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!
Dark Chocolate Dipped Macaroons
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups dried unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 1/2 tbsp potato starch
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 4 large egg whites
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 13 oz. dark chocolate, divided
You will also need
- 2 baking sheets, parchment paper, Ziploc bag, scissors
- 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 plastic zipper bag (Ziploc). 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.
Other Great Recipe Ideas
Tasty Kitchen Blog – Strawberry Coconut Macaroons
Two Peas and Their Pod – Coconut Lime Macaroons with White Chocolate
Gluten Free Canteen – Oatmeal Coconut Maple Macaroons, Gluten Free
Tori, any alternatives to Potato starch? corn starch, maybe? These look good…I just may go buy some potato starch!!!
Hi Jack, potato starch is used here specifically for its binding properties. Much like potato starch can help bind together the shreds of potato in a latke, the starch helps to bind the coconut shreds together. Corn starch, while generally a good substitute for potato starch, will not work the same way here. I suggest buying the potato starch (which otherwise can be used fairly interchangeably with corn starch); it’s easy to find at this time of year in the Passover or kosher section of your grocery store. Or, if you aren’t worried about keeping kosher for Passover, you could also substitute 1/4 cup of flour. Good luck! Enjoy
Why potato starch? I have never seen that in a macaroon recipe.
That’s why my recipe is special Kim!
I’ve never seen one with potato starch either, but as I tested multiple macaroons variations I thought I’d try it out. The addition of the starch made a world of difference to the final macaroon. The potato starch helps to bind the coconut mixture (the “batter”), and helps to soften the texture inside the macaroon after it is baked. Try it!
Sounds delicious, but how can this be considered vegan when the recipe calls for egg whites?? Perhaps I’m missing something?
You are right, it was inadvertently added to the vegan category. I corrected the post. Thanks for the heads up!
I have never been a macaroon person, since I really don’t like coconut. Do you have a Passover recipe with almond paste instead? Thanks!
Not on the site yet, but I’ll keep it in mind for a future post!
Is there any way this recipe could be adjusted for sweetened coconut? I bought it and can not return it.
This look so good!
I agree with Denise I couldn’t find unsweetened for some reason but into have sweeten coconut.. If I left out the sugar think that would work?
Hi Sharon, I’m not sure if sweetened will work the same way, because it is a lot moister than the unsweetened shreds. If you try it, cut the sugar to 2 tbsp and maybe start with 3 egg whites, then add a fourth if you need it. FYI, unsweetened coconut can be found at most kosher markets, kosher grocery stores, and health food markets (like Whole Foods). Bob’s Red Mill makes a great one.
OMG these are amazing. I didn’t think I was a fan of coconut, but I could eat a dozen of these. My entire family loved them and they were soooo easy to make. All I can say is WOW.
Just made these for Passover and tested one and it was SO GOOD. All the other recipes I have tried have been with sweetened condensed milk. These were nice and homogenous throughout, instead of coconut on top of a caramelized pool of condensed milk. I added 1/2 a cup of sliced almonds into the batter as well. This is my new go-to macaroon recipe!
Awesome Mike! So happy to hear that. I experimented quite a bit to come up with this combination, it was definitely worth the extra effort.
Hi Tori! Just made these tonight and could only find sweetened coconut. Just now saw your modification above, but I cut the sugar to 1/4 cup and used 4 egg whites. I scooped them out with a melon baller and cooked for the entire 30 minutes and they came out PERFECTLY. Dipping tomorrow with when I dip the strawberries. Thanks for the fantastic recipe!
These are the most gorgeous looking Passover macaroons I’ve ever seen! Love the simplicity of them and the decadence
-Dana
I gave some of these to my parents today. My mom put some out in front of my dad with a cup of coffee he thought they were store bought fancy macaroons! I love them! The best part is they are super duper easy and not super sweet. Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Hi Tori! These taste so delicious! I will never buy the canned cookies again! Even my kids who don’t like coconut loved them!
Hi Tori, I made the chocolate dipped macaroons. They were actually not that hard to make. They were delicious! Thanks for sharing!
I just made these for my first Seder (my friends are Jewish) and they came out so amazingly delicious. And SO easy to make!!! Thanks for this wonderful recipe.
Looks awesome! I would so love to try some. I am sure they taste amazing.
I know what I’m making tomorrow! Thank you so much for the recipe…. Chag Sameach!
I made these yesterday, and they’re delicious! I could only find sweetened coconut flakes in my supermarket, so I just added significantly less sugar (probably less than 1/8 of a cup). They dried quickly, too, after I dipped them in the chocolate. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
you mentioned making these with ‘almond paste”? My son is allergic to coconut, so would LOVe to make these with almond paste if possible. Also, no kosher section in stores here in Costa Rica so will have to figure out something!!!!
Hi Anna– I was speaking of the history of macaroons, and that they were originally made with almond paste, however I don’t have an almond modification for this particular recipe. I will try to post an almond-based macaroon recipe soon. So cool that you live in Costa Rica!
Oh my….
Everyone who adores me for my baking loves me so much more now. I dislike coconut, yet I actually eat these.
We don’t keep Kosher for Passover so I added 1/4 C. flour, and since I could only find sweetened coconut I used 1/4 C. sugar as per another poster’s recommendation. Baked for 22 minutes. PERFECTION.
Everyone swears they are the BEST macaroons they’ve ever tasted. No doubt!
And the extra drippings of dark chocolate that I accidentally spilled were an added bonus.
Thank you!