If you ever decide to start your own small pastry food business, here is my gift to you – my original recipe for
“Chef Keem’s Tres Leches Coconut Macaroons”.
For the last 6 years, I’ve been selling my macaroons at farmers markets and to Austin-area wholesale accounts. Most of the time I can’t keep up with the demand. My “tres leches” recipe version of the regular condensed milk macaroon is that good!
Tres Leches Coconut Macaroons
What makes my macaroon recipe so successful?
Although these are easy to make macaroons, they’re very rich. The commonly known “deluxe” recipe for coconut macaroons asks for condensed milk and cream. I wanted to top that and added a third “milk” to the recipe: sour cream. Hence – “tres leches” (three milks). The tang of the sour cream counteracts the heavy sweetness of the condensed milk, adds richness and keeps the batter together during baking.
By the way, if you’re on a gluten free diet – this is a flourless coconut macaroons recipe!
My second special feature in my coconut macaroon recipe is the addition of Mexican vanilla instead of a regular extract.
How to make my coconut macaroon cookies
For 24/3 ozs. macaroons we will need…
- 5 or 6-qt. stand mixer
- #12 ice cream scoop
- rubber spatula
- 4/14 ozs. bags of sweetened coconut flakes
- 2/14 ozs. cans of sweetened condensed milk (in Germany, you must use “gezuckerte” Kondensmilch, i.e. Baerenmarke Milchmaedchen!)
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 2 Tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 Tablespoon Mexican vanilla
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Macaroon ingredients
Gather all ingredients. Place the contents of three bags in the mixer…
Sour cream & vanilla!
Add condensed milk, cream, sour cream, vanilla, and turn the mixer on slow speed… —>
Mix well
Add the fourth bag of coconut flakes to the running mixer. Combine well, for about 30 seconds.
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Scrape bowl & spatula
Scrape the bowl and the spatula; combine by hand (it is too sticky for the mixer to turn on again).
Grab a heaped scoop… —>
Scoop a cookie
Pack lightly
Gently fold the excess batter into the scoop and press down.
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Space on sheet
Four rows down and six wide on a full sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Depending on how you pack them in, you might get 2 or 3 extra.
Bake at 325
Bake in a 325 degree oven until light golden brown with dark-brown tips… —>
Golden brown
After about 15 minutes, take the macaroons out of the oven and cool the pan on a rack.
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You can dip the cool coconut macaroons in melted dark, milk, or white chocolate, or any variations thereof. It is absolutely fabulous!
Choco-dipped macs
Feel free to add a handful of chocolate chips to the batter, or butterscotch or peanut butter morsels. Add a tablespoon of espresso flakes dissolved in a little hot water along with any chips. Other flavoring ingredients may include candied ginger or pineapple pieces; dried cherries, rum raisins…whatever you like. This batter is very addition-friendly as long as you don’t add too much liquid along with it.
Let me know how you like this recipe, in the comment box below. And as always – feel free to ask your questions. I promise to answer them promptly. (Oh, yeah – one of these miracle balls has about 385 calories. Non-dipped. So what.) 
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Thanks for posting the recipe, Chef Keem. I used to get them from you at the Farmer’s Market and missed them terribly. I guess there are worse things to be addicted to!
Oh…Hi Sue!
Actually, we’re selling our macaroons through Live Oak Market, at Ben White and Manchaca Rd., and at Thom’s Market on Barton Springs Rd., next to Romeo’s Restaurant near Lamar.
If you’re in the neighborhood…
Take care,
Keem
How do you prepare the chocolate you dip into. When I use chocolate chips, melted in a bowl over simmering h20, the chocolate can turn “spotty”. They taste good but don’t look as good. I think chips I use, Ghirardelli dark chips, sometimes feels hard or firm when it hardens, I suspect due to the stabilizers. Any suggestions for a smoother or softer chocolate dip?
Thank you,
Nancy
Did I overlook your question, Nancy? I apologize.
It’s best to use “dipping chocolate”, not chocolate chips. Baker’s has a product on grocery store shelves, or you can get Guittard Dark Chocolate “A-peels” online or at a bakery supply store.
Best regards,
Chef Keem
After you make these wonderful coconut macaroons–how long will they keep and what is the best way to store them? I want to make these for a party and I want to know How far in-advance I can make them.
Thank You,
Johanna
Hi Johanna,
I usually pack my macaroons individually in cellophane bags. They last about 4 weeks before they get a bit dry.
If you want to make yours a few days ahead, just layer them in a box or a plastic container with a tight lid.
These are really sturdy cookies that stay fresh for a long time, as long as you don’t expose them to air for too long…then they get dry on the outside.
Best,
Chef Keem
this recipe looks amazing! I can’t wait to try it. If I wanted to order some, is this possible and how much per dozen?
Hi Cindy,
thanks for your kind words. I don’t ship these macaroons, but if you live in the Austin, TX area I can give you a list of stores that carry them. Let me know.
Best,
Keem
SO far the best! Thank you for the recipe!
Thank you, Mel.
Let me know if you come up with any improvements.
Best,
Keem
Hey it’s me from the brownie post. Made these today but they stuck to the pan very bad, I think I used wax paper instead of parchment paper is this why? Also had to cook for about 30 minutes before they browned, any ideas?
Uh-oh…can’t use wax paper for baking. It sticks. I use parchment and even spray it lightly with nonstick spray.
To get the macaroons off the wax paper, turn the whole thing over and keep brushing the underside of the paper with cold water. After a while you can pull it off a bit easier.
30 minutes is way too long. The macs should be finished sooner. Only the tips and the bottom should be browned.
You don’t have to bake it through because there are no raw ingredients in them.
I bake them at 325-350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Best,
Keem
Yup won’t be using wax paper next time haha. It took the 30 mins just for the tops to be very light browned and the bottoms to be just starting to caramelize, most peculiar indeed..
Maybe your oven is not calibrated correctly. Check it with an oven thermometer.
love it, absolutely delicious, tthanks for sharing chefkeem
Thank you so much, Wei!
I have a question about the measurement, because I didnt get the same amount of macaroons. can you tell me how much gram is 4/14 ozs? I just want to make sure.
thanks chefkeem
Hi Wei,
4/14 ozs = 56 ozs = 1588 grams
However, the size of the scoop is important for the final count.
I use the biggest one – a #12.
My yield is usually 27 macaroons.
Keem
HELP!!!! I make your macaroons all the time and everyone loves them!!! Last week I didn’t have time to bake for the guys at work so I grabbed a container of macaroons at SAMs club (don’t say it) they were horrible but one of the of the kinds were red velvet coconut macaroons and that’s when the gears started to turn. I have few days off and I thought hmmm wonder if I could mad scientist a recipe for these any suggestions?? Would love your advise!
Thanks Deb
Well, you could add red food color (it’s bad for us, though) to the batter and then dip the macs half in chocolate. You’ll get “red” and “chocolate, just like a red velvet cake. But why, Deb? I’d rather leave the macaroons as they are and adjust the coating/decoration for the Holiday Season. For instance, dip them in white chocolate and sprinkle some peppermint crunch on top – right after dipping, before the coating sets. Or “glue” some sugary leaves, reindeer antlers, jingle bells, etc. with a little white or dark chocolate on top of the dipped section. Or add some rum extract to the condensed milk. Or a combination of all the above: Santa’s Super Macs!