Chocolate-Dipped Vegan Coconut Macaroons

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Made with sweet shredded coconut and coconut cream, baked to toasty perfection, and dipped in rich dark chocolate, these decadent vegan macaroons are a coconut-lover’s dream come true!

Coconut macaroons are, without a doubt, one of my favorite holiday cookies. Mom always made them when I was growing up, and then when I lived in Philly I used to visit a bakery that sold macaroons that were about 6 inches in diameter. I was in heaven!

But I avoided developing a recipe for vegan macaroons for a long time. It seemed like it would be tough, because: eggs. What could I possibly use to hold an eggless macaroon together? It turns out that all I needed was a little flour and some cornstarch. (Cornstarch makes a surprisingly great egg substitute in lots of recipes, in case you didn’t know!)

The resulting macaroons were as delicious as any I’d ever eaten before!

What You’ll Need

• Cornstarch.
• Water.
• Coconut cream. Look for this in cans near where coconut milk is sold. If you can’t find it, buy full-fat coconut milk instead. Place the can in the fridge for a day. It will separate while it chills. The solid part is coconut cream that can be used in this recipe.
• Sugar. Make sure you’re using organic sugar if you live in the U.S. This will ensure that it’s vegan.
• Vanilla extract.
• Almond extract.
• Salt.
• Sweetened shredded coconut. Be careful when buying this, as it might be sweetened with white sugar, which isn’t always vegan if you live in the U.S. Buy organic (which is processed without animal products), or look for the “vegan” label on the bag. I used Wegman’s brand, which has that label.
• Flour. The recipe uses all-purpose wheat flour, which acts primarily as a binder for the cookies. I haven’t tested the recipe with other types of flour, but because the amount is so small I suspect you’d be fine using any type of wheat flour, spelt flour, oat flour, or an all-purpose gluten-free blend. I would not recommend attempting these cookies with almond flour or coconut flour.
• Baking powder.
• Vegan chocolate. I used Enjoy Life brand vegan chocolate chips.

How to Make Vegan Coconut Macaroons

The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you’d like to skip right to the recipe!

• Heat up your sugar and coconut cream in a small saucepan, whisking the mixture the whole time. Keep heating it until the ingredients melt and just come to a simmer.
• Stir in a slurry of cornstarch and cold water. This will thicken up the mixture and act as an egg-replacer.
• Once the mixture thickens, take the pot off of heat and stir in your vanilla extract, almond extract, and salt.

• Mix your shredded coconut, flour, and baking powder together in a large mixing bowl, then stir in the sugar and coconut cream mixture.

• Shape the mixture into balls and place them on a parchment-paper lined baking sheet.

Tip: The mixture will be somewhat loose and very sticky, which can make it a challenge to shape the cookies. The best method I’ve found is to use a 1 ½ inch diameter cookie scoop. Pack the coconut mixture together in your hand, then pack it into the scoop and dispense it on the baking sheet. Rinse the scoop in a glass of cool water between cookies in order to prevent sticky buildup.

• Pop the baking sheet into the oven and bake the cookies until they’ve got a bunch of golden-brown spots on top.
• Place the baking sheets on cooling racks and let the vegan macaroons cool completely.
• Once they’re cool, dip the bottom of each cookie in some melted chocolate. Place the dipped cookies on parchment paper to set, then drizzle the tops with more chocolate.

Enjoy!

Shelf-Life & Storage

Store your coconut macaroons in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 1 week, or freeze them for up to 2 months.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can these vegan coconut macaroons be made gluten-free?

I haven’t made a gluten-free version myself, but you should be able to do so by using an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend in place of wheat flour

Can I make these with unsweetened coconut?

You can! Just add an extra 2 tablespoons of sugar in step 1. I prefer sweetened coconut only because I find it to be more tender than most unsweetened coconut.

Why are my macaroons falling apart?

You probably need to pack the mixture more densely when shaping the cookies. See my tips above in the detailed recipe tutorial! Also make sure you’re baking them long enough and that your oven temperature is correctly calibrated.