Many of you are familiar with the coconut macaroons available in the Jewish section of the grocery store during Passover. These sweet coconut gobs, housed in a canister and preserved for who knows how long, cannot compare to homemade. A good homemade macaroon is crisp and light on the outside, soft and moist within– a perfect blend of sweet, crunchy, coconutty goodness. Macaroons are actually very easy to make. Once you try them, you’ll never go back to store-bought. Need a good recipe? I’m here to help!
Macaroons originated in Italy in the 1700’s, where they were first made with almond paste. The recipe was adopted by Italian Jews, who appreciated that the chewy cookies contained no grains or leavening, and thus could be enjoyed during Passover. In Mediterranean Sephardic Jewish communities, macaroons are usually made with almonds, like they originally were in Italy. American macaroons are more often made with coconut, like the recipe I am sharing with you today.
To add a bit of decadence to the standard macaroon, I’ve dipped and drizzled them in dark chocolate. The combination of rich dark chocolate and sweet, chewy macaroon is impossible to resist. To make these macaroons pareve (dairy free), make sure you use a dairy free dark chocolate. There are many kosher varieties. Alprose makes a lovely Passover-approved pareve dark chocolate. Or, if you’re not worried about keeping things kosher, use any chocolate you like. Did I mention they’re gluten free?
I promise, once you try these macaroons, you’ll never buy another canister from the market again. Enjoy!
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Dark Chocolate Dipped Macaroons
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups dried unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 1/2 tablespoons potato starch
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 large egg whites
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 13 ounces dark chocolate, divided
NOTES
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, use a fork to stir together the shredded coconut, potato starch, sugar and salt till well blended. Break up any chunks of potato starch with the fork.
- In a smaller bowl, whisk together the egg whites and vanilla till frothy.
- Pour the egg white mixture into the dried coconut mixture. Use the fork to stir the batter together, making sure the coconut is fully and evenly moistened by the egg whites. Let the mixture sit for 20-30 minutes while the coconut rehydrates.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Stir the batter again with a fork. Line a baking sheet with parchment or with a Silpat. Scoop up the batter in tablespoonfuls and drop them onto the baking sheet, evenly spaced. They won’t spread, so you can bake them fairly close together.The batter will be delicate… it won’t “hold” together the way a cookie dough does, but as they bake they’ll stick together and solidify. When you’ve dropped all of the batter onto your baking sheets, use wet fingers to gently shape the macaroons into rough domes or haystacks. Don’t worry, they’re not supposed to be perfect.
- Bake the macaroons for 20-25 minutes till the bottom edges turn golden and the tips of the coconut shreds start to brown. Remove from the oven. Don’t over-bake or they will become dry.
- Let the macaroons cool directly on the baking sheet before moving them. Trying to move them too soon will cause them to crumble.
- When the macaroons have cooled completely, you can dip and decorate them. First, place them on a flat surface lined with parchment paper. Melt 9 oz dark chocolate, either in the microwave or in a double boiler. I melt mine in the microwave at 50% power for 1 minute, stir, then continue to melt in 15 second bursts at 50% power till the chocolate becomes smooth.Grasp each macaroon at the top and dip the wider base into the melted chocolate, twisting it into the chocolate and coating it about 1/4 inch up the sides.
- Pull macaroon up and let excess chocolate drip back into the bowl (you may need to "help" the excess off with your finger), then place the dipped macaroon onto the flat parchment. Repeat for remaining macaroons.
- When all the macaroons have been dipped, melt the remaining 4 oz dark chocolate and scoop it into a sealing bag (reusable or disposable). Gently squeeze all of the chocolate to one lower corner of the bag, then close the top of the bag, leaving a small gap so it's not completely sealed shut and air can escape. In the corner where you've pushed the melted chocolate, use scissors to snip a very small corner off of the bag. You'll be able to squeeze a small, thin stream of chocolate through this whole. Drizzle the tops of the macaroons with the chocolate, making a zig-zag motion to decorate.
- Once the macaroons have been decorated, allow them to dry. Depending on the weather or temperature in your home, this can take several hours up to overnight. To speed the process, decorate macaroons on a parchment-lined tray and place them in the refrigerator; the chocolate will firm up faster that way.
- Once the macaroons are completely dry, store them in a sealed Tupperware container in single layers divided by parchment or wax paper. A sealed container is very important, it will keep the macaroons moist and stop them from drying out. Store at room temperature for up to 4 days, or in the refrigerator for 7 days or longer.
Nutrition
tried this recipe?
Let us know in the comments!
Other Great Recipe Ideas
Tasty Kitchen Blog – Strawberry Coconut Macaroons
Two Peas and Their Pod – Coconut Lime Macaroons with White Chocolate
Tis’ the night before Passover and I’ve got a problem! I followed the Coconut Macaroon recipe exactly as written, including a 30-minute rehydration of the coconut with the egg whites. Before even going in the oven, I knew there was something wrong due to the pooling of egg whites at the bottom of each “haystack”. After baking, the macaroons all have a hardened, spread out, disc of egg whites at the bottom. Impossible to peel off this hardened egg white. I looked at ALL the comments and see that I’m not the only one with this issue, however, you never answered anyone else who described this issue. NOW, I’m stuck. I thought this would be so easy. I’m an accomplished cook and baker, and I have really enjoy your recipes. In fact, I’m making your wonderful Potato Kugel tomorrow, it’s wonderful. BUT…
WHAT to do to rectify this? In the meantime, I checked Mark Bittman’s recipe for coconut macaroons, his only uses 2 eggs, and no rehydration. Maybe the answer is fewer eggs? I’ve wasted time and a lot of ingredients. Please advise. Even if this question isn’t answered till AFTER Passover, at least I’ll know for next time. This baking disaster is throwing off my timing in the kitchen. So disappointing.
Hi Rachel! So sorry to hear you had trouble with this recipe. My guess is one of the following occurred – you used flaked coconut (or sweetened coconut) instead of unsweetened shredded, and/or you measured out the equivalent of full eggs from an egg white carton rather than just using the egg whites. My recipe calls for separated egg whites (yolks removed) – if you’re measuring out egg whites from a carton and using the equivalent of a full egg, it will be far too much liquid for this recipe. Four egg whites without the yolk would be more equivalent liquid-wise to Bittman’s two full eggs. Likewise, flaked coconut will not soak up the liquid in the same way shreds will. I hope that helps you avoid the same issue in future! I do make this recipe every Passover for my family, and never encountered the issue you are describing – but in reading through previous comments, I assume one or both of these points may be your issue.
Thank you for your swift reply, Tori. However, as I said in my comment, I followed the recipe EXACTLY as you wrote it. No variation! I used only 4 egg whites from whole eggs I separated myself (btw, Mark Bittman’s recipe used only the whites, just fewer than your’s.The NYT, Melissa Clark also used only 2 egg whites.) AND, as I stated above, I DID use the shredded unsweetened coconut, NOT the flakes. I followed the recipe the way you wrote it. So, given that, what do you think happened? From your response, I don’t think you really took in what I was saying. Thank you .
I’m sorry Rachel, as I said in my comment, I make these for my family every year and never encounter this issue. Many others have made the same recipe with great success. I did notice another reader who had a similar issue added more shredded coconut to help the batter firm up more and soak up excess liquid. It seems that perhaps some brands of coconut shreds have more moisture in them than others, which might prevent them from absorbing the egg whites fully. I typically use a very dry shred, but another reader used Bob’s Red Mill, which has more moisture, and encountered the same issue you did. I will test them yet again this year during the Passover week, and I’ll pay extra attention to see where you and a few others might be going wrong – or if the recipe can be clarified in any way. But I would say if you want to keep trying with the ingredients you have on hand, reduce to two egg whites and see how the batter feels. If it can be molded and shaped, then it has enough liquid in it. Or, conversely, if you want to add more coconut shreds to the mix until the batter feels “right,” you can try that too – just know you may need to add a bit more sugar if you add a lot more coconut. Good luck!