Vegan coconut macaroons

Vegan coconut macaroons

vegan coconut macaroons plate

Hello! I’m baaack! Apologies for a bit of a radio silence but I’ve had a massively busy week and recipe development has had to take a bit of a back seat. I returned from London late last night where I’ve spent the past week decluttering, giving things away, packing and cleaning in advance of completion on my bachelorette flat, which is set for tomorrow.

It’s been an exhausting process, but it’s done now and as of tomorrow I will no longer be the owner of it. I feel a mixture of relief and sadness as this was my first ever property and I still remember how chuffed I was when I first got the keys to it 10 years ago. It was my very first place that I could call ‘home’ and I enjoyed living there, but then we went away to Greece and now we live in Bristol and it’s therefore become a bit of liability and I figured that selling it is probably the best move.

Chores aside, I have really enjoyed myself in London. I managed to spend a lot of quality time with a few good old friends of mine who still live there. It was so nice to picnic in sunny Regent’s Park, reminisce into the wee hours of the morning, sleep on my friends’ spare beds (I had no bed by this point) and to befriend my friends’ kids and cats. I had a lovely time!

Recipewise, I have something super simple yet delicious for you today. It’s a tray of sweet coconut macaroon cookies (not to be confused with French macarons) dipped in bitter sweet chocolate. They are crunchy and toasted on the outside and soft on the inside. They are quick to make, only use a few cupboard staples and they really hit the spot when you are after something sweet. I hope you’ll enjoy them as much as we have!

vegan coconut macaroons ingredients

vegan coconut macaroons mixture

vegan coconut macaroons tray

vegan coconut macaroons baked

vegan coconut macaroons coated

vegan coconut macaroons row

makes
14
PREP
15 min
COOKING
20 min
makes
14
PREPARATION
15 min
COOKING
20 min
INGREDIENTS
  • 95 ml / 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 120 ml / ½ cup full fat coconut milk* (at room temperature)
  • 1/8 tsp fine salt
  • 120 g / 1½ cups desiccated coconut
  • 35 g / ¼ cup rice or almond flour*
  • 100 g / 3½ oz vegan dark chocolate (optional)
METHOD
  1. Heat up maple syrup in a small pot, on a low heat.
  2. Allow it to simmer gently. When it starts to bubble vigorously, whisk in coconut milk.
  3. Allow the mixture to come to a simmer and to bubble gently for 2-3 more minutes stirring frequently so that it doesn’t boil over. Take off the heat.
  4. Stir in salt and desiccated coconut until you get a homogenous mixture. Allow the mixture to cool down then stir in rice flour to improve binding.
  5. Measure out 1 tbsp portions of the mixture (I used a 20 ml ice cream scoop to measure the mixture out). Squeeze portions of the mixture between your fingers and shape them into compact mounds using your hands (yes, your hands will get a bit messy but that’s the best way to shape these, trust me). Ensure the mixture is well compressed so that the cookies hold their shape well after baking.
  6. Bake in a 160° C / 320° F for about 20-24 minutes (start checking after 20 minutes), until the cookies are lightly toasted and golden. Remove from the oven, gently compress them down a little whilst still warm and allow them to cool down completely to harden.
  7. While the cookies are baking, melt chocolate very slowly in a mixing bowl over a water bath. Allow it to cool down before using.
  8. Dip hardened cookies in the cool chocolate briefly, arrange them upside down on plate to allow the chocolate to set completely – putting them in the fridge will speed this up.
  9. Store in an airtight container, in the fridge. These cookies will keep for 6 days, but their exteriors are most crunchy on the day they’ve been baked.

NOTES
*I recommend coconut milk that consists simply of coconut extract and water and does not contain any stabilisers or gums as these may cause separation of ingredients.

*RICE FLOUR: Following publication, I retested this recipe twice as some readers expressed difficulty in making the macaroons stick together. I have had no issues (I am not sure why – it may be due to the fact that my coconut is more finely shredded than what other people have been using), but to remedy the problem I amended the recipe to include some rice flour in place of ¼ cup of desiccated coconut.

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NUTRITIONAL INFO
calories
110
6%
sugars
6 g
6%
fats
9 g
13%
saturates
8 g
40%
proteins
1 g
2%
carbs
6 g
2%
*per macaroon
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5.0
4 reviews, 18 comments
REVIEWS & QUESTIONS
Taylor:
Oops, I put in a whole can of coconut milk. Drained it a bit and going to stick back on the stove and then let cool again while crossing my fingers.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Oh no, that's unfortunate but you can simply add more of the other ingredients to make more...although it would be over a triple portion assuming you used 400 ml of coconut milk. I'm sure it will make a delicious dessert anyway. x Ania
These are ridiculously good! And I didn't even dip them in chocolate. I did, however, sub ¼ cup of the desiccated coconut for rice flour having read other comments about the mixture sticking together. Will make again, but twice the amount. Thank you for the lovely recipe Ania.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thank you, Judith, I am delighted to hear that you enjoyed these and thank you for taking the time to let me know. x Ania
Erob:
Shouldn’t it read 3/4 cups of coconut, you don’t put the 1, 1 3/4 cup is 253g
    Ania
    Ania:
    I am not sure if we are talking about the same size cups, but when it comes to US cups (240 ml) and desiccated coconut, 1 cup weighs roughly 85 g so 150 g equals 1.75 cup. Hope this helps! Ania
LM Sossi:
I read the comments before attempting the recipe and saw that some people said the macaroons fell apart and that you responded that they needed to be really compressed with your hands. I did just that.. or attempted to, anyway. The more I squeezed them, the more liquid ran out, and the crumblier they became. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get them to hold together! I finally put them in the fridge to try to firm them up before baking, but they are crumbling like crazy. I used the exact ingredients and measurements, using a coconut milk that was full fat and contained no gums. Perhaps a specific brand of coconut milk might work, but have you tried these with different brands to see if the results differ? My batter seemed very wet. I'm wondering if UK and US ingredients differ enough that these don't work with US ingredients?? The taste was delightful, but I feel more like I have a baking sheet full of yummy crumbs than actual macaroons.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi there,
    I am really sorry to hear that you've had trouble with these sticking together and I am really at a loss on what to advise. I retested them twice now and also made another recipe based on this one and did not have any issues whatsoever. I wonder if the maple coconut mixture maybe needs longer cooking time as my macaroons were sticky, not so much wet, when I formed them. I also wonder if maybe the issue lies in your shredded coconut - is it as fine as mine? And does it perhaps have any additives that are designed to keep the strands separate? I am clutching at straws here. As a workaround, replacing some of the coconut (I'd say 1/2 cup) with almond meal or (1/4 cup) with rice flour would definitely help with them sticking together. Hope this helps! Ania
Malinder:
Hi Ania - can you use agave instead of maple syrup?
Many thanks 😊
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Malinder,
    I haven't tried it, but it should work exactly the same in this particular recipe. Hope this helps! x Ania
Tamar:
Hi Ania,
What a great recipe! After reading the comments, I decided to add a bit of rice flour to keep the macaroons firm. They've held up well and are ready for Passover festivities.
I follow you religiously and even if I don't make the recipes, I enjoy reading them
All the best from Israel
Tamar
    Ania
    Ania:
    How funny, I was just chatting to my friend who is in Israel for Passover too! Glad you enjoyed them, rice flour is a great addition! Thank you for your kind words and taking the time to let me know that you enjoy my work :) x Ania
Michalina:
I prepared them few times already and they never made to the final step of adding some chocolate to them :D Too good to resist :P I also had small problem with macaroons falling apart a little at first but I added a bit (teaspoon or just little bit more) of tapioca starch to them before baking and that hasn't changed the flavour or texture but hold together better :)
    Ania
    Ania:
    Glad you enjoyed them, Michalina! Good thinking on adding tapicoa, although I've tested them so many times now and in my experience they simply need a good squeeze with your hands to make sure they stay whole. You could sub some of the coconut (½ cup) with almond flour, but it does change the texture a little amd adds another ingredient. Ania
Cerne:
These tasted absolutely delicious! Mine were a bit fragile but they did manage to hold together (just). Thank you for another great recipe! :)
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thank you, Cerne! I'm glad you enjoyed them. I got some desiccated coconut today and plan to retest tomorrow as a few people have raised this although I have had no issues with them falling apart at all. Ania
Barbara Cameron:
Can you please advise. I have tried twice to make these macaroons, but, unfortunately they have fallen apart. I follow the recipe & leave to go cold .Some fall apart in the oven. .Thankyou.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Barbara,
    I'm sorry to hear you've had issues. I checked my recipe testing notes and I am pretty sure there is no mistake in the ratios - I will retest once I've had a chance to get some more desiccated coconut though, just to be sure. There are two possible issues that I can think of. First, if you are using cups to measure dry ingredients - you might have been a bit too generous and the mixture ended up dry as a result. Second, like I said in the instructions, the mixture needs to be compressed fairly well before baking so perhaps this wasn't done? I am a bit puzzled by you saying that some of them fell apart in the oven...not sure why or how as presumably they were not handled at all until cold, right? Like I said, I will retest and come back to you if I find any issues. Ania
ANNA NAPIER:
Ania
Can you tell me please what brand of full fat coconut cream did you use for this recipie??
Thanks
Anka
    Ania
    Ania:
    Sure, I used one called Aroy-D (like this). Hope this helps! Ania
Sandy Spallino:
Is the dessicated coconut sweetened or unsweetened?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Sandy,
    It's unsweetened. I had no idea there is a sweetened alternative - it's not available in the UK, I don't think... Ania
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