These keto coconut macaroons are one of my favorite cookies. If you love coconut like I do, then you will adore these! They are made with a keto version of sweetened condensed milk and are so soft and chewy, it will be hard to limit yourself to a "reasonable" portion. Luckily, they freeze beautifully!
These cookies are inspired by our favorite non-keto coconut macaroons from Once Upon a Chef. We loved that recipe so much that my daughter made them as favors for her wedding last year. That's a lot of cookies! But they are incredible and I knew I had to revise the recipe to a low carb version with no sugar added. I adapted the condensed milk recipe from Add a Pinch.
How to make keto coconut macaroons?
- Combine the heavy cream and powdered substitute sweetener in a saucepan.
- On medium-low heat, stir the mixture continuously until it begins to simmer.
- Çontinue stirring until cream has thickened and coats a wooden spoon. It will cook down to about half the original amount of cream.
- If you want it a bit thicker, you can add ¼ teaspoon of xanthan gum powder and stir well.
- Remove from heat. Pour into a large bowl. Stir in the vanilla, salt and butter until combined. Let cool for a few minutes before adding the egg whites and coconut and stir thoroughly.
- Spoon the cookie dough onto parchment paper lined baking sheets.
- Bake for 18-20 or until light golden.
Some helpful baking tips:
- The secret to thick, creamy sweetened condensed milk that does not burn is to cook it low and slow, stirring very frequently. This is not a recipe you would want to walk away from the stove to do something else.
- Once it comes to a light bubble around the edges of pan, turn down the heat and keep stirring. You will notice it begins to thicken to a light golden color, and will coat a wooden spoon. And it will start to smell like caramel. Mine took about 20-30 minutes, so this is not a quick process, but totally worth it for delicious, moist cookies.
- The heavy cream/sweetener mixture will condense down to about half its original liquid volume.
- Make sure you don't use sweetened coconut flakes, they are not low carb/keto and will be much too sweet.
- For 15 large cookies, you can use a small muffin scoop for the dough. If you'd like 20 smaller cookies, a small cookie scoop will work. You will adjust the baking time to 12-15 minutes.
- Remove macaroons to cooling rack while you melt the chocolate.
- You can heat the chocolate in a microwave and stir at 30 second intervals until it has melted. Or you can melt over a double boiler on the stovetop.
- Dip the bottoms of macaroons and place on parchment on a cookie sheet.
- To help the chocolate set, place sheet in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes.
How to store and freeze keto coconut macaroons?
- The macaroons will keep at room temperature in an airtight container for 3 or 4 days. You can also refrigerate them for another week.
- To freeze the macaroons, make sure they are cooled and the chocolate has fully set. Into a container, place cookies that have been layered with parchment paper to prevent sticking together. I found it's better to use a container rather than a zipper bag to prevent the macaroons from crumbling.
- Thaw overnight at room temperature.
If you love coconut, you will want to try these delicious sweets:
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Keto Coconut Macaroons
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 60 minutes
- Yield: 15-20 1x
- Category: Cookie
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
These keto coconut macaroons are soft and chewy, made with a keto version of sweetened condensed milk. Coconut lovers will adore these delicious, chocolate dipped cookies.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
- ½ cup powdered sugar substitute ( I used Swerve)
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum (optional)
- 3 ½ cups unsweetened coconut flakes
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large egg whites
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 oz. semi-sweet or dark chocolate bar, made with sugar substitute ( I used Choc Zero)
Instructions
- Combine powdered sweetener and heavy cream in saucepan on stovetop. While stirring constantly, heat on medium-low heat until it comes to a very low boil (bubbles along the edges). Turn heat down to low, simmer and continue to stir. Check that the cream does not burn or stick to the bottom by stirring frequently. You will know that it is ready when you see that the cream has thickened, reduced in volume, turned light golden color and coats a spoon.*
- Remove from heat to cool and add in the butter and xanthan gum if using.
- Preheat oven to 325°F. In a large bowl, mix the cooled condensed milk, vanilla, egg whites, salt and coconut. Stir to combine well.
- Using a small muffin scoop or cookie scoop, form the cookies onto a parchment lined cookie sheet.
- Bake 18-20 minutes for 15 large macaroons or 12-15 minutes for 20 smaller macaroons.
- Let cool on rack while melting chocolate in microwave or over double boiler.
- Dip macaroons in melted chocolate and place on parchment. Refrigerate to fully set the chocolate.
Notes
*While cooking the heavy cream on stovetop, the secret to success is very frequent stirring on low heat. You will avoid burning the bottom and the cream will cook to the perfect golden, thickened consistency.
**The macaroons will keep at room temperature for 3-4 days or can be refrigerated for an additional week. Or store leftovers? in the freezer layered in parchment in an airtight container.
megan says
These definitely look amazing, and I love Once Upon A Chef too! I will be adding these to my "to bake" list right away
Cindy says
Yum! would love to make these, We cannot have dairy so I would use canned coconut milk and vegan butter. My family would love these!
Allison says
I have been doing keto off and on so this sounds great. Can’t wait to make this weekend.