Coconut Macaroons, oh hey they’re vegan!

These delicious coconut macaroons are terrifically easy to make, a bit of a one bowl wonder! It took a few batches to get it right but I’m thrilled with these. Normally this type of macaroon is made with egg whites but I wanted an equally delicious vegan version so I ditched the eggs and experimented. They contain no flour making them a wonderful gluten-free treat as well. You don’t have to coat them in chocolate, however I love the contrast of the bitter dark chocolate against the sweet, moist interior. It makes them much more decadent, and pretty.

We were on baby-sitting duty today so we took little Martha down to the park to feed the ducks. This shy little swan, despite it’s size, hardly got any of the bread confetti but was happy to pose for a picture!

Vegan Coconut Macaroons

oven 180 C / gas 4 / 350 F

baking sheet lined with parchment, makes approx 8 macaroons

• 200 ml {4/5 cup } vegan milk of your choice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 tbsp golden syrup { maple or corn syrup}
• 3 tbsp golden caster sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 200 g {2 cups } unsweetened desiccated coconut
• 75 g {3/4 cup } ground almonds

• 100 g {2 ounces } dark chocolate, to decorate

Put milk into a large mixing bowl and heat in the microwave for a minute or so to not quite boiling point. Add the vanilla extract, the golden syrup, sugar and salt. Combine, then stir in the coconut and the ground almonds. You should now have a damp mixture that holds its shape when made into a ball.

Either pack the mixture into an ice-cream scoop and drop onto your parchment covered baking sheet, or do as I did and mould golf ball sized portions of the mixture in your hand into rounded domes. Bake for about 12 minutes until they are just starting to colour, some of the coconut will catch and darken, which looks lovely.

Leave on the baking sheet for 10 minutes then the macaroons should lift off easily, cool completely on a wire rack.

Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of barely simmering water {make sure the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl}. Once melted, place a few spoonfuls of it into a piping bag fitted with a small plain nozzle {or simply a plastic food bag with the corner snipped off}, set this to the side for the moment. Dip each of the cooled macaroons into the rest of the chocolate to cover the bottoms then leave to set on either greaseproof paper or, ideally, a silicon mat. Use the chocolate in the piping bag to drizzle chocolate across the tops of the macaroons. You can speed up the setting of the chocolate by placing them in the fridge.

They’re surprisingly portable and filling, perfect for picnics and packed lunches. They would also be lovely with a cup of tea, especially out of a flask on a crisp autumn day. Pop them on a cake stand, enrobe them each in a paper cupcake liner and they’re all set for afternoon tea. What a versatile little treat!

They would be great fun for children to make, plenty of opportunity to get their hands sticky. Please don’t be put off by the vegan tag, they are super tasty and you could use regular cows milk if you wished.

Happy eating xxx