This Saturday I borrowed two books from the library on baking cookies. The following macaroons recipe is based on Key Lime Coconut Macaroons, from Jill Snider's Cookies book.
That recipe caught my eye because it was eggless originally when the macaroon recipes I've seen so far used egg whites and I had all the ingredients at home.
Since I don't like lime/lemon flavoring in cookies/cakes, I omitted it. The original recipe called for key lime juice, so I substituted it with milk. Then only I realized that how similar it was to the South Indian "thengai-coconut burfi". So to get that taste I decided to add some cashews and cardamom powder.
I also ended up using a lesser amount of coconut and all-purpose flour, so the final batter was watery. Then I remembered how my grandmother used to add rava (semolina) while making the burfis, so I also added a couple of tablespoons of it, to make the dough firm. In spite of all these changes, the end product tasted perfect.
I think the mistake I did was adding milk to replace the lime juice, which resulted in a watery batter or not following the actual measurements. But it was a very lovely experience trying out various combinations. So what I would do the next time is, combine condensed milk and coconut to form a firm dough, drop it on a cookie sheet and bake it. I'm confident that this will also bake correctly.
Recipe
Eggless Coconut Macaroons Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Sweetened Condensed Milk
- ¼ Cup Milk
- ¼ Cup All Purpose Flour
- 2.5 Cups Sweetened Shredded Coconut
Optional Ingredients:
- 3 Tablespoons Semolina
- ¼ Cup Cashew Nuts, Broken Into Pieces
- 1 Teaspoon Cardamom Powder
Instructions
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350F (180C) for 15 minutes.
- In a large bowl, combine sweetened milk and milk, whisking until blended.
- With a wooden spoon, stir in flour, mixing until thoroughly blended.
- Stir in coconut, cashews and cardamom powder.
- After combining all the ingredients, the batter was a little bit watery. So I test baked just 1 tablespoon and the cookie spread so much.
- So I added 3 tablespoons of semolina (sooji/rava) to the batter and combined it well and now the batter was nice and firm. Again I test baked another tablespoon of the dough and the macaroon came out perfect.
- Then I went ahead and dropped tablespoonfuls of dough about 1 inch apart and baked it in the oven until it was golden around the edges (which approximately took 15 minutes). I got 24 (plus 2 test bake) macaroons for the above measurement.
- Cool for 10 minutes on the sheet. This point is very important. Don't try to remove the macaroons from the sheet once it is out the oven because it will be very flimsy. Again don't put it back in the oven to harden it. Just leave the macaroons on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes and it will harden by itself.
- Then transfer to a rack and cool completely.
Rama says
Hi, thanks for your recipe. I love this site. I have unsweetened condensed milk and unsweetened coconut. If i want to add powdered sugar for sweet taste, how much should I add for the measurement that you have given?
Madhuram says
Try adding about 1/2 cup - 3/4th cup and you have to trust your tastebuds on this one.
swathi says
Hi Madhu,
I like these cookies..I love this website because I am vegan But now i am taking gluten free food.Can I make these cookies with out all purpose flour? Insted of all purpose flour can I use corn flour or corn starch?If u know any gluten free food Pls share with me...
Thank u so much ....
Madhuram says
Thanks Swathi. I'm not sure how this recipe will work with cornstarch. Why don't you try baking these only with condensed milk and coconut? With the measurements in the recipe as a base, add condensed milk little by little to the coconut, just until it forms like a thick dough and drop it on a baking sheet and bake it. See how it turns out. I have a couple of gluten free cookie recipes and a cake recipe. Do search for it in the cookies and cake pages. Check these links for some vegan, gluten free recipe ideas:
http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.in/p/vegan-veg-index.html
http://www.tongueticklers.com
Meenakshi says
hello madhuram..I did try these without the all purpose flour..instead of balls they turned out discs like cookies...then i baked them with all purpose flour and they retained their shape..I think they need the flour to stick together else the condensed milk spreads!!
Maed says
hi thanks for this yummy recipe. just have 1question... i don't have semolina and cardamon powder. what are other alternatives can i use for these two ingredients? thanks a lot. i would like to try to bake this macaroons.
Madhuram says
Semolina is optional. What you could do is, simply mix the condensed milk, all purpose flour and coconut, omitting the milk. I added the semolina to firm up the dough because I added milk.
Neela says
COCONUT BARS:
There is a similar recipe if you google mexican made easy under
foodnetwork, type coconut bars. It uses only two ingredients
5 1/2 cups sweetened coconut(1 bag) and 1 can 14 oz.(1/2 cup)
condensed milk. Check it out. I have not tried but will soon.
Madhuram says
Thanks Neela.
VK says
Hi Madhuram,
Made this today. Had to add 3 tablespoon more of all purpose flour and semolina. It is very good. Thanks for the recipe.
VK
Madhuram says
Thanks VK.
Lalitha says
I have been trying out several recipes from your site for the past
fifteen months, and while most of them turned out well, this one
was a hit at our New Year's party. I made just one batch, since
it was my first attempt and they just disappeared! Thanks for an
excellent recipe!
Yojana says
Once again you rock Madhu.. I just baked these..My husband loved it.. You must have seen so many comments from me in a single day 😉 I baked 3 types of cookies today , on a baking spree 😀 Btw, how do I store them , in the refrigerator or just outside and for how long can they stay good?
You are on a roll girl! I think it is better to keep it at room temperature and finish it off within 3 days maybe. But again this is not fresh coconut, so maybe it will keep good longer.
kayla says
hey, the recipe sounds easy enough, its gonna be my first time baking macaroons, was wondering would the recipe be the same if i made them chocolate?? what would i add to make them chocolate macaroons?
Kayla you could try adding a tablespoon of cocoa powder and the remaining with all purpose flour.
Jayshree says
Hi Madhuram
I love macaroons and was searching for an eggless recipe for a while. I tried ur recipe with one change .Used unsweetened shredded coconut . It turned out just perfect. Thanks for the 2 imp tips 1) semolina and 2) wait to remove them off the sheet. Great recipe !!
-jay
Jayshree, thanks so much for giving it a try and for the feedback. I have found another simple recipe for eggless macaroons without semolina and all. Will try to bake it and and post it here.
deepa says
Is it possible to post the original recipe please...? with coconut & Lime...?
Sorry Deepa, I don't remember it exactly. I got it from a book I borrowed in the library. It's Jill Sneider's Cookies.
Christiena says
The macaroons look great... have been trying to find an eggless recipe for these for long, so I'm glad to have found your page!
I do have a question though... can I omit the condensed milk somehow? Could I make my own unsweetened condensed milk by heating skim milk for long so that it reduces by 50-60% of its original volume...
Hmm..You can prepare it at home but I'm not sure how good it's going to be. Both the condensed milk as well as the macaroons. I googled for unsweetened condensed milk and found that evaporated milk IS unsweetened condensed milk. That's interesting! So try it with evaporated milk but the macaroons will not be sweet enough.
Sumi says
Madhu,
Am going to try these for my next party, I love your recipe formats, btw, the step by step instructions and pix are awesome! Thanks!
Sumi
Deepa says
With great efforts I removed all the wax paper that got struck to the cookies. My family really enjoyed them.
Thanks Madhuram.
Finally! You're welcome Deepa.
Deepa says
Hi Madhuram,
The macaroons came out very good and just like what you & pictures say. Thank you for a delicious recipe.
I made a terrible mistake though. I though i could substitute wax paper instead of parchment paper and all the cookies have a lining of the wax paper. And my house is full of smoke.
Thanks once again for the great recipe !!
I had a similar experience once. I too used waxed paper instead of parchment when baking some bars and it got stuck but it did not burn though!