I recently discovered Trader Joe's dark chocolate macaroons which met my gluten free/dairy free restrictions and was everything I had been missing in a dessert. However, the long list of ingredients and excessive refined sugar content did not sit well with me. So, I ventured out into the world wide web on a search for a simpler recipe which means I googled "dairy free gluten free coconut macaroons."
I found several recipes with varying complexities and ingredients. I pulled from a few and tried my own method on a whim and it turned out remarkably well! With only 7 ingredients, I'm happy to have the quick, healthy crowd pleaser in my back pocket. Recipe is at the end of the post.
3 cups shredded coconut
2 tbsp maple syrup
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
2 egg whites
pinch of sugar
1 tbsp coconut oil (melted)
72% (or higher) dark chocolate bar (dairy free)
Turn oven on to 350º. Blend 1 1/2 cups of shredded coconut in food processor until grainy. Add with rest of shredded coconut. Add maple syrup, vanilla extract, and mix well. Whip 2 egg whites and a pinch of salt (absolutely no yolk!!) until peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture. Use ice-cream scooper to gather 1 1/2 tbsp of mixture into hand and roll little balls. Place on pan lined with parchment paper (necessary when baking something like this). Drizzle or brush melted coconut oil onto top of macaroons. Place in oven for 20ish minutes - until golden brown on top and sides. While they are out of the oven, cooling, slowing melt broken up chocolate bar in a sauce pan over low heat while continuously stirring (only takes 3-5 minutes). Move melted chocolate into a small bow with a pouring tip and slowly drizzle chocolate onto macaroons (they can still be in the pan a this point)! Let cool completely and enjoy!
**full disclosure: with so little ingredients there needs to be an agent to keep the little macaroons together post baking. I suggest blending up half of the coconut flakes in a mini food processor until a smoother texture is achieved. I skipped that step with this batch pictured and regretted it. They looked and tasted perfect until we bit into them causing them to crumble in your fingers. They were still delicious but you look a mess eating them. The drizzled chocolate on top helped but not quite enough. If you don't have a small food processor, another option would to be adding a tablespoon of coconut flour to the recipe.