An easy recipe for gluten-free coconut macaroons, sweetened with honey. No condensed milk, no sugar! Just four wholesome ingredients.
I love coconut. I love it fresh! One of the highlights of a recent trip to Hawaii was enjoying slices of sweet, fresh coconut served at the hotel’s breakfast buffet. I also like recipes made with coconut, and this is one of my favorites.
I make these gluten-free coconut macaroons every year for Passover. They’re inspired by the cookies my grandma used to make. They are easy to make, delicious, and wonderfully chewy.
Grandma’s Cookies
It was the Jewish holiday of Passover. I was ten years old, visiting my grandparents on Passover eve. My grandparents were Dutch, and their manners were impeccable.
My younger brother and I were always under a lot of pressure to “behave” when we visited them. Sometimes we managed, sometimes not so much.
On that bright spring day, in the early eighties, it was actually time for lunch and I was hungry. My father promised lunch at home – we were just stopping for half an hour to say hello.
So we sat there, in that European living room, decorated with beautiful antique wooden furniture. Grandma, oma, served good, strong Dutch coffee and cookies.
Oh, those cookies.
They were coconut macaroons (“kokosmakronen” in Dutch), made kosher for Passover with no flour. She made them with just coconut, sugar, and eggs. But they were nothing like the pale store-bought macaroons that I was familiar with.
These were round and fat and deep golden brown. They were fragrant and chewy and they tasted so good, and I was so hungry. I found myself reaching for one more cookie, then another, and then another.
My father looked embarrassed and sheepishly explained that we had not had our lunch yet. Grandma smiled, but she was obviously horrified at my lack of manners. Me? Delirious with coconutty sugar, I didn’t care. I was happy.
My version
I don’t have grandma’s recipe for those amazing, chewy cookies. But the version below is pretty close. Let’s just say that once again, I found myself eating way more of those than I had planned. 😳
The ingredients you’ll need
You will only need four ingredients to make these delicious and nutritious cookies (the exact measurements are listed in the recipe card below):
Eggs: I use large eggs inmost of my recipe, this one included.
Honey: It adds sweetness, flavor, and also the moisture needed to make these cookies truly chewy.
Vanilla extract: Try to use the real thing – pure vanilla extract – and not the artificially flavored stuff.
Unsweetened shredded coconut: Make sure you don’t use reduced-fat shredded coconut. They have it at Whole Foods and it’s way too dry.
How to make gluten-free coconut macaroons
It’s so easy! Scroll down to the recipe card for the detailed instructions. Here are the basic steps:
1. Start by whisking together the eggs, honey, and vanilla.
2. Add the coconut and mix to combine.
3. Drop spoonfuls of the mixture on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.
4. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes at 350°F.
How to store them
These cookies are wonderful either warm or at room temperature. Once completely cool, they should keep for a couple of days in an airtight container at room temperature.
Unless I’m around to polish them off.
More coconut recipes that you might enjoy
Love coconut? This gluten-free coconut cake is AMAZING! And if you don’t feel like baking, try these wonderful homemade coconut haystacks.
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Coconut Macaroons
INGREDIENTS
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup honey
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, honey and vanilla.
- Add the coconut. Mix well, with a spatula, to combine.
- Using a 2-tablespoon scoop, portion out the cookies and place on the prepared baking sheets. Flatten the top a little with the back of a spoon.
- Bake 20 minutes, until the macaroons are deeply golden and your kitchen is filled with the most amazing aroma of sweet toasted coconut.
- Cool 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then use a spatula to transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and cool 10 more minutes.
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Vered DeLeeuw, LL.M., CNC, has been following a low-carb real-food diet and blogging about it since 2011. She's a Certified Nutrition Coach (NASM-CNC), has taken courses at the Harvard School of Public Health, and has earned a Nutrition and Healthy Living Certificate from Cornell University. Her work has appeared in several major media outlets, including Healthline, HuffPost, Today, Women's Health, Shape, Reader's Digest, and Better Homes and Gardens.