Coconut Almond Macaroons
Updated February 10, 2026
Kelly Marshall for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Samantha Seneviratne. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.
- Ready In
- About 3½ hr
- (About 55 min baking; 2½ hr cooling and setting)
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
4½ cups/397 grams sweetened shredded coconut
⅔ cup/227 grams sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
½ teaspoon kosher salt, such as Diamond Crystal
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 cup/167 grams semisweet chocolate chips, melted
½ cup/75 grams roasted salted almonds, finely chopped
Nutritional analysis per serving
15 grams carbs; 3 milligrams cholesterol; 135 calories; 2 grams monosaturated fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 8 grams fat; 1 gram fiber; 76 milligrams sodium; 2 grams protein; 13 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, stir together the coconut, condensed milk, vanilla and almond extracts, and salt.
- Step 2
In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer on high speed until medium stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes. Fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture with a rubber spatula.
- Step 3
Scoop the mixture into 1½-tablespoon mounds onto the prepared sheets, about 1 ½ inches apart. Bake until puffed, set and golden brown, rotating halfway through, about 20 minutes. Let cool on the sheets on racks.
- Step 4
Melt the chocolate in short burst in the microwave or over a double boiler. Dip half of each cookie into the chocolate, scraping off any excess, and transfer back to the sheets. Immediately sprinkle with almonds. Repeat with the remaining cookies.
- Step 5
Let stand at room temperature until set, about 2 hours. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. (If freezing the macaroons, let them thaw before serving.)
Private Notes
Comments
Make your own sweetened coconut by hydrating unsweetened coconut shreds in sugar syrup overnight. No preservatives!
The Almond Joy reference hooked me in. Made as instructed. Used a medium ice cream scoop so ended with 16 larger cookies. Kept to the 20 min cooking time. Still bit moist inside, worried I may have underbaked but then remembered Almond Joy candies are moist so all good! Recommend using bit more chocolate as 1 cup wasn’t enough. Otherwise…9.5 out of 10!
I was pleased with the results. Maybe, in Step 3, clarify that’s 20 mins total cooking time. I was confused if I should rotate the sheets at 20 and bake for 40, or rotate at 10 and bake for 20. The macaroons gave me the answer with their appearance at 20.
Given that even different brands of kosher salt have different densities, it would be most helpful to have the salt amount be indicated in grams as well. Diamond Crystal Kosher salt is very hard to find in Canada (and I suspect likewise in the rest of the world).
has anyone used unsweetened coconut and let the sweetened condensed milk do the sweetening?
I agree about the confusion regarding the mention of 20 minutes cooking in the instructions. Especially since the header indicates 45 minutes cooking time. I'm going to go for 30 minutes total. Clarification from NYT Cooking would be helpful!
@RebeccaT replying to myself. 30 minutes yielded close to burned cookies. Maybe 25 minutes total or at a lower baking temperature?