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
Absolutely delicious! The best Passover dessert ever!
Question: I would like to make these this week and put it in the fridge. Will they still be good if left Inn he fridge until April 22? What is the maximum time they can be left in the fridge before eating
Hi Lorraine– that is a very long time to keep them in the refrigerator. If it were me, I wouldn’t refrigerate them longer than a week or so. I would probably freeze them instead to ensure freshness and food safety.
I made these last night for a Seder tomorrow. I haven’t dipped them in the chocolate yet, but they are perfect – just chewy enough, just sweet enough. I used my small cookie scoop and got 21 macaroons, so I’m making a second batch, and I think I’m adding orange zest to that batch (we have a tree in the backyard). There is always potato starch in this house – my family are Swedish, and it’s common pantry staple there.
Thank you, Tori, for a recipe that uses unsweetened coconut. It’s worth seeking out, as the shreds are finer, which makes the macaroons more tender and chewy than using the larger sweetened shreds.
Hi Tori,all I can say is YUM,Easy and Happy Passover! These are soooo good,the ones in the can cannot hold a candle to these.I followed the recipe exactly,except I used half sweetened and half unsweetened coconut,also cut the sugar to 1/4 cup.Great recipe,it’s a keeper! Thanks!
So happy to hear that Leslie, thanks for writing! 🙂
Made these for my sons school seder tomorrow…. hope they like them!
Hi Tori,
Well, this week we’ve been experimenting with different macaroon recipes, and I came across yours. I actually pinned it a while ago, but I didn’t make it off the bat because I didn’t have potato starch. I’ve been reading through the comments, and I see that regular flour can be substituted with good results. I already have both almond flour and and coconut flour (both from TJ’s). Do you think either of these flours would produce good results (I don’t really have experience cooking with either of these.)
Thank you.
Hi Lama, good question. Honestly I’m not sure, I don’t have any experience cooking with coconut flour and almond flour is not very absorbent… the point of the starch is to absorb excess liquid and create a sticky binding agent. They might work but I can’t promise anything because I haven’t experimented with it myself.
Yeah, ive made them 4 times, but each time with sweetened coconut and about 1/8th c of sugar. (Kids and an office party) I didnt let the mixture sit for as long as directed. Once also with a home made almond butter… a very nice twist. Just 1/2 cup almond slivers in the magic bullet till pastey.
Made these twice this passover. First time I couldn’t find the unsweetened coconut flakes, so I used the sweetened with 1/4 cup sauger just like suggested in one of the comments. They came out DELICIOUS!
Second time, I was able to find the kosher for passover unsweetened coconut flakes and followed directions to a T.
I had a hard time getting them to stick together. Once baked, they were extremely dry. Next year I’ll be making them with the sweetened coconut flakes!
I’ve been making these since last year. They are super easy and delicious. I wonder if tapioca starch would work in this recipe?
Good question Irene… it might! I have never tried it.
Had a little problem getting them to bind together when using a cookie scoop, so ended up making them by hand (gloves, and pressing them together). That worked. However, I didn’t get them as small as I would have, by using a cookie scoop (as if anyone will complain at having a larger cookie).
Wonder if an additional egg white would help.
Trying to evaluate what could have been the problem – age of coconut, perhaps? You wouldn’t think it would be on the shelf long, but who knows? I let them sit to absorb for more than half an hour – would that make more of a difference?
Hi C.M.– it’s possible that they sat a bit too long and dried out a little. The egg is the binder here, so if the mixture dried out at all it might have become more crumbly. You can always remedy this problem by adding a bit more egg white.
Just made these and they are delicious!!! First time macaroon maker!
Great Jordan, thank you for writing 🙂
I couldn’t find any locally this year for some reason. My kids would not have been happy if there were no macaroons. Very easy recipe, and I won’t ever have to buy them again. Thanks!
So happy to hear that Anuleif!
Yes I made it just as it was written and still it didn’t work at all. They stuck terribly and it made a big mess.
I’m very sorry to hear that. I’ve only heard of this happening when people omit the potato starch. Not sure what went wrong for you, as this recipe has worked for so many other readers. Sorry you didn’t have a better experience!
I made these today and they won’t come off the paper at all the edges spread way out and I had to cut off all the edges and just use the middle section which tasted fine but what a mess. Plus I lost half the size of the cookie.
Did you make the recipe as written Soccer Mom? I’ve only heard of this happening when people have substituted or omitted an ingredient.
I dipped them in orange dark chocolate. You have got to try it. 🙂 Thank you for the fantastic recipe! I can’t wait to share these with family and friends!
Sounds great!
These look fantastic, but my daughter is allergic to potatoes, and I don’t think corn starch is kosher for passover. Could I substitute arrowroot for the potato starch? I don’t know if it will have the same effect of binding together the coconut.
Hi Sara, unfortunately I haven’t tested any subs other than corn starch. Wish I could help!
Just wanted to report that the substitution of tapioca starch (had on hand) for potato starch (it disappeared from my cupboard) seemed to work just fine!
I am wondering if it is possible to substitute the potato starch for coconut (or another gluten-free) flour. Would it have the same binding effect, or is the potato starch necessary?
Thanks,
Melissa
Hi Melissa, corn starch is the only gluten-free sub I have tested (it worked great). The starch is necessary to help bind the macaroons and make sure they bake up correctly.
I have this recipe on file for my daughter who is gluten intolerant. The only caution I would make is: Do not substitute flour as is mentioned if these are to be totally gluten free. Not everyone would recognize the damage to the digestive system if a specific type isn’t noted in the recipe. As is written with the potato starch, these are fabulous.
Excellent point Sally. Glad your daughter is enjoying these!
Making these now.. Can’t wait to try them… Love macaroons but never had them this fresh.. My girls are super excited to try them.
I didn’t use potato starch, quadrupled the recipe and the cookies had a base sort of like a cookie spreading out! What did I do wrong??? I am guessing it was the sugar and egg whites? I followed the recipe to the T. Would the potato starch help with those ingredients being more mixed??
Hi Terri, unfortunately you didn’t follow the recipe to a T– you omitted the potato starch and you quadrupled the recipe. The potato starch is an essential ingredient in this recipe. It helps to bind all of the ingredients together, particularly the coconut shreds, and stops them from spreading out while baking. If you’d like, you can sub 1/4 cup of flour for the potato starch (per batch). Also, I would be careful with quadrupling baked recipes, you can end up with very mixed results depending on the recipe. Hope that helps!
Thank you. I’ll try the flour next time.
Good luck Terri, let me know how it works for you!
I made these for Passover this year and used chocolate chips in the batter instead of glazing them. They were easy and delicious! Would make again!