Almond Coconut Macaroons

Oh man are these delicious. And so freakin' easy. And easy, as you might have noticed, is quite important to me. Back in my undergraduate days my bff/roommate, Katy, and I would buy bags of Archway coconut macaroons from Marsh and eat one after another while watching Law & Order repeats in the middle of the afternoon. Those were pretty good, but this recipe blows them out of the water. They get gorgeously golden brown and crispy around the edges but stay moist and soft on the inside. Even my dad liked them and he doesn't even eat coconut. If only I'd known macaroons were so simple, I would have been making them for years!


I added some bittersweet Ghiradelli chocolate baking chips to half of my macaroons. They looked super pretty and added some lovely chocolate flavor. Next time I'll try stuffing the chocolate into the middle or melting some up to drizzle over the cooled macaroons. I got a Silpat for Christmas and it worked perfectly for this recipe, even though my only large cookie sheet is ridiculously warped. I used bulk sliced almonds from my local co-op which I pulsed up in my mini food-processor. The almonds are so good in the macaroons, they add a bit of extra texture and a wonderful nuttiness to the cookies.

Almond Coconut Macaroons
adapted from Martha Stewart Living
makes ~18 macaroons

2/3 cup sugar
2 large egg whites
2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup almonds, chopped
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch of coarse salt
Optional - Bittersweet Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a nonstick baking mat or parchment. Whisk together sugar and egg white in a large bowl. Stir in the remaining ingredients.

Form into small rounds, or use a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop like me, and drop each onto a cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake macaroons until golden-brown on bottoms and edges, about 15 minutes. Let cool on sheets for 5 minutes. Transfer to wire racks, and let cool. Macaroons will keep, in an air-tight container, for up to 1 week.