Filipino coconut macaroons are the easiest and the chewiest treats you’ll make this holiday season. Just 5 ingredients, done in 30 minutes, delicious!
(Looking for more Filipino Christmas treats? Food for the gods is an all-time favorite and ube crinkles are on everyone’s cookie wish list!)
Filipino macaroons are most often made around the holidays and other celebrations like Easter, but my mom would make them all year-round.
Simple ingredients, easy to make, always a hit with us kids and the adults too.
My mom’s macaroons recipe had butter in it but I left it out in my recipe because I find it a little too oily (sorry, mom).
Happily, these are very close to traditional Filipino macaroons (like the macaroons you can buy from Goldilocks).
Coconut macaroons are also very easy to customize. I give suggestions for delicious variations in the FAQs below.
For now, let’s bake!
What makes Filipino macaroons different
Macaroons were such a big part of my childhood that I actually thought they were a uniquely Filipino treat.
Only later did I realize a lot of countries have their own spin on the recipe.
The ingredients remain fairly similar — coconut, condensed milk, some recipes have flour and baking powder, and some are dipped in chocolate.
What makes Filipino coconut macaroons different is that they’re baked like cupcakes and not cookies. The batter is scooped into cupcake liners or paper cups instead of on a cookie sheet.
(Check this out if you’re looking for French macarons.)
Why you’ll love this recipe
You’ll love this Pinoy macaroons recipe because:
- Easy to make. You don’t need a mixer or special ingredients and there’s no need to chill the batter. Just mix, scoop, bake and enjoy. Make macaroons with the kids!
- 5 ingredients. And they’re all easy to find in your local supermarket.
- No-fail recipe. It’s also a very forgiving recipe. It’s not finicky and you don’t need to beat or fold the batter just right.
- Many variations. It’s very easy to tailor to your tastes too. Add chocolate, nuts and all your favorite things.
- Great for dessert and snacking. Because they’re sweet, you’d automatically think Filipino macaroons are eaten for dessert. And they are. However, they’re also usually enjoyed as a snack (merienda) and popular at picnics and in lunch boxes too. And since this recipe makes a big batch of 48 macaroons, they’re great to give out as holiday presents as well.
- Tastes just like you remember them. Best of all, if you grew up eating them like I did, these pinoy coconut macaroons are a delicious trip down memory lane.
How to make
This chewy coconut macaroons recipe couldn’t get any simpler. We start with very few, easy-to-find ingredients.
Ingredient notes
You only need 5 ingredients to make Filipino macaroons. A few things to remember:
- Coconut — I usually use unsweetened shredded coconut. But I’ve also used sweetened shredded coconut and I didn’t find that version that much sweeter. Use whatever is available.
- Condensed milk — for best results, use full-fat sweetened condensed milk.
- Egg whites — you’ll need egg whites from 2 large eggs. They need to be at room temperature but it’s easier to separate the whites from the yolks when the eggs are cold. So what I do is separate them straight out of the fridge, then leave the whites on the counter until I’m ready to use them.
(Related: Recipes That Use Leftover Egg Yolks)
Baking tools
I don’t use a mixer when making macaroons; the batter gets really sticky and I find it easier to mix using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula.
You will need mini cupcake pans and, when transferring the dough, a cookie scoop helps but you can also use regular spoons.
Step-by-step photos
Preheat your oven to 325F. Line a mini cupcake pan with paper liners. You’ll need two pans.
In a large bowl, combine shredded coconut, condensed milk and vanilla extract.
Mix until well blended.
In another bowl, whisk egg whites and salt.
Whisk to medium peaks.
Add egg whites into coconut mixture.
Fold until combined.
Scoop batter into each cupcake cup. Don’t be afraid to overfill each cup; the macaroons won’t spread.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the tops start to turn golden brown and a toothpick inserted in a few of the macaroons come out with minimal dry crumbs.
Cool the macaroons in the pan for 2-3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
It’s that easy!
Recipe FAQs
Lots of people mistake a macaroon for a macaron. Their names sound similar but they are two very different treats.
A macaroon is made of desiccated coconut or shredded coconut and sweetened condensed milk.
A macaron, on the other hand, is a French confection made of two almond flour meringue cookies with a ganache, frosting or jam filling.
Most Filipino macaroon recipes use desiccated coconut but it’s not always available in our local supermarket so I use shredded coconut.
I also sometimes use flaked coconut if that’s what’s available. Any of the 3 will work.
I’ve also used both sweetened and unsweetened coconut and I don’t find one significantly sweeter than the other.
If you’re concerned about the sugar content, opt for unsweetened. Otherwise, grab what’s available.
This recipe is easily customizable.
– You can add chocolate chips to the batter.
– You can also dip the macaroons in chocolate, similar to how macaroons are prepared in North America. Drizzling them with chocolate is an option too.
– Not a fan of dark chocolate? Try white chocolate. Just watch that your macaroons don’t get too sweet.
– You want ube-flavoured macaroons? Add ube extract to your batter or if you can find it, use ube condensed milk.
– You can also add your favourite nuts or dried fruit for a chunkier bite.
If you don’t have a mini cupcake pan, you can still make macaroons using a regular-sized cupcake pan. Just add a few minutes to the baking time.
You can also just drop spoonfuls of macaroon batter into a cookie sheet.
To store macaroons, allow them to cool completely and place them in an airtight container. They should last up to a week on your counter.
Macaroons are also freezer-friendly. Just place them in a freezer-safe container. Frozen macaroons should last at least a month.
To thaw, remove macaroons from container and allow to come down to room temperature.
Other Filipino desserts you can serve this Christmas season
- Add a vibrant purple to your cookie tray this season by making soft and chewy ube cookies. Packed with real ube halaya and studded with white chocolate chips for the perfect ube treat.
- Want to keep it simple? Make a batch of lengua de gato — Filipino butter cookies that are thin, crispy and so buttery.
- Yema cake is everyone’s favourite soft and airy chiffon cake, filled with rich and thick yema spread, and covered in mouthwatering yema frosting.
- And it doesn’t get more festive than crema de fruta, made of delicious layers of soft fluffy cake, rich creamy custard, and fruit blanketed in gelatine.
Happy baking!
Did you try this filipino macaroons recipe? I’d love to hear all about it! Leave a comment or a star rating below. You can also tag me on Instagram or Facebook. I’d love to see your creations!
You can also find me on Pinterest, Twitter and YouTube.
Filipino Coconut Macaroons
Ingredients
- 9 oz shredded coconut (about 4 cups) see notes
- 1 10-oz can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 pieces egg whites from large eggs room temperature
- ¼ tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325F. Line cupcake pan with paper liners (see notes).
- In a large bowl, combine shredded coconut, condensed milk and vanilla extract until well blended.9 oz shredded coconut (about 4 cups), 1 10-oz can sweetened condensed milk, 1 tsp vanilla extract
- In another bowl, whisk egg whites and salt to medium peaks.2 pieces egg whites from large eggs, ¼ tsp salt
- Fold egg whites into the coconut mixture until combined.
- Scoop coconut macaroon batter into each cupcake cup. Don’t be afraid to overfill each cup; the macaroons won’t spread.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the tops start to turn golden brown and a toothpick inserted in a few of the macaroons come out with minimal dry crumbs.
- Cool the macaroons in the pan for 2-3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Video
Notes
- Final yield depends on how much batter you scoop in your cupcake cups. I overfill mine and get 48 macaroons from this recipe. That is what the estimated nutrition information is based on.
- You’ll need (2) 24-cavity mini cupcake pans for this recipe.
- You can use sweetened or unsweetened shredded coconut (I usually use unsweetened). Or desiccated or flaked coconut if shredded coconut is not available.
- See post for more baking tips, storage instructions and FAQs.
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only.
Rede
Love these macaroons! I put cranberries in mine when it’s the Christmas season.
Jolina
That sounds delicious!
Jan
This is an easy and delicious recipe. My kids loved it. But we had a hard time removing the macaroons from the cupcake cups. Any ideas?
Jolina
Hi Jan, glad you and the kids loved the macaroons. They do tend to get very sticky. I’ve had the most success using greaseproof or glassine cupcake liners. They still stick, but not as much.
Carla
My mom always made the mini macaroons and I’m glad I can use this recipe to make that too. Excited to try!
Melanie
We love home baking, it is so much fun and these look very yummy, so will be trying these out for sure xx
Shar
This is a mouth-watering recipe! I want to try it out soon. Shredded coconut is rare where I live. I’ll check the FAQ for alternatives. I hope to use grated coconut instead.
Neely Moldovan
These sound so so so good! I love anything macaroons!