Update 2021: Make this improved macaroon recipe instead!
This morning, I crawled out of my warm bed and peeked out the window to discover a blanket of white snow covering the cold ground. Rather than play outside, I chose to stay inside and bake macaroons. I’d been craving them since I saw Sprouted Kitchen’s recipe for chocolate-dipped macaroons.
Growing up, I remember eating macaroons in my grandmother Mimi‘s kitchen, so they are a sentimental cookie. Mimi knew macaroons were my dad’s favorite. I had mixed feelings about macaroons until I discovered unsweetened coconut flakes. At that point, I knew I’d love a lightened-up macaroon, and I’m glad to say I’ve found just the right recipe.
I followed Sara’s recipe, with a few minor exceptions, and I’ve further adapted the recipe enough to call it my own. I used turbinado sugar instead of sucanat, since I couldn’t find sucanat at the store. Turbinado sugar is partially refined cane sugar, whereas sucanat is unrefined whole cane sugar. I traded maple syrup for the honey and added just a dash of cinnamon, which makes these macaroons extra special. I also pulled the macaroons out of the oven after fifteen minutes; they would have burned in the nineteen minutes the recipe specified. See my version of the recipe below.
These macaroons are remarkably simple to make and deceptively fancy. They’ve become my signature cookie. Cookie can barely keep her paws off them!
Dark Chocolate-Dipped Maple Macaroons
- Author:
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 14 minutes
- Total Time: 44 minutes
- Yield: about 2 dozen 1x
- Category: Cookie
All-natural macaroons dipped in dark chocolate are guaranteed to become your favorite coconut cookie.
Ingredients
- 3 egg whites
- 1 cup raw (turbinado) sugar
- 3 tablespoons real maple syrup (or honey)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 3 cups unsweetened coconut, plus a bit more if necessary
- 12 ounces semisweet/dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Beat the egg whites with a whisk until they are loose and frothy.
- Add the sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, salt and cinnamon. Stir to combine.
- Add the coconut and mix thoroughly. If you see any syrup pooling at the bottom of the bowl, gradually mix in more coconut flakes until you no longer see any excess. You want the mixture to be just moist enough to hold its shape when compacted into a ball.
- Using your hands or a cookie dough scoop, scoop out about 1 tablespoon of the coconut mix at a time and gently scrunch it into a round-ish shape. Place each macaroon onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Place the baking sheet on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 12-14 minutes, until the tops are lightly golden brown.
- Once the cookies have cooled completely, melt the chocolate chips. I find it’s easiest to melt the chocolate in the microwave at 20 to 30 second intervals (stir between each interval!). You can also melt the chocolate over a double boiler or in a glass bowl over gently simmering water. Stir the chocolate chips until they have completely melted, and remove from heat.
- Lay out a new piece of parchment paper. Dip each macaroon into the melted chocolate, about half way. Lay on the parchment for chocolate to harden. You can speed up the process by placing the baking sheet in the refrigerator or freezer for 10 minutes.
Notes
- Adapted from Sprouted Kitchen.
- Yields about 2 dozen cookies.
- If the maple syrup oozes from the sides of the cookies during baking, use a sharp knife to cut off the excess before dipping the cookie into chocolate.
- These cookies were featured in FoodieCrush Magazine’s premier issue (p50-51)!
Vegetable enthusiast. Dog lover. I'm probably making a big mess in my Kansas City kitchen right now. 
the southern hostess
These look incredible!
Kathleen
YUM. I have to try these. I wound up making oatmeal honey-sweetened thumbrints with lemon zest and filled them with homemade California pomegranate jam.
sara
wow – they look great! I think yours may have taken less time because mine were almost twice the size as yours – that would change the timing. I like how yours turned out – they look perfect! Thanks for the feedback!
kate
That would certainly explain it! Thank you for the recipe. They are truly delicious!
Carine
I love your Dog!! It’s so cute! look at its face expression,so cute!!
oh yea, great recipe too!!
kate
Aw, thanks. Cookie is blushing. ;)
sarah @duchess fare
delicious post ~ such wonderful photos (as always), particularly of cookie!!
elizabeth
your dog is adorable and those macaroons look divine! I love the photo of Cookie licking her chops. hehe.
kate
That one cracks me up. She can’t deny that she’s been sneaking bites when she has coconut flakes all over her face!
Jean
I can’t wait to try these!! Macaroons are seriously one of my favorite desserts!!!! Glad you got the site back :)
xo
Jean
kate
Yes, the blog is alive once again! Thank goodness for godaddy automatic backups! whew.
Lisa
Wow those look amazing! Your doggy is adorable! :-) x
Heather
Aww so cute. Can I just have a spoonful of that chocolate!?
heather
Love Cookie’s coloration… and name, of course. Did she earn the moniker, or was she named on a whim? Seems appropriate, regardless! Macaroons are one of my favorite treats to eat and bake, though I tend to forget about them. My recipe is similar, though it only takes unsweetened coconut, egg whites, Turbinado sugar and a pinch of salt. And yes, dipped in dark chocolate. Perhaps some Valentine’s macaroons should be put into works?
Cheers,
*Heather*
kate
Hey Heather! Yes, I think Valentine’s macaroons are in order. Your recipe sounds strikingly similar to the one I use. My recipe called for three tablespoons of honey, and I could definitely taste the honey in the final product, more so than I expected.
Good question about Cookie–She came with the name! I adopted her when she was a year old. I don’t know who named her or where she came from, but the name Cookie grew on me… and I couldn’t think of a name more befitting of such a silly dog. Perhaps they named her because she’s “smart as a cookie” or colored like “cookies and cream”. Either way, she earned the name!
Paul
wow! these look divine!!!!!
Mary
Kate, these look wonderful and would be perfect with a good cuppa on a cold and snowy day. I’m new to your blog and have spent some time browsing through your earlier entries. I love the food and recipes you feature here. I’ll definitely be back. I hope you have a great day. Blessings…Mary
Jordan
wow those look amazing! when this weather clears up I think you should come visit and bring those ;)
caroline
AMAZING. ill be making these for valentine’s day, thank you!
ps. that first shot of cookie is perfect!
tracy
Cookie is so cute!!!
Anita
Kate,
It’s my first time in here. I loved your recipes and photos.
Oh your dog, too!
have a nice week!
Anita
Emily
Oh my gosh, I’m dying. Great pictures – these look awesome!!
kelsey
Looks like we both were inspired by Sprouted Kitchen! Aren’t these to die for? I love love love your blog, so glad I came across it, I’ll be back to check out more of your recipes soon :)
Mimi
I fully support dipping these in chocolate. They look divine!
Judy
Wow I like your recipe but I love Cookie she is sooo adorable!!! I especially love the pic where it seems that she has crumbs on top of her head – Lol –
kate
Thanks, Judy! Cookie always ends up with crumbs on her head because she’s at my feet when I cook. :)
Sylvie @ GitK
Those look fabulous! All golden and crispy around the edges.
Dani Raykova
I am going to make your coconut macaroons in addition to my walnut macaroons. They look delicious.
Ann
I just made a variation of your macaroon (found the recipe at Saveur). Since my kids love chocolate chips I added chocolate chips into the coconut mixture.
They are fabulous, and easy (a great help at Passover) Thank you!
Kate
Thanks, Ann! I’m so glad you all enjoyed the macaroons. They’re pretty fun to make.
Trish
I made these for my church discipleship group and everyone loved them! So easy and delicious!
Trish
★★★★★
Karen Freeman
We made these to serve at our Christmas Eve dinner – they were easy to make, absolutely delicious, and well received by all – thank you for yet another terrific recipe! BTW we used the honey option instead of the maple syrup.
★★★★★
jenna
This recipe is amazing. I had a blast making these. First thing I’ve made from your site and I’m hooked. Was always intimated to make my own macaroons but these turned out perfectly. Thank you for taking the time, and sharing all these recipes! I’m from kc as well :) grew up in Blue Springs!
★★★★★
Kate
This is a great recipe to get you started, for sure! I have a cookbook as well that you might enjoy! It is called Love Real Food available on Amazon. Thank you, Jenna!
Jenna
Oh i got your cookbook shortly after these macaroons ;) love it!!!!
★★★★★
ShannieJoy
Made these for national chocolate macaroon day and took them to work. They stole the show, everyone loved them! Sweet, moist, and chocolatey!
★★★★★
Kate
Great! Thanks for your review, Shannie.
Jan G.
I have been looking for a holiday cookie that is easy to make and easily shippable to our son and daughter-in-love in CO and to our daughter and son-in-love in DC, especially since our daughter is gluten free. So, two questions: Most importantly, would these chocolate dipped macaroons ship well, and do you have a favorite semisweet/dark chocolate chip brand that you recommend?
Kate
Hi Jan! There are so many great chocolate brands. I don’t think you could go too wrong! I’m not sure how these would ship. If packaged well, and not too long, they might work! Let me know.
Jan G.
FYI, these macaroons traveled just fine! I packed them in layers in cookie tins with waxed paper between the layers, stuck them in a box, and off they went courtesy of FedEx. One arrived in two days to northern VA and one package took three days to CO – all perfect and with rave reviews!
★★★★★
Carol Berman
Just made these yesterday for a holiday party. Everyone loved them. I used regular cane sugar and semisweet chips. Next time I may try coconut sugar and bittersweet chips to make them slightly less sweet. the recipe yielded 27 macaroons with a very generous rounded Tablespoon. Multiple requests for the recipe. Very easy and delightful.
★★★★★
Kate
I love it! Thanks for sharing, Carol.
Carol Berman
Tried them again for a Chanukah party, this time using the turbinado sugar and they came out great! Somehow because of the larger granule size and less processing, they’re not as sweet! My daughter’s
beau who isn’t crazy about coconut, loved these! Thank you Kate. Your recipes are always an inspiration.
★★★★★
Carol
I made these using my organic, unsweetened coconut flakes. I put them in the food processor and ground them quite a bit to get them almost to the consistency of shredded coconut, but not too fine. They turned out beautiful and delicious!! I used 3/4 c of the sugar and 2T real maple syrup.
★★★★★
Lara
Hi Kate,
Can I use coconut sugar instead of Turbinado?
Kate
I haven’t tried it. Turbinado is a larger grain sugar so you will likely get a different result. Let me know if you do try it and your results.
Carol
We only have coconut flakes on hand and want to avoid going to the store. Can I use unsweetened coconut flakes in this recipe? Should I try to chop them or throw them into my food processor for a bit?
Kate
Hi Carol! I’m not entirely sure if flakes will work. I would definitely throw them in the food processor beforehand, and then measure them after chopping. Please let me know how it turns out if you give it a try!
Rhonda
Do you know if these freeze well? I love macaroons and plan on trying your recipe.
Kate
I haven’t tried it, but I would assume so!
Erin
I don’t have turbinado sugar on hand but I have cane sugar, dark brown sugar, and demerara sugar. Which would be best here as a sub? Thanks!
Kate
Hi Erin! I believe other readers have enjoyed this with cane sugar. I hope you love them!
Trex
Kate,
Turned out delicious and pretty brown toasty color!
Thank you for the recipe!! My husband loves coconut. I just ran across another macaroon recipe and it called for a cup of butter. So glad your healthier version exists as Christmas cookies are my weakness and we are trying to be healthy!
I used brown sugar and it worked quite well, did not pack it down!!