I’ve always loved anything coconut. Pap was crazy about it too, I think that’s where my great love for coconut came from. He used to tell me stories about how good the fresh coconuts tasted when he was stationed in South America during his years of service. For the last several Christmases before he passed away I bought him a coconut from the grocery store. He said it wasn’t like the fresh ones, but it was better than the pre-packaged shredded coconut.
It was probably 15 years ago that I noticed a recipe for coconut macaroons on the back of a coconut bag during Christmas time. Since the recipe seemed so simple I thought I’d give it a try. I loved the cookies, the girls liked them, Pap and Granny liked them, and even The Deer Hunter who claims he doesn’t like coconut liked them. Coconut macaroons quickly became part of my Christmas sweets list every year.
Coconut Macaroons
- 5 1/3 cups (14ozs) flake coconut
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla
Mix all the ingredients together.
Drop by spoonfuls (you can make them really small or a little larger) onto well-greased cookie sheets. The cookies are sticky, so I line my pan with foil for an easier clean-up.
Bake at 350° for 10 to 12 minutes or till lightly browned. Once cookies are done quickly remove them from pan and allow to cool on a cookie rack. I usually have to scrape the hot cookies off the foil, but once they cool they sort of smush back together to form a sturdy cookie.
Store coconut macaroons in an air-tight container with a piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper between each layer to keep them from sticking together.
Tipper
Hi Tipper!
My daughter and I made your macaroon recipe this morning and we love them! We’ll add this to our yearly Christmas candy/cookie list!
God Bless!
Michele (aka “Rough-Hewn Homestead” on YT)
Hey there, Tipper – got my laptop back from the shop and am now trying to catch up on all the missed blogposts in the past two weeks – of course I had to come straight to the coconut recipe first!
A lovely woman in England sent me her Auntie Harriet’s “coconut haystacks” recipe which is just a little different, but one thing is, she uses an eggcup or something to make more solid shapes and then bakes them on baking parchment and cools them before tipping them off onto a wire rack to cool. Seems they keep their shape right through the process, unlike the macaroons I’ve made as drop cookies. I think either system makes a tasty treat 🙂
Thank you for sharing this recipe! I have liked macaroons since I was a kid!
Over 30 years ago, my husband bought a fresh coconut on sale, and I made a pie and it was the best coconut pie I had ever eaten. Both my husband and I like anything with coconut in it. My mama made a really good coconut pie too, and she was a good baker. My dad made a toasted butter pecan cake that had a pecan and coconut icing between the layers like a German chocolate cake, which I love too. I made the toasted butter pecan cake once many years ago. I’ve made German chocolate cake too.
Tipper,
After 10 days of Snow On the Ground, I think today at 58 degrees, the last of it will be gone. I didn’t even make any Snowcream this time. I’m about ready for some New stuff. Yesterday was the first time I didn’t have to use 4 wheel drive on my driveway. …Ken
They used to sell green coconuts at the distributor I worked for. They came in mesh sacks sorta like cabbage used come in. They were hard to handle. Think lifting a sack of bowling balls. They were almost as bad as those hundred pound tow sacks of pinto beans or taters we had to handle. A hundred pounds ain’t all that heavy to lift over your head if it is firm but if it wants to move around it’ll waller you to death. Like picking up a big old youngin that don’t want to be picked up.
Tipper,
Although I sometimes use Coconut in various receipes, I’m not a big fan of Coconut. When I do, I buy the shreadded kind and sprinkle on top and brown a bit. Your Macaroons look tasty tho. …Ken
My Papaw on my Dad’s side loved coconut, and was crazy about coconut cakes, I guess thats where I get it from.
I have made these for years. They are also good to melt semi-sweet or milk chocolate morsels and dip the bottoms of the cookies in the chocolate or drizzle the chocolate over them. My daughters in-laws grow coconuts, mango’s and pineapples (they live in Palm beach FL). When we went down for Thanksgiving they brought us some fresh coconuts to bring home and I FORGOT THEM!!!!!!!! How do you forget 3 huge coconuts, but I did! Oh well.
Pam
scrap-n-sewgranny.blogspot.com
Tipper,
Quickly, quickly….I love coconut freshly cracked and pried out of the shell and eaten like a piece of candy…only a bite or two for the richness of it will give me a stomach ache…Love the recipe also but haven’t made them since the children have grown…
Ron Stephens….Please do not throw your hoard of walnuts out…Make suet cakes for the birds….or chop and mix with peanut butter and smear in the crevices of your trees for the birds….A buried nut found in the leaf mold is a delight for a hungry bird and waves off hunger…Or you can ship them to me for my suet project….I get real suet from around the kidney from the butcher who saves it for me…This is an all day process…melt the suet…rendering out any hard meaty pieces…after cooling but before it hardens mix in nuts, peanut butter, course organic corn meal, raisins, cracked corn, last years left over coconut that was in the freezer (ha) etc. etc. Push into small containers. It will harden….I put in the freezer and take out and hang on put on the platform feeder….I also save onion, orange or tangerine mesh bags…cut a square, put in cake, tie and hang from a limb or iron Sheppard’s hook. The birds love it…and the meat eaters (worms, bugs, etc.) get a suet fat boost…Sorry for taking up space, Tipper….I just cringed when I thought Ron might throw away a hoard of walnuts….Yes, I love my winter suet eating bluebirds and all of the others that flock to eat on a cold snowy day!
Thanks Tipper
Granny always used “real” coconut for her cakes and she poured the juice on the layers. So good! I love coconut in any form and already have the milk on hand. Have to go to the grocery anyway and I’ll get some coconut to try this recipe.
My mother-in-law uses the frozen coconut for her cakes and it is really good but very expensive.
Yum! I have always used a much more difficult recipe — these are better!
Anything with coconut doesn’t last very long around my house. I’ve never made macaroons but I will try this easy recipe. Thanks for sharing.
Tipper you may want to try the non-stick foil. I have great success with even the stickiest of stuff!
Easy cookies, yummm! Thanks for sharing.
May the Lord continue to richly bless you and yours, Merry Christmas 🙂
I wonder if Pap was talking about green coconuts? When coconuts ripen they turn Brown and the meat hardens. Green coconuts is soft, more like a fruit than a nut. Once in a while we find green coconuts in the stores here. It actually is sold with the green shell removed, so it looks white. You peel the white off and the nut inside is soft enough to cut open and scoop out the soft flesh. You can eat it as it is, or use it in puddings or other recipes. The shell will actually harden over a few days, if you want to use it as a bowl or container. They are similar in taste, but I like it better than ripe coconuts. If you see one, try it, it’s great! I suspect there are videos on YouTube, almost everything else is there.
This recipe seems simple enough and sounds yummy too. I am going to try it out, for sure.
Merry Christmas Tipper to you and your Family. Have a very healthy and happy new year in 2018.
Well, that really is simple.
It is a mystery to me how nuts lose moisture and oils through their tough shells. But as with most things, fresh is best. I couldn’t begin to say how many hoards of left-over black walnuts I have. I dislike throwing them away but I really need to.
A long time favorite in my family. At Christmas my Mom would add chopped candied cherries, just a few to add a touch of red. We baked them on wax paper and peeled them off after they cooled. Thanks for sharing another wonderful memory. I agree with Pap the best coconut is at the source.
That seems too easy! Bet they are good
I like coconut well enough and I really like anything with sweetened condensed milk so I would love the macaroons, for sure! They sure make a pretty presentation on the lovely Christmas plate.