Coconut Macaroon Clusters
Classic, simple, and totally delicious.
I love all things coconut and these treats are at the the top of my list right next to Mum’s Ultimate Coconut Cake (recipe below).
Thanks to Food52’s suggestion of substituting shredded coconut out for unsweetened flakes, the resulting cookie cluster is softer, chewier, and quite simply, more delicious. I can never decide if I’m a purist or prefer dark chocolate drizzled on my already decadent treat. I also like to freeze the macaroons to save for later, but ‘later’ never seems to happen and they always get devoured. However you choose to enjoy your treat, consider making an extra batch to share. —CFG
Ingredients
4 level cups of unsweetened coconut flakes
3/4 cup of granulated sugar
2 tsp of clear vanilla extract (to maintain color)
4 egg whites
1/4 tsp finely ground sea salt
Directions
Recipe makes ~18-20 cookies.
Place 1-2” of water in a medium/large pot and place on medium heat. Next, rest a mixing bowl inside the pot of water so the bottom of the bowl is submersed, but the bowl doesn’t sink into the pot.
Add 4 cups of unsweetened coconut flakes, 4 egg whites, 3/4 cup of granulated sugar, 1/4 tsp of finely ground sea salt, and 2 tsp of clear vanilla extract to the mixing bowl. Gently stir until all ingredients are fully incorporated.
Increase the heat to medium-high and continue gently stirring the mixture for 5-7 minutes so it doesn’t stick to the bowl or burn on the bottom until it becomes very hot to the touch and the egg whites become slightly opaque.
Remove the bowl from the heat and give it another final mix, then set aside for 30min to allow the mixture to soak into the coconut.
While the coconut mixture is resting, preheat oven to 375F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Using an ice cream scoop, create mounds of the coconut mixture on the cooking sheet about 2” apart. (I make 18 clusters for medium-sized cookies.)
Transfer the pan to the second lowest rack in the oven and bake for about 5 minutes, or just until the edges of the coconut flakes begin to brown.
Lower the temperature to 325F and move the cooking sheet up to the middle rack of the oven. Bake the cookies for 10-15 minutes until the clusters are golden-coloured with darker brown edges. If the cookies are browning too quickly, lower the heat to 300F for remaining cooking time. If you have a hotspot in your oven, you may also want to rotate the pan halfway through the cooking time.
Remove the pan from the oven and allow clusters to cool completely before removing from parchment paper.
Store cookie clusters in an airtight container for up to 5 days or freeze until ready to serve.
Optional chocolate drizzle: While cookies are still warm, drizzle your melted chocolate of choice over the clusters; allow the cookie clusters to cool completely and for chocolate to fully harden.
Serve and enjoy!
