Sometimes a recipe will come along that looks too easy to be interesting. These raspberry coconut macaroons – with just a few ingredients and taking about 15 mins to prep – definitely made me wonder whether they’d be a little bland.
But in Smitten Kitchen I trust. She has a wonderful knack of pairing flavours to make them sing. And this raspberry coconut macaroon recipe is no exception.
This recipe varies from the original because I could only find unsweetened coconut in the supermarket, not the sweetened coconut listed. I’ve increased the sugar here, being careful not to make the macaroons too sickly.
I used frozen raspberries the first time I made them, patted dry as recommended, but not defrosted. This meant they were a little extra fudgy-gooey in the middle as the colder fruit slowed the cooking very slightly. Fudgy-gooey is a plus in my books.
I’m looking forward to trying them again with fresh raspberries now they’re in season. Firstly to compare, but mainly because these macaroons need to be made any number of times, because they don’t hang around for long!
Note that I had the oven too high for these so they’re more golden than lightly toasted. Be warned: impatience will give you slightly over-cooked treats.
Before being convinced that these macaroons would step up to the flavour plate, I tried out dipping half the macaroon in dark chocolate. It was lovely, albeit rich, but to be honest it made the whole thing a bit complicated. It seems these macaroons are delicious because of their simplicity – not despite it.
Ingredients
- 400g unsweetened, desiccated coconut
- 260g granulated sugar
- 3 large egg whites
- Heaped 1/4 teaspoon flaked sea salt or level 1/4 teaspoon table salt
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 170g fresh or frozen raspberries (patted very dry if washed)
Method
- Preheat oven to 160°C. Line two large baking trays with greaseproof paper.
- Blend the coconut for a minute in a food processor.
- Add the sugar and blend for another minute.
- Add egg whites, salt and almond extract and blend for another minute.
- Add raspberries and pulse the machine on in short bursts until the raspberries are mostly broken down but not entirely so. Try to avoid fully mixing the batter; bands of white and pink are ideal.
- Scoop batter with a tablespoon to form 2.5cm little balls. The macaroons don’t spread when you cook them, so you can arrange the balls fairly close together.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until they look a little golden on top.
- Let them rest on the tray for 10 minutes after removing from oven, or until cool.
- Store in an air tight tin, if the make it that far.
