Here's How You Can Make Macaroons Better
Here are ways we know will make it tastier!

What are macaroons? There is a big difference between macarons and macaroons. While both are made with egg whites, that is where their similarities end (learn more about their differences in this article). The French macaron is an almond cookie made with almond flour. Meanwhile, the coconut macaroons that Filipinos grew up with are coconut cookies; these macaroons usually have ingredients like condensed milk and the leftover niyog (grated coconut meat) from making gata or coconut cream.
It's a super easy cookie recipe to make that is also easy to make even more delicious! Here are other ways you can make your macaroons taste better:Â

1 Add chocolate. Â
The typical macaroon may seem and look boring, so why not make it more appetizing with chocolate? Coconuts and chocolate might be an unusual pairing, but the sweet, mellow flavor of coconuts really lends itself well to chocolate undertones.
There are different kinds of chocolates to choose from; depending on how sweet you like your macaroons, you could use milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or even white chocolate! The key is to melt your choice of chocolate well:Â slowly while stirring constantly over double-boiler or in 30-second bursts in the microwave, stirring in between bursts.Â
You can drizzle the coconut cookies while they're still in their macaroon molds and pop them out later or dunk the tops or bottoms of the coconut macaroons in melted chocolate. While the chocolate sets, you could even decorate with sprinkles!Â

2 Stir in fruits.
The condensed milk of the original macaroon recipe is mainly to add sweetness to the cookie. If you want piña colada in macaroon form, you can swap the condensed milk out for coconut cream and crushed pineapple to add a fruity sweetness to the coconut. Pineapples and coconut are a delicious pairing so if you want to try this combo, make the switch! Â

3 Make a leche flan batter.Â
The condensed milk is already a testament to how rich the macaroon can be. This recipe takes that creaminess to another level by making the mixture into a leche flan-like batter and adding coconut to the mix. The creaminess from the coconut and the eggs, combined with the mellow sweetness of condensed milk, makes this coconut custard dessert sinfully delicious!

4 Add ube. Â
Apparently, few people can resist a dessert that's made with ube. That's why this macaroon is so gloriously appetizing! The earthy flavor of the ube is a delicious complimentary flavor to the sweetness of the condensed milk, plus ube halaya (purple yam jam) makes the coconut macaroon colorful with its vibrant hue.
You can buy ube halaya at your local supermarket or make it yourself! Depending on your preference, you can adjust the sweetness of your ube macaroons by choosing the right ube halaya (not all are created equal) or adjusting how much condensed milk you add to your macaroon batter. You can also add grated cheese on top to make it a salty-and-sweet combo, and make ube and cheese macaroons!

5Â Mix in dried fruits.Â
Coconut is a versatile ingredient that pairs so well with a lot of other ingredients. It pairs especially well with fruits, and adding dried fruits results in a delicious combination of flavors. You can add your favorite dried fruit (or fruits!) to the batter before baking to create a myriad of new flavors!
For example, you could try adding chopped dried mangoes, papaya, or apricots. You could also add dried cranberries or raisins, if you like. The dried fruits give the macaroon a burst of fruity sweetness that you can't find elsewhere!
To make sure that your dried fruits don't dry out too much during the bake, you can soak them in warm water for about 30 minutes before draining them and adding them to the coconut batter. If you are using chocolate-coated dried mangoes though, you can skip this step as it will only melt the chocolate. This is a simple extra step you can take to ensure the dried fruits stay chewy (and not hard) even after baking.
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