Sugar-Free Coconut Macaroons
Coconut macaroons are very easy to make. They have only four ingredients, mix up easily, and require only 15 minutes to cook. The only trick, especially when not using sugar (which attracts moisture), is keeping them from being too dry. Here's how I do it.
Coconut macaroons are very easy to make. They have only four ingredients, mix up easily, and require only 15 minutes to cook. The only trick, especially when not using sugar (which attracts moisture), is keeping them from being too dry. Here's how I do it.
- Carbohydrate 7.80732857142857 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 20.9241085714286 g
- Fiber 5.28119975280762 g
- Protein 3.25719428571429 g
- Saturated Fat 18.538692 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (62g)
- Sodium 27.8149285714286 mg
- Sugar 2.52612881862095 g
- Trans Fat 1.26720857142857 g
- Calories 220 calories
Step-by-step
- Heat oven to 375 F. Line baking sheet with either parchment paper on a silicone mat.
- Measure egg whites. If they aren't quite ? cup, add a little water to reach that level. Then add the vanilla, liquid sweetener if using, and water so that sweetener and water together equal 2 Tablespoons.
- If using powdered sweetener, mix in with unsweetened coconut.
- Mix dry and wet ingredients together. The mixture should just hold together. Let set a minute or two and you'll be able to mold them better.
- Roll into balls a little bigger than an inch in diameter. Slightly flatten and put on baking sheet (whatever shape you put them in is how they will stay, so this is your chance). Put at least half an inch apart.
- Turn down the oven to 325 F, and bake for about 15 minutes, but start checking them a couple of minutes before. You want them golden brown on the bottom, and just barely starting to brown on top (though if you like them a little crispier, bake a couple of minutes longer).
Traditional flour-thickened European macaroons share little beyond a name with the airy, egg-white-bound coconut mounds popular today, yet both trace their lineage back to the same Italian pastry innovations that prized minimal ingredients. Removing sucrose from coconut confections alters far more than sweetness; sugar molecules typically attract and hold ambient moisture during baking, meaning alternative sweeteners require deliberate adjustments to keep shredded coconut from turning brittle in the oven. Without hygroscopic sugar pulling water into the crumb, structural integrity depends entirely on balancing egg proteins and added liquids before the heat hits the pan.
- Measure the egg whites precisely to one-half cup, supplementing with water if necessary to achieve the necessary hydration ratio for binding dry shreds.
- Allow the mixed batter to rest for two minutes so the coconut flakes fully absorb the surrounding moisture before handling.
- Bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately fifteen minutes, watching closely for golden-brown bottoms and pale, barely colored tops.
Using freshly grated coconut introduces natural fruit oils and fluctuating moisture levels that react unpredictably with liquid sweeteners compared to commercially packaged dried shreds. Controlling thermal transfer by dropping the oven temperature from 375 F down to 325 F right as the baking sheet goes inside prevents the exterior edges from scorching before the interior sets.
