago.
For Keto Macaroons: Add 3 1/2 tbsp melted coconut oil in place of the maple syrup, and sweeten with uncut stevia to taste.
For Paleo Macaroons: Use either almond meal or coconut flour for the 1 tbsp flour of choice.
For Protein Macaroons: Substitute an equal amount of your favorite protein powder (I likethis vegan protein powder) for the flour or almond meal.
These healthy coconut cookies have been a staple on my holiday baking list for the past seven years, and I’ve made them a million different ways.
Aside from changing the recipe up by using different flours or protein powders, you can also add almond extract, peppermint extract, or spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg, for endless flavor combinations.
The cookies need no refrigeration, making them an excellent choice any time you need to make a dessert for a holiday party. Just be sure not to eat them all before they reach their destination!
Even more cookies —> Healthy Cookies Recipes
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Coconut Macaroons
This classic coconut macaroons recipe is easy to make and hard to resist.
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Print Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes minutes
Total Time 20 minutes minutes
Yield 8 – 12 cookies
5 from 61 votes
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 tbsp almond meal or flour of choice
- 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp milk of choice or coconutmilk
- just over 1/16 tsp salt
- 3 1/2 tbsp pure maple syrup, honey, or agave (a keto option is listed earlier in the post)
- 1/4 tsp pure vanilla or coconut extract
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 F. Stir together all ingredients, then either microwave or heat on the stove until thick enough to scoop balls onto a cookie tray. (I used a melon baller, but a spoon or ice cream scoop also work.) Bake on the center rack 15 minutes. Let cool completely before removing from the tray. If desired, dip in melted chocolate or melted Sugar Free Chocolate Chips.
View Nutrition Facts
Notes
Also be sure to try these Snowball Cookies.
Have you made this recipe?
Tag @chocolatecoveredkatie on Instagram
More Coconut Recipes:
Coconut Ice Cream – 5 Different Flavors
Healthy Chocolate Pudding
Coconut Caramel
Coconut Curry Recipe
Coconut Butter And Coconut Oil– Everything You Need To Know
Vegan Magic Bars
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Published on December 6, 2018
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Reader Interactions
53 Comments
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Christy says
I can’t wait to make these for my coconut loving BF for Christmas. Question for you, you stated in the description you could add other flavors (almond extract, peppermint extract, etc.). In doing so, do you replace it for the vanilla (or coconut) extract in the posted recipes or in addition to??
Thanks!
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Jason Sanford says
You can leave the vanilla in or omit it. However, if using almond or peppermint, be sure to use PURE almond or peppermint, not imitation. And a little goes a long way with those, so start with just a few drops and taste the batter. You can always add more. Katie has a chocolate peppermint version here: https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2014/12/11/peppermint-chocolate-coconut-cookies/
Jason (media relations)Reply
Dana says
I made them with a little peppermint extract (still kept the vanilla in as well) and they were SO GOOD! Next time I might try stirring in some crushed candy canes. I highly recommend the recipe. It’s a keeper 🙂
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Tracey Eisenberg says
When you say coconut milk do you mean canned coconut milk or something like Coconut Dream that I use in other things? thanks.
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Jason Sanford says
Any milk of choice will work here 🙂
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Aurélie says
This recipe looks amazing! I’m sorry if this is a silly question, but how do you get the chocolate base on the photo? How did you get the chocolate bit to harden? Thx in advance for your feedback 🙂
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Jason Sanford says
Not silly at all! Just dip the cookies in melted chocolate and place on a parchment-lined plate. The chocolate will harden on its own, but to speed up the process you can put it in the fridge or freezer.
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Aurélie says
This is what I was thinking, but wasn’t sure so thank you for your answer! I have a Xmas potluck on Saturday and I’m planning to give these a go! I’ll let you know how I went!;)
Thanks for all of your lovely recipes!!
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Jess says
You can even make your own chocolate base by mixing 1/4 cup melted coconut oil, 1/4 cup cocoa powder and sweetener of choice! It hardens well in the fridge but if left outside it will melt faster. Just a suggestion!
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Max Santiago says
If you’re using regular chocolate you must temper it first before dipping the cookies in it. Otherwise they will never look like the ones in the picture. The easiest and best thing to do is buy what is called coating chocolate ( or glaze chocolate) this chocolate does not need to be tempered just melt and dip and it will set hard and beautiful
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Katie M says
How long does it take to thicken up on the stove? I’ve been hitting it on medium for about 10 minutes and it is still extremely runny.
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Suchot says
Interesting how macaroons and macarons are based on the same original recipe – other than the similar names they seem like completely different cookies!
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I had macarons for the first time when I was traveling in Paris this past summer! However, I love coconut and this ingredient list and can’t wait to try making these at home!
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Hmm, these look delicious! I’ve been looking for healthy snacks to take to my daughters ‘special helper’ day at school and these will work great! Thanks
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Lorain says
These are great. You need to cook down the ingredients until most liquid is gone…then pack them firmly. Be sure to cool completely or they will crumble.
I used 18% coffee cream and almond flour, it was perfect. I also,dipped mine in chocolate, yummy. May add a toasted almond next time to replicate an Almond Joy…Reply
Jason Sanford says
Coffee cream macaroons sounds so amazing!
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Brianne McCasland says
I used Bob’s gluten free baking flour, and bulk unsweetened coconut that was fairly fine. These turned out great!! They had to cook much longer than I thought they would need. Keep it on a low temp so you don’t scorch the bottom. A bigger saucepan would also help. I used a cookie scoop, and they cooked up so pretty and kept their shape. I cooked them for a extra 3-5 mins so the middle wasn’t so soft. The chocolate bottoms pulled this together perfectly, but we did eat a bunch without chocolate too!
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lissaa says
I haven’t made these cookies yet, but have a question. Would like to try them but couldn’t understand how the coconut stays together to form a cookie.
Is it the flour and milk being heated up that creates a roux that holds the shredded coconut together?
Thanks.Reply
Jen says
I just tried these after reading all of the comments, knowing that I was trying it with sweetened coconut even though the recipe calls for unsweetened. I’m running to the store now and unsweetened coconut is on my list! My original ones with sweetened coconut turned out similarly to others comments, so I’m assuming that was the difference – the coconut! However, I’m still so excited to try these again, rather than blaming the recipe 🙂 Also, they’re delicious despite having to scrape the gooey macaroons off the pan!
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Marie says
I just made these today. I can’t believe how easy they were to make and they turned out SO good. My kids loved them and were disappointed I hadn’t made more ?. I used all-purpose flour, coconut milk, unsweetened coconut and maple syrup; it took maybe 3 minutes for the batter to thicken enough in the microwave and it was extremely easy to scoop it into balls onto the tray. Chocolate on top after they had cooled down and we couldn’t even wait for the chocolate to set. They were dreamy ❤️
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Radhika says
Hi, I wanted to check
Do you use freshly grated /froze coconuts or the dry dried desiccated coconut?Thanks,
RadhikaReply
Jason Sanford says
Dry 🙂
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TeenChef says
These turned out delicious!!!!! 🙂
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Ahbra says
What size scoop did you use for these?
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Jason Sanford says
Mini cookie scoop 🙂
https://amzn.to/2KnecSl
Jason (media relations)Reply
Amanda says
Hey!
Just letting you know these little treats were fabulous!
Needed to make a dessert for the younger ones and happened upon these. Love that it’s only milk & honey! No eggs or condensed milk! Plus they taste much better in my opinion. Doubled up on taste-testing and not sorry.
My 4y.o. and I whipped them up in the microwave, in short bursts. Took about 3 1/2 minutes all up. I don’t have a baller of any sort, so we used a Tablespoon measuring scoop to dump them out onto the baking tray and we got 14 pieces. Baked them for the longer amount of time, til the edges started to golden, and left them on the tray to cool. No falling apart worry here, but they do melt-in-your-mouth! SO GOOD!
Thank you 🙂Reply
Becca says
So delicious and so quick and easy!! My hubby keeps popping them in his mouth… they are supposed to be for Christmas goody bags.
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Jason Sanford says
Those look perfect!
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Aurora says
I would love to try these but I only have sweetened coconut flakes on hand. Must I make the trip to the store to buy the unsweetened kind, or can I make it work? I’m guessing I could omit or reduce the maple syrup in the recipe.
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Jason Sanford says
I think the sweetened ones are not dry enough to work? It’s a different texture and probably would cause the macaroons to not set up. But I’m not sure – be sure to report back if you experiment!
JasonReply
Aurora says
Forgot to come back and update. I used only 1/2 cup of soy milk and no sweetener at all. They turned out great! I’ll try using slightly less milk next time or cooking it for a bit longer so they set up better, but this first try was delicious.
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Jason Sanford says
Those look wonderful!
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Aurora says
I just had to update you on my second try because they turned out even better! Still using sweetened coconut flakes, I used slightly less than 1/2 cup of soy milk, and omitted the maple syrup. And, since I had some leftover sweetened condensed coconut milk, I added 1 TBSP of it. Cooked on the stove instead of warming in the microwave like last time, and baked until golden. So delicious! They didn’t last the night 🙂 Thank you so much for this recipe!
Trish says
I made the mistake of using coconut flour in mine and they came out very delicate, crumbly and a bit dry. I had forgotten how coconut flour really soaks up liquids! I’ll try almond or normal baking flour next time 🙂 despite the slight mishap, they tasted absolutely delicious! Thank you for this recipe.
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Maya says
Can i use whole wheat flour instead?
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Francine Proulx Harvey says
I have checked on very well fit calorie counter and I don’t get the same as you. Here is what it says:
Servings: 12
Amount per serving
Calories143
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 10.9g14%
Saturated Fat 9.5g47%
Cholesterol 1mg0%
Sodium 12mg1%
Total Carbohydrate 8.9g3%
Dietary Fiber 2.7g10%
Total Sugars 5.3g
Protein 1.7g
Vitamin D 0mcg0%
Calcium 16mg1%
Iron 1mg3%
Potassium 19mg1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
16 tbsp Unsweetened Shredded Coconut Medium No Name 120 Calories per serving1 tbsp flour
1 tbsp Wheat Flour, White, All-purpose, Enriched, Bleached 2 Calories per serving1/2 cup milk of choice
1/2 cup Milk, Reduced Fat, Fluid, 2% Milkfat With Added Vitamin A 5 Calories per serving3 1/2 tbsp pure maple syrup
3 1/2 tbsp Syrups, Maple 15 Calories per servingvanilla
1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract 0 Calories per servingOne of them must be wrong….
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Deana says
You know that Product/Brands vary sometimes GREATLY in Macros, right?
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Steve Z says
These are good! And easy! I’m glad to have a vegan macaroon recipe.
A tweak that really worked well: I used 1 1/2 Tablespoons of tapioca flour instead of 1 T of almond or white flour. The tapioca flour lends a chewy texture, much better than most other flours. (Tapioca flour is sometimes called tapioca starch, Bob’s Red Mill sells it, among others.)
Thanks for posting the recipe.
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Mandy says
I used almond flour, unsweetened soy milk and maple syrup. My mistake….i microwaved it for 1 minute. Should have wondered what the point was and done it much longer! I had hard time scooping the “batter”,,it was so ljquidy. As a result they didnt set. Still good but basically a coconutty mess. Ill make them properly next time. Cook until thickened THEN scoop!!! Duh! Thanks. I know this will be good. I just need tomread the recipe more closely!😃
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Rachel Aristeo says
I had to simmer this for quite some time to form the sticky balls of coconut macaroon. They tasted very flavorful and we loved them. My husband from Mexico called them Coconadas – he says they taste like the coconut cookie from Mexico. What a flavor. Will be making again. I don’t think it needs chocolate btw
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CCK Media Team says
Thank you so much for trying them!
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Lianne says
Hi. I want to try these but I wanted to ask- It says use any flour- What about coconut flour? I know coconut flour behaves much differently than other flours, so I just wanted to check.
Thanks 🙂Reply
Lindsay says
It would be really helpful if there was a time estimate for the microwave and stovetop. How thick are we looking for here?
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Elaine says
Took a while for the macaroons to be dry enough for scooping. Probably needed about 5 minutes in the microwave (did that 1 minute at a time) and an extra tablespoon of flour.
Cook time was also a bit longer.
Used a cookie scoop to get uniform shape and size.
Tasty!Reply
Selina says
I just made these, and were absolutely delicious. Even before they went in oven the mixture tasted so good. Thank you for the wonderful recipe Katie.
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CCK Media Team says
Thank you so much for making them 🙂 🙂
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Michelle says
Where did I go wrong?! They came out super crumbly but crazy delicious in flavor! I doubled the recipe to yield more macaroons, so maybe it was too much liquid? I the only sub I made was coconut flour and I only had 2% milk handy. I microwaved it for about 4 minutes, intervals of 1 min…but in the last minute I looked away and it overflowed everywhere…but I kept going nonetheless ha! They tasted incredible raw so I wanted to see it through…but after 17 minutes in the oven at 350, the bottoms were getting really brown, but after they cooled, they crumbled. I only managed to salvage 4. Maybe I should use AP flour and not double the batch next time?? I’m allergic to raw almond flour, so that’s out of the question. They really did taste amazing, so I want to perfect these for the holidays!
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CCK Media Team says
Hi Michelle, doubling might definitely have been the issue especially because you used coconut flour – it is such a drying flour, and perhaps with a doubled amount, you just don’t need as much! If you try it again with less, definitely be sure to report back. Hopefully that will do the trick!
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Debby says
These are my favorite. I tried making the recipe but they were not done after 15 minutes in the oven. I used the stovetop to heat all of the ingredients. How long should I have cooked them before placing in the oven?
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Ursula Thomson says
They are delicious BUT…how long do you leave them to cook on the stove top? I found making the balls I spent a loy of time licking shreds off my fingers…did I not wait long enough?
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Bill says
These are terrific! I love being able to alter the sweetness since most macaroons are too sweet for my diabetes, plus have so much fat. Being WFPB and avoiding oils this recipe is perfect. Scraping the pot is also a tasty exercise! Thanks again for a terrific easy recipe!Reply
B Morgan says
Do these need to be refrigerated?Reply
Mal says
Hi, these were delicious! Wondering how best to store them so that they maintain some crunchy/chewiness? I loved the way they tasted on day 1, but after storing in a Tupperware on the counter overnight, they lost the partial top layer crunch, though still very tasty!
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