Vegan Macaroons – Fluffy Coconut Cookies
These vegan macaroons are soft, fluffy coconut cookies made in one bowl of a food processor and finished with a dark chocolate drizzle. You blend shredded coconut with coconut cream, coconut flour, maple syrup and vanilla, scoop the batter into little mounds, bake until golden, then dip or drizzle them in melted dark chocolate. No eggs, no dairy, no condensed milk — just coconut in three forms doing all the work.
If you love sweets as much as I do, then you’ll surely fall in love with this recipe. I must be honest and say that one of the things I found the hardest when I became a vegan was finding a solution for my absolute love for sweets. Cakes, candy, creams, fillings, cookies — you name it, I love it! I’m so happy that we live in a time when it’s so convenient to be vegan and I don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything. My last round of sweet cooking involved this vegan recipe for macaroons that I’m sharing with you today.
What makes these coconut macaroons vegan
Classic macaroons usually lean on egg whites to bind and sweetened condensed milk to hold everything together. This version skips both. Coconut cream brings the richness that condensed milk normally would, coconut flour absorbs excess moisture and gives structure, and the maple syrup sweetens while helping the mixture cling to itself. The result is a fluffy, tender coconut cookie that stays fully plant-based, and the dark chocolate drizzle on top is made with vegan chocolate chips, so the whole thing is dairy-free from start to finish.
The ingredients, and what each one does
There are only a handful of ingredients here, and every one of them earns its place. A quick note on each before you start:
- Dry shredded coconut — the body of the macaroon. Use unsweetened shredded (desiccated) coconut so you control the sweetness yourself.
- Coconut cream — the binder and the source of that fluffy richness. This is the thick part, not thin coconut milk. Chilling a can of full-fat coconut milk overnight and scooping the solid top layer works if you can’t find dedicated cream.
- Coconut flour — soaks up moisture and firms the batter so the mounds hold their shape. It’s very absorbent, so don’t swap it one-to-one for regular flour. The card notes you can use almond or oat flour instead if that’s what you have.
- Maple syrup — sweetens and adds a little stickiness that helps everything bind.
- Vanilla paste or extract — rounds out the coconut and adds warmth.
- Dark vegan chocolate chips — for the drizzle. Check the label, since not every dark chocolate is dairy-free.
- A little boiling water and salt — the water loosens the chocolate to a pourable consistency and the pinch of salt sharpens all the sweet flavors.
How to make them fluffy, not crumbly
My recipe is quite simple, so don’t feel intimidated as many people do when it comes to baking sweets. A food processor does the mixing in one go, and the whole thing comes together fast. A few pointers make the difference between mounds that hold and mounds that fall apart:
- Pack the batter firmly. When you scoop with a small measuring spoon, press the mixture together so each mound is compact. Loosely piled batter is the main reason macaroons crumble in the oven.
- Watch the color, not just the clock. Bake at 180C for 20 to 30 minutes and pull them when the edges are golden and the tops look set and lightly crisp. Ovens vary, so start checking at the 20-minute mark.
- Let them cool before you move them. They firm up as they cool. Lifting them off the tray while still hot is how they break, so rest them on a rack first.
- Drizzle the chocolate low and slow. Melt the vegan chocolate chips gently over a bain-marie (a bowl over simmering water), stir in the water to loosen, then drizzle. Direct high heat scorches chocolate quickly.
Variations and easy swaps
Once you have the base down, these are easy to play with:
- Flour swap: almond flour or oat flour both work in place of coconut flour, as noted on the card. Keep in mind coconut flour is the most absorbent of the three, so the batter may feel slightly softer with the others.
- Fully dip them: instead of a drizzle, dunk the bottoms in the melted vegan chocolate for a proper chocolate-and-coconut cookie.
- Adjust the sweetness: the maple syrup is your sweetness dial. Start with the amount in the card and taste the raw batter before scooping.
- Make it a coconut dessert spread: if you love this flavor, you’ll probably enjoy other coconut-forward sweets too.
Storing, gifting and serving
Once the chocolate has set in the fridge for about 15 minutes, these keep beautifully. Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for a few days, or in the fridge for up to a week if your kitchen runs warm and you want the chocolate to stay firm. They also freeze well: layer them between parchment in a sealed container and thaw at room temperature when a coconut craving hits. And I just love the colorful, joyful and cute appearance of cakes and cookies — so much that none of the sweets I bake go unphotographed.
These are lovely alongside a coffee or tea in the afternoon, and they make a really nice edible gift. Whenever I show this recipe to my friends, I end up sending them home with the written recipe, as these macaroons always leave you craving for more. If you’re putting together a homemade sweets box, they sit happily next to raw coconut bonbons, chocolate chip coconut muffins, or a batch of whole grain cookies.
I hope I’ve convinced you to try these out. If you make them, I’d love to know how your batch turned out — did you drizzle or fully dip the chocolate? Leave a rating and a comment below with any swaps you tried, and if you try this recipe once, I’m quite sure we’ll meet here again.
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Vegan Macaroons – Fluffy Coconut Cookies
Ingredients
For the macaroons:
- 200 g 3 cups dry shreded coconut
- 250 g 1 cup coconut cream
- 75 g 2/3 cup coconut flour (you can also use almond or oat flour)
- 110 g ½ cup maple syrup
- 3 tsp vanilla paste or extract
For the chocolate:
- 85 g ½ cup dark vegan chocolate chips
- 2 Tbsp water boiling
- ⅓ tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C.
- Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Add all macaroons ingredients to a food processor and mix until fully incorporated.
- Using a small measuring spoon, scoop the batter and place it into the baking tray. Make sure it is packed together so it doesn't fall apart.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes until golden and crispy.
- Remove from the oven and let cool on a rack.
- Return the macaroons to the parchment paper.
- To prepare the chocolate, melt the dark chocolate chips on bain-marie, add the rest of ingredients, mix to combine and drizzle over the macaroons.
- Let the macaroons set in the fridge for about 15 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Every ingredient is plant-based: shredded coconut, coconut cream, coconut flour, maple syrup, vanilla, and dark vegan chocolate chips. There are no eggs, no dairy, and no condensed milk, so they’re fully vegan and dairy-free as long as you use chocolate chips labeled vegan.
They’re two different cookies. Macaroons (with two o’s) are these dense, chewy coconut mounds. Macarons (one o) are the delicate French almond-flour sandwich cookies with a smooth shell and filling. This recipe is for coconut macaroons.
Yes. The recipe card notes that almond flour or oat flour both work in place of coconut flour. Just keep in mind coconut flour is the most absorbent of the three, so with almond or oat flour the batter may feel a little softer and you may want to pack the mounds especially firmly.
The most common cause is batter that wasn’t packed tightly enough when scooped. Press each mound together firmly with a small measuring spoon so it holds its shape. Also let the macaroons cool fully before moving them, since they firm up as they cool and break easily while hot.
Keep them in an airtight container at room temperature for a few days, or in the fridge for up to about a week if you want the chocolate to stay firm. They also freeze well: layer them between parchment in a sealed container and thaw at room temperature when you want one.
No, the chocolate is optional. The coconut macaroons are delicious on their own. If you do want chocolate, you can drizzle the melted vegan chocolate over the top as written, or dip the bottoms for a fuller chocolate-and-coconut cookie.
Aaaabsolutely delicious! 😍