Ever since I can remember, macaroons have been my favorite sweet treat. They’re just the right amount of sweet with just the right texture to make the perfect little handheld piece of dessert heaven. And I LOVE coconut. I even wear the stuff! When I was a kid, I spent a lot of time in Mexico with my dad… I remember devouring macaroons by the dozen as a grom. Maybe it was my dad’s way of keeping me silent, I don’t know, but I was one happy macaroon-grubbin’ little girl!
Anyway, when my local Whole Foods told me this Friday’s One Day Sale ingredients is organic blueberries, I knew just what I wanted to make (I create a recipe each week using the WF sale ingredients, that way people at home can take advantage of the sale AND make something delicious with it too). I’d never made blueberry macaroons… shoot, I’ve never even heard of them before, but it struck me as a prime blend for a delicious blueberry treat. Something different from the typical waffle or scone. Rather than the standard sweetened condensed milk version though, I was set on making a lighter and healthier take on my favorite dessert treat. So I’ve been a macaroon-makin’ machine all week. Pretty sure I’ve officially now baked my 75th macaroon in the last 72 hours. I’ve tried them every which way, and finally settled on the recipe that I think makes the best blueberry macaroon. I hope you enjoy! ❤
Yes, this week has been full of experimentation. I started on Monday. I made a batch with a few cups of shredded coconut, some honey, coconut milk, and then played around with adding almonds in too. I was fairly satisfied. For a first attempt, I thought they were good actually. But not great. Something was missing. So I tried again the next day, this time with a dash more salt and almond extract. That was a great move. While many macaroons call for vanilla extract instead, I personally love the flavor of almond in my macaroons… it’s a particular kind of sweetness that works perfectly with coconut. Those were pretty on point, but still, still there was more I wanted to try. So the next day I whipped up yet again another batch. (Yes, I’ve been an eating machine too. Ugh/yay.) This time, I toasted half the coconut shreds, to play with the texture. I also wanted to try using maple syrup instead of honey. Just like the almond extract, there’s something specific about maple syrup that I just knew would work well. So I gave that batch a whirl. Boom, that was it. I’ve never seen a recipe out there with maple syrup before, but yep, that brought it to my level. The level I’d been looking for.
Since I was already crafting and playing around with so many variations, I thought I’d try adding a chocolate drizzle on some too. Chocolate and coconut together is fab, and while blueberries and chocolate isn’t done much, I knew it couldn’t be bad. If you’re a chocolate lover, I’d say it’s a fun way to go…
The average recipe you’ll see on the internet will have one or all of the following in it: sweetened condenses milk, sugar, egg white. Of those ingredients, I only wanted one. Back in the day, a macaroon was thought of as an egg white cookie. I think they’re needed to get that nice fluff. Many-a-recipe call for just sweetened coconut and sweetened condensed milk instead… and it works. Those two ingredients together make a sweet, moist, delicious cookie. But not the kind I wanted. A- I like a good challenge and B- I don’t like that much sugar on my plate. I prefer to feel good about eating 75 macaroons in one short week. 😉
Since I did all this crazy experimenting this week, I learned some tips and tricks about macaroon making…
– Whip those egg whites well- you want peaks!
– Toasting coconut makes the flavor and texture a little more exciting
– Let them chill… they’re better once cooled!
– Almond slices add great texture.
– Oh yah, and my food processor is way too small. Time for an upgrade… for more macaroon-mania!
I was a little concerned that adding blueberries would be an impossible feat since they would surely add more moisture to the mix. With the right ratios though, it actually works remarkably well. You could choose to blend all of them right into the batter, but I chose to leave 1 cup whole. I like the pop of whole blueberries once baked. Scrumptious.
That’s it really… whatever you do, I’d say my biggest piece of advice is once you have your batter ready to go, start by making three or four first macaroons, just to test out your oven, timing, and textures. I find that helpful so I can adjust as needed before cooking up the whole batch. Hope you enjoy the recipe! My belly has sure worked hard this week to gobble a hefty pile of macaroons to get them to this point… not that that’s a bad thing! 😉
makes approx 25 macaroons
INGREDIENTS
4 cups unsweetened finely shredded coconut
2 cups fresh blueberries
1 can full-fat coconut milk
1/3 cup maple syrup (the real stuff)
1/2 tsp almond extract (for nut allergy, use vanilla)
1/2 tsp sea salt
3 egg whites
1/2 cup sliced almonds (optional)
optional chocolate drizzle…
1 cup semi-sweet dark chocolate chips
1/4 to 1/2 cup coconut milk
*These macaroons can be made so many ways… I chose my favorite combination to share with you in the recipe above, but here are some simple variations you could try also:
Plain Blueberry: omit sliced almonds, for no crunch
Chocolate: drizzle over the top or dip half the macaroon in it
Honey-Blueberry: use honey instead of maple syrup, for a subtler flavor
Untoasted: don’t toast the coconut, for a softer texture
Flakey: add some large coconut flakes in too, for added texture
You may have noticed shredded coconut comes in different sizes…
the first batch I made was all with the super fine, the second had about half the slightly larger
The latter came from the WF bulk bin, while the first was the bagged coconut shown above
In general, the finer the shred, the lighter and fluffier the macaroon will be…
the thicker the shred, the more flakey it will be
I personally would recommend staying on the finer side 🙂
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Spread 2 cups of the shredded coconut out onto a baking sheet
(I always use parchment paper- it’s non -stick and makes for easy clean up)
Place the coconut on the middle rack for 5 minutes, until golden brown
Set aside for now to cool
In a small bowl, stir together the coconut milk, maple syrup, almond extract, and salt
(Go ‘head, give it a taste. It’s good, right??!)
Add the untoasted coconut, coconut milk blend, and 1 cup of the blueberries to a food processor
(Hopefully one larger than mine 😮 )
Blend for approx five seconds, until more or less mixed
Set aside for now
Mix the egg whites…
With my hands, it feels like torture, so I use my electric beater instead
Add the three whites to a mixing bowl and blend (keep those yolks for something else)
It’ll take between 5 and 10 minutes to get stiff peaks… you want little mountains of fluff
Once done, gently fold the toasted coconut shreds, remaining cup of blueberries,
almond slices and goodness from the food processor together with the fluffed egg whites
(Everything going into the egg whites must be cool- otherwise the egg whites will turn to soup!)
It’ll seem kind of wet, but the egg whites will fluff up once baked
More experimenting…
For loose mounds, a scooper can be used to plop some batter onto the baking sheet
You’ll see below on the left how it creates more of a puddled-mound, which some people like
The method to the right, which is my preferred one, is to create a little ball in the palm of your hands…
this will help pack it a bit, creating a firmer more ‘set’ macaroon once baked
Either way, aim for approximately a golf ball sized portion
For a closer up peek, here are the scooped lighter ones…
Here are the ones I rounded with my hands…
Whichever method you use, I’d highly suggest using parchment paper…
it’ll keep your macaroons easy to remove after they’re baked
To cook, place on the center rack at 350 degrees for approx 20-30 minutes
The scooped ones need less time, while the rounded rounds need a bit more,
some even up to 35 mins… this will depend on their size, your oven, altitude, etc
They’re done once nicely golden on the top 🙂
Let them cool…
If making the chocolate sauce, keep the on the parchment paper for now
If enjoying them plain, place them in an airtight container and refrigerate to cool
(Macaroons are best once set and chilled)
For chocolate sauce…
Mix the chocolate chips and 1/4 cup coconut milk (or regular milk if preferred) in a bowl
Microwave for 30 seconds
Remove, stir, and then add more coconut milk if a thinner texture is desired
You may need to microwave it again for ten seconds or so, but I’d
suggest never doing increments larger than 30 seconds to avoid burning the chocolate
Again, more experimenting…
You have to options:
Use a spoon to drizzle the chocolate over the macaroons OR
Pour the chocolate sauce into a little Ziploc (once cooled a bit),
then cut a teeny corner off the bottom, and drizzle it over the macaroons, like a piping bag
It may look sloppy, but it’ll taste good 😉
Refrigerate to harden the chocolate
That’s it! As with the plain guys, cover, refrigerate, and enjoy for up to three days!!
