If I am going to eat dessert, it better be good. ย It better be worth falling off the wagon for. ย Usually Passover desserts do nothing to tempt me from my sugar abstinence and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. ย But I cannot in good conscience be the bringer of a sticky, heavy honey nut cake or one of those Maneschewitz Passover cakes from a mix. ย I want to share a dessert that I would be happy to eat any time of the year, not just on this 8-day hiatus from flour and other ingredients crucial to baking. ย Enter coconut macaroons!
I have tried more coconut macaroon recipes than I care to admit (about 5 pounds worth on the hips and thighs), but this is truly the best. ย This recipe is adapted slightly from pastry chef and cookbook author, David Lebovitz. ย It is exactly what I want in a macaroon — toasted on the outside, dense and chewy on the inside, but not so sweet that it will make your teeth ache (probably because I cut the sugar a bit.) ย I use almond meal instead of flour so that they are Passover-ready and gluten-free, because these days everyone knows someone who is not eating gluten. ย I have a news flash — don’t be put off by the use of almond meal. ย It’s nothing more than blanched almonds ground up (in the food processor, if you wish) to a fine meal. ย My natural foods supermarket even sells almond meal in the bulk bins.
I happen to love coconut and I am a believer in all the health benefits that coconut has to offer. ย It is rich in good fats, especially lauric acid which is an immune-boosting fat otherwise only found in breast milk. ย The key is to start with unsweetened, shredded coconut which you can find in the bulk bins at the natural foods supermarket or in bags. ย I try my hardest to use unrefined sweeteners whenever possible, but only if it makes for the best result. ย In this case, granulated sugar is best here, so let’s make these cookies small, ok?
If you would like to bake these for Passover, or for your child’s mock Seder in religious school this week, then you can start cooking lickety-split. ย You all know how I love a do-ahead! ย You can make the macaroon batter a week ahead and keep it covered in the refrigerator or even freeze it. ย The cookies can be baked a few days in advance and kept in an airtight container far away from recovering sugar addicts, especially if they’re dipped in dark chocolate. ย Stay tuned for another fabulous Passover-appropriate or all-around yummy dessert later this week!
Chocolate Coconut Macaroons
Ingredients
- 2 ยฝ cups unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon raw honey or Grade A maple syrup
- ยผ cup almond meal or flour
- ยฝ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
- 4 large egg whites
- ยฝ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 ounces, bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, chopped (optional)
Instructions
- In a large skillet combine coconut, sugar, honey, almond meal, salt, and egg whites. Please do as I say and COMBINE everything BEFORE placing over heat, otherwise you will end up with a coconut frittata. I'll give you one guess how I know this. Place over medium-low heat on the stove, stirring constantly. When the mixture just begins to stick to the bottom of the pan, almost about to scorch, remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. You are going for sticky, not dry and pasty.
- Transfer to a bowl to cool to room temperature. You can refrigerate the dough for up to one week or freeze up to one month.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Using a small ice cream scoop, form the dough into little mounds and space them evenly on the prepared sheet pans. Shape them into little pyramids, if desired.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- If desired, melt chocolate in a heat -proof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, aka a double boiler. Dip cooled macaroons in chocolate (wherever you like -- tops, bottoms, sides) and allow to cool completely on cooling rack or on a parchment-lined baking sheet if you dipped the bottoms. If history repeats and you need to make like an Isrealite, stick the chocolate covered macaroons in the fridge to harden the chocolate quickety-quick.
Notes
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
These macaroons are similar to the ones I make. I adore the triangular shape. Happy Passover from our home to yours.
P.S. I enjoy your IG posts! I wonder if our families are related!
Likewise! Have a lovely holiday! I wonder….. ๐
It is a fact that nidora is entirely new for the people but this product for weight loss has
been under observation and clinical test from
last 20 years or even more time under the guideline
of Dr. Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated and minimize bloating caused by water retention. Pumpkin is it possible to get a flat stomach in a few days not only a
super healthy treat, but it’s also one of
the greatest weight-loss foods around.
Hi Pamela, might be a silly question, but do I melt the raw honey or leave it solid?
Not silly at all! Since you’ll be cooking the honey with all the other ingredients, it should melt in the pan. I should change the the recipe though. it’s not necessary to use raw honey since this isn’t a raw dessert. Just a habit of mine since I only have raw honey in my kitchen.
I am interested in making these without the refined sugar. Do you have any suggestions for a substitute?
Cathy, I am not sure what you could use in place of white sugar except perhaps stevia. All honey or maple syrup would be too strongly flavored and the darker, less refined sugars would make the macaroons too brown and perhaps have a hint of molasses. If you try stevia, start with 1/4 teaspoon and taste the batter before you bake. That’s my best suggestion!
Wow! I know I’ve had coconut macaroons before, but had no memory of it. I saw this recipe and had to try it with my new unsweetened coconut and almond flour. Wow! I could hardly keep from eating the dough out of the pan (after it had cooked)! These are amazing and taste so yummy. I’m sure they’re good dipped in chocolate, but I like them just as they are. Thanks for this recipe!
Thanks for your awesome feedback, Sarah! I just made three batches of these yesterday and I have to agree with you — so yummy!
Delicious!!!! I scoured the internet for a macaroon recipe that did not include wheat flour (I was surprised at how many there were with flour) or sweetened condensed milk…I found plenty but yours won out. Man, they are perfect and the pyramid-like shape makes them a little more special. The only thing I did differently was to add coconut oil to the chocolate chips to make it a smoother consistently and to help keep the chocolate hard at room temp. Thanks!
That’s exactly what I wanted too — no flour and NO sweetened condensed milk (blech!). Good call on the coconut oil in the chocolate! Thanks so much for your feedback!
Can I use regular honey instead of raw honey?
Yes!!
Since my daughter is making the Seder this year, I have time to make the desserts. Just finished my first batch!! absolutely delicious and not too sweet – just like you said.
Thank you!!
How nice for you! Just finished baking my last batch myself. Have a lovely holiday!
These are delicious and easy to make. My daughter has made many times and they are a hit with everyone.
Awesome that your daughter is cooking — love that! Thanks for sharing~
ะดะธะตัะฐ ัะฐะบะธัะฐะฒะฐัะธะฐะฝัั ะผะตะฝั ะฝะธะทะบะพะบะฐะปะปะพัะธะนะฝะพะน ะดะธะตััะผะธัะฐ ะฑะฐััะพะฝ ะตั ะดะธะตัะฐะฒััะพะบะพะฑะตะปะบะพะฒะฐั ะดะธะตัะฐ ะฟะตัะตัะตะฝั ะฟัะพะดัะบัะพะฒะณะพะดะพะฒะพะต ะผะตะฝั ะบัะตะผะปะตะฒัะบะพะน ะดะธะตััััั ะดะธะตัั ะปะตะณะบะพ ะฒัะดะตัะถะฐััััะตะดััะฒะฐ ะดะปั ะฟะพั ัะดะตะฝะธั ะปะธะดะฐ ะผะธะฐะพะทะธ ะพัะทัะฒัะณะพะปะพะดะพะผ ะฟะพั ัะดะตะปะฐะบะฐััะธะฝะบะธ ะพ ะดะธะตัะฐั ะฒะตัะตะปัะตััะธัััั ะฝะฐ ะดะธะตัะพะปะพะณะฐ ะฒ ัะตะปัะฑะธะฝัะบะตะดะธะตัะฐ ะบะฐััะพัะบะฐ ะฟะตัะตะฝะฐั ัะฒะพัะพะณ ะบะฐะปัะผะฐััะผะพะถะฝะพ ะปะธ ะฟะพั ัะดะตัั ะทะฐะฝะธะผะฐััั ะนะพะณะพะนะฟะพั ัะดะตัั ะฝะฐ 9 ะบะณ ะทะฐ 10 ะดะฝะนะฟะพะธัะบ ะดะธะตัะฐ ะบะตัะธัะพ-ะณัะตัะฝะตะฒะฐัะฟะพั ัะดะตัั ะฝะฐ ัะฐะทะผะตัะบัะพ ะฟะพั ัะดะตะป ะฝะฐ ะฐะฝะณะปะธะนัะบะพะน ะดะธะตัะตัะพัะพ ะฟะพั ัะดะตะฒัะธั ะดัะดะตะน ะฝะฐ ะบัะตะผะปะตะฒัะบะพะน ะดะธะตัะตัะฐะฝะฐัะพัะธะธ ั ะดะธะตัะธัะตัะบะธะผ ะฟะธัะฐะฝะธะตะผ ะฒ ะฟะพะดะผะพัะบะพะฒัะตะดะธะตัะพะปะพะณ ะผะฐัะธะฐะฝะฝะฐ ะบัะทะฝะตัะพะฒะฐะผะตะดะธะบะฐะผะตะฝัะพะทะฝัะต ััะตะดััะฒะฐ ะดะปั ะฟะพั ัะดะตะฝะธั
I did my first Seder this year and used your macaroon recipe. Super easy recipe and super delicious, they were definitely a hit. Never again will I buy Manischewitz macaroons!
Thank you for helping make my first Seder a memorable one!
Thanks, Stacey. I am thrilled that you had a great Seder. I agree — those macaroons rock!