While daydreaming about midsummer’s days in the fading sunshine of the rolling Portuguese hills, I awoke in a fantasy of wispy white clouds and geraniums. I invited the feeling of warmth and blissful delight into my being, and an evocative desire of summer flavors loomed in the distance like a mirage.
It wasn’t long before a shiny plant-based meringue materialized in my kitchen. It met heaps of shredded coconut and dark chocolate icing in a perfect marriage of textures and flavors. Vegan coconut macaroons, a simple afternoon treat on an early spring summer’s day dream.
Prep Time: 30 min | Bake Time: 30-35 min | Makes: 18 | Difficulty Level: ♦♦♦ – Intermediate
the Macaroon
- 2 cups Coconut – shredded, unsweetened
- 1/2 cup Aquafaba
- 1/2 cup Sugar – white
- 1/4 cup Powdered Sugar
- 1/4 cup Rice Flour – white
- 1/4 tsp Crème of Tartar
- dash of Salt
- 1/2 tsp Pistachio Flavor (optional)
The chocolate drizzle
- 1/2 cup Chocolate Chunks – dark
- 2 tbsp Butter – plant-based
Making the vegan Coconut macaroons
In a medium bowl, put 1/2 cup aquafaba, e.g., chickpea water from a can. With an electric beater, whip the aquafaba at high speed for 5 minutes. While whipping the now foaming mixture, add the crème of tartar, a dash of salt, and pistachio flavoring if using any, plus the white sugar in small additions. Continue to beat for 5 more minutes. When a thicker, white shiny creamy mixture starts to form, add the powdered sugar, also in small addition. Continue to whip on high until the meringue is glossy and swirly, but not stiff. Overall, you should be whipping the aquafaba meringue for about 15 minutes.
In a large bowl, place 2 cups-worth of meringue. Incorporate the shredded coconut, ensuring that the shreds are not lumped together, and the rice flour. Mix with a spatula in gentle, circular motions from bottom in order to envelop the dry ingredients into the whipped aquafaba without loosing all the airiness of the meringue. Do not overmix – stop combining the ingredients as soon as incorporated.
Preheat oven to 325ºF.
On a greased cookie sheet, drop 1 tsp of coconut mixture shaped into a small ball. Flatten the top slightly. Repeat these steps until you run out of mixture (the recipe makes approximately 18-20 coconut macaroons).
Bake at 325ºF for 15-20 minutes on the medium-lower rack of your oven. Increase the temperature to 370ºF and bake on a higher rack for 8-10 more minutes or until a nice golden tinge colors the top of your coconut macaroons.
Remove from the oven and let cool completely before applying the chocolate.
The chocolate drizzle
On a stove top, melt the chocolate chunks with the butter to make a glossy icing. While the chocolate is still hot, dip the coconut macaroons just deep enough to coat the bottom, place them on a large sheet of wax paper, and drizzle the extra chocolate icing on top. Let the icing cool and eat in delight.
EXTRAS AND TIPS
You can use the remainder of the meringue in cakes or cookies, or simply to make swiss meringue. If you choose to make a meringue out of what’s left after mixing the dough for the coconut macaroons, choose a low oven setting and temperature when baking. A too warm of an oven may cause the air whipped into the meringue to escape too quickly. If that happens, the meringue will turn back into aquafaba, and you don’t want to scrape the meringue off your oven walls… Trust me, I’ve done that and it wasn’t any fun.
When baking the coconut macaroons, you want to initially place the cookie sheet on lower oven rack to then make the way up later when increasing the temperature. The coconut macaroons will come out too dry if they bake at a higher temperature and on a higher rack from the beginning.
