One of Amy’s favorite flavor combinations? Dark chocolate and coconut. Must be genetics, because, yeah, we get it. We were determined to create a cookie that would remind us of the flavors of Almond Joy or Mounds, and we’re pleased to say we’ve done just that. Our coconut macaroons are dipped in dark chocolate, drizzled in dark chocolate, with a nice little crunch on the outside and a chewy, moist coconutty inside.

The first hurdle we had to jump was choosing the best unsweetened coconut for the macaroon. We tried three varieties: frozen, flaked, and shredded. The clear winner? Shredded. For our cookies we found Anthony’s unsweetened shreddded coconut gave us superior results with just the right texture and flavor. Amazon sells, of course.

You’ll need to whip up a batch of our Keto Sugar-Free Condensed Milk (we usually make a day or two ahead of time) which produces a moist and chewy interior. We tried creating the macaroons without it, and weren’t satisfied with the texture.

Start with 7 ounces of unsweetened shredded coconut, and if you don’t have a scale, that’s roughly 3 cups, as long as you are using the shredded variety. Mix in 1/2 cup of our Keto Sugar-Free Condensed Milk and 2 tsp of almond or vanilla extract and set aside. We use almond extract, but vanilla extract or a combination of the two work fine as well.

Next, use an electric mixer to whip up 2 room temperature egg whites (and optional pinch of salt) until they form medium-stiff peaks. Our macaroons aren’t a super sweet cookie, so if you prefer a sweeter flavor, you can slowly sprinkle in about 1/4 cup of a granulated sugar replacement, like Swerve or truvia, etc., into the beaten egg whites and continue beating until it’s well-incorporated. Gently fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture.

We use a large cookie scoop to place 20 macaroons on an 11″ x 17″ cookie sheet that’s lined with parchment paper and sprayed with a no stick spray like Pam. Use your fingers to reshape the cookies if necessary. They only need to be spaced about an inch apart as they don’t spread. Press an almond or two into the top of the macaroon for the taste of an Almond Joy.

Place the pan in the middle rack of a 325 degree F oven for 20-22 minutes, or until the macaroons start to brown a bit. Remove from the oven and make sure to cool them completely before moving onto the next step – CHOCOLATE!  We put ours in the refrigerator or freezer to speed up this step.

And now comes the fun part – dipping and drizzling chocolate. Melt the chocolate with your preferred method, either in a double boiler on the stovetop, or in the microwave in 15-20 second intervals until smooth. We use a 3.5 oz Lindt Excellence 78% cacao bar. It’s pure dark chocolate with rich, true flavors of cacao. You can substitute with the same weight (3.5 oz) of Lily’s dark chocolate baking chips if you prefer. With the Lindt bar, the net carb count is 1.75 grams per macaroon. With Lily’s, it’s 1.4 grams per macaroon. Dip the bottom of each macaroon into the chocolate and return it to the lined baking sheet. Drizzle additional chocolate on top of the macaroons if desired. Then pop the pan  into the fridge until the chocolate is set, about 20 minutes.

For more sweet treats, we’re sure you’ll love our Keto Nanaimo Bars, Keto Magic Cookie Bars, or our Keto Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Fudge!