These naturally gluten-free caramel coconut macaroon thumbprints are sweet, moist, and chewy, with a delightfully crisp and toasty exterior. Classic macaroons are quick and easy (no dough chilling required!), and come together with just a few simple ingredients. This upgraded version features a delicious pool of homemade salted caramel, a drizzle of melted chocolate, and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt. Perfection.
One reader, Becca, commented: “So chewy, so delicious, so EASY!!! I love these cookies and I’ve never made them before today. I love the contrast with the caramel, chocolate, and salt. Will definitely make again!! ★★★★★”
Have you ever made coconut macaroons? When done right, coconut macaroons taste like the irresistible coconut center of an Almond Joy or Mounds bar. Sweet, moist, and tons of texture! They’re a favorite in my collection of naturally gluten-free dessert recipes.
I also include a variation in my cookbook Sally’s Cookie Addiction, and a chocolate version is tucked inside those pages, too!
While the classic macaroon is delightful all on its own, today’s recipe features ooey-gooey salted caramel. Coconut + caramel + chocolate… these sweet caramel coconut macaroon thumbprints are sure to become your new favorite version of the humble cookie!
Why You’ll Love These Caramel Coconut Macaroon Thumbprints
- Just 5 ingredients in the base recipe
- No cookie dough chilling required
- Make-ahead friendly
- Naturally gluten free
- Like the Girl Scout Caramel Delite, only without the cookie layer!
While you can (and should) enjoy macaroons year round, I especially love these in the springtime; the thumbprint version is shaped like a little nest. Feel free to add a few jelly beans to the middles like we do for these jelly bean sugar cookies!
3 Notes About the Main Ingredient, Coconut:
- Use Sweetened Shredded Coconut: Sweetened coconut is extremely moist and a little sticky, which is exactly what you want. Unsweetened coconut could work, but it’s very dry and you may need to increase the egg whites and add more sugar. For best results, use sweetened.
- Amount: You may need to buy 2 packages of coconut, but you won’t use all of the second package. You need 17 ounces (481g) of sweetened shredded coconut, which is a standard (in the U.S.) 14-ounce (396g) package plus an additional 1 cup (85g) of coconut.
- Chop It/Pulse It: Pulse the coconut shreds in the food processor to chop up the pieces. Why? Finer pieces of coconut keep the macaroon thumbprints compact and help hold the shape better. I give it about 15 quick pulses. If you don’t have a food processor, spread the coconut out on a cutting board and give it all a rough chop.
Other Ingredients You Need:
- Sugar: We’re using white granulated sugar to sweeten the macaroons.
- Salt + Vanilla Extract: The flavor enhancers all cookies need!
- Eggs: 1 whole egg + 2 egg whites bind everything together.
It’s a pretty short and simple list! We’ll add the caramel and chocolate drizzle after baking.
How to Make Macaroon Thumbprints
Even though the process for making caramel coconut macaroon thumbprints is simple, I want to walk you through a few steps so you feel confident when it’s your turn in the kitchen.
Beat the egg and egg whites, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract together until foamy and the sugar is mostly dissolved. The trick here is to not over-beat the egg whites—this should take just a minute or two.
Avoid This: If you over-beat the eggs, you’ll end up with a stiff meringue-like mixture, and the baked macaroons will be very dry.
Fold the chopped coconut shreds into the egg mixture until everything is combined and all the coconut is moistened.
After that, use a medium cookie scoop to shape 1.5-Tablespoon portions (about 28–30g each) of dough onto a lined baking sheet. Use a finger, thumb, or small measuring spoon to press an indent into the center of each macaroon.
You may need to use your hands to reshape the edges into a circle after you make the thumbprint. It’s a little messy!
Coconut macaroon thumbprints do not spread much while baking. Sometimes they can leak a little sugar/egg liquid, but if you chopped up the coconut enough, this shouldn’t happen.
Success Tip: Bake the macaroon thumbprints at 325°F (163°C)—the lower temperature helps ensure the centers are cooked before the exteriors burn.
These macaroon thumbprints take just about 20 to 24 minutes to bake. You want to take them out of the oven when they’re starting to turn a toasty, golden color but are still mostly white. Over-baking will dry out your coconut macaroons.
Salted Caramel Filling
My recipe for homemade salted caramel is one of the most loved recipes on my blog. Made with just 4 simple ingredients, homemade caramel sauce takes just a few minutes to prepare.
You won’t need the entire batch of this salted caramel to fill these cookies, but I have a list of more than 50 ways to eat salted caramel for you to peruse. The caramel keeps for weeks in the refrigerator, and I know you will find plenty of ways (or rather, excuses) to use up the leftover caramel!
A drizzle of melted chocolate and sprinkle of flaky sea salt are the finishing touch on these caramel coconut macaroon thumbprints.
Macaroons, Not Macarons
Remember, these are coconut macaroons, not macarons. (Today’s cookies are much quicker and easier!) If you want to learn how to make those delicate sandwich cookies, I have an in-depth French macarons tutorial.
P.S. If you love today’s flavor combination, try these chocolate caramel coconut cupcakes sometime!
Caramel Coconut Macaroon Thumbprints
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 24 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 22 to 24 cookies
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These naturally gluten-free caramel coconut macaroon thumbprints are sweet, moist, and chewy, with a delightfully crisp and toasty exterior with homemade salted caramel in the center. Finish with a drizzle of melted chocolate and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt. Be sure to pay attention to the exact amount of sweetened coconut you need. See recipe Note.
Ingredients
- 17 ounces (482g) sweetened shredded coconut (one 14-ounce bag + 1 cup)
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 2 large egg whites
- 1/2 cup (145g) homemade salted caramel sauce, cooled (see Note)
- one 4-ounce bar (113g) semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
- optional: sprinkle of flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Preliminary Note: Make the caramel sauce ahead of time, so it has time to cool and thicken. You do not want it hot or warm when spooning into the baked thumbprints.
- Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C). Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. (Always recommended for cookies.) Set aside.
- Place the coconut in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped (about 15 quick pulses). If you don’t have a food processor, spread the coconut out on a cutting board and give it all a rough chop.
- In a large bowl using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the egg, egg whites, sugar, salt, and vanilla together on medium-high speed until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is frothy, about 1–2 minutes. Fold in the coconut until completely combined.
- Using a medium cookie scoop or a spoon, scoop 1.5 Tablespoons (about 30g) of the mixture and arrange 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. With your thumb, finger, or a small measuring spoon, press into the center of each macaroon to make an indent.
- Bake until lightly golden and set around the edges, 20–24 minutes. Keep a close eye on them after around 18 minutes. You want to take them out of the oven when they’re starting to turn a toasty, golden color but are still mostly white; over-baking will dry out your coconut macaroons.
- Cool for at least 10 minutes on the baking sheet set on a cooling rack.
- Spoon salted caramel into the middles of the macaroons (use however much will fit—about 1/2–1 teaspoon each).
- Melt the chocolate: You can melt it in a double boiler or use the microwave. If using the microwave: place the chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl or glass liquid measuring cup. Microwave for 20-second increments, stirring after each, until chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Drizzle chocolate over the cooled macaroons. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt, if desired. Allow chocolate and caramel to set, either at room temperature or in the refrigerator (to speed it up).
- Cover and store macaroons at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Macaroons, with or without caramel and chocolate, freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature. You can prepare the coconut macaroon dough up to 3 days in advance; cover tightly and refrigerate until ready to shape and bake. You can also make the salted caramel in advance. Cover tightly and store it in the refrigerator for up to 1 month. Microwave refrigerated caramel sauce in 10-second increments until it’s thin enough to spoon/drizzle into the macaroons, but not overly warm. 20 seconds is usually plenty.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Food Processor (like this one or this one) | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Silicone Spatula | Medium Cookie Scoop | Thin Spatula | Cooling Rack | Flaky Sea Salt
- Amount of coconut: You need 5 and 2/3 cups of sweetened shredded coconut, which is 17 ounces or 482g. This is more than 1 standard 14-ounce bag. If you aren’t using a scale, be sure to measure 5 and 2/3 cups before you pulse/chop it in step 3.
- Can I use unsweetened coconut? I love unsweetened coconut for a lot of baking recipes, but it’s not the best choice for this macaroon recipe. The macaroons will taste very dry. If you want to try it, you’ll need to increase the egg whites and sugar.
- Salted Caramel Note: If you want to make regular caramel, instead of salted caramel, reduce the salt in that recipe to 1/2 teaspoon. Additionally, it’s imperative for the caramel to be cool before spooning in the macaroon thumbprints. I recommend making it in advance.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Delicious, Sally! Really appreciated by my gluten free friends as well as lovers of coconut! Loved the caramel and finish of salt! I need to work on my drizzling skills, but no one minded…Made 2 batches and neither lasted long. Thank you!
Made these yesterday for our ESL class and they absolutely loved them! The combination of coconut, caramel, and chocolate is divine!
5 Stars!! My husband runs a guitar-making school and I spoil the students with home-baked goodies in the afternoons (when sugar levels and spirits are flagging). As soon as I walked into the shop, the guys were swooning in anticipation. These caramel macaroons were the biggest hit so far and I’ve had requests for a repeat of this treat. Thank you for sharing this delicious -and easy – recipe.
I am not the biggest fan of coconut, but I still had a great time making these and think they turned out pretty well.
I’m not a coconut fan, but these were really good!
These were fun to make and turned out great. Everyone loved the flavor. The salted caramel was so tasty!
Very good cookies, very sweet. I made them both with the Carmel and without. Like them both.
Excellent!
The combination of chocolate,carmel,and coconut is by far my new favorite!I brought them to a gathering and they all got eaten!
Very easy and so yummy
Straightforward and delicious!
They were easy to make and everyone seemed to love these cookies. I didn’t try one though because I’m not a fan of sweetened coconut. The caramel turned out really well and that I did try and enjoyed.
Very delicious! Next time I will chop the coconut flakes up more since they were hard to swap into rounds when I scooped them out. Love the easy salted caramel sauce as well!
Very easy and tasty!
Could not believe how quickly this recipe came together. I had everything completed, start to finish, in under an hour. What a fun recipe!
Very easy recipe, and they turned out great…according to my husband! I don’t like coconut so he was ecstatic to be my taste teste
I’ve never made macaroons before but the instructions were very detailed and walked me through every step. They are delicious!
I love coconut. I love caramel.
This recipe was perfect for me! I think next time I might try making them smaller for a better caramel to macaroon ratio.
These are easy to make and delightfully coconut-ty! If you need a relatively quick and easy sweet for something like a potluck, these are worth a go. I would suggest cutting back on the salt in the caramel, but maybe that’s just me (or maybe because I used fine sea salt?) Sally’s recipe for caramel is very approachable and made me feel confident as a novice confectioner.
Easy to make and very tasty!
These look amazing!
Such an easy recipe that is a HUGE crowd pleaser. I made these on a Sunday afternoon before taking them to work the next day and everyone loved them! I will absolutely be making them again.
First time making macaroons and I may be a convert. Not typically a fan of coconut but the salted caramel and chocolate makes these delicious. Will definitely try these again.
SO easy and SO delicious ✨
Great recipe, I just burned the caramel a little bit.
So tasty!!
Yummy!!!
So chewy, so delicious so EASY!!!! I love these cookies and I’ve never made them before today. I love the contrast with the caramel, chocolate and salt. Will definitely make again!!
Taste is amazing and everybody loves them! I feel like my dough was really wet and hard to shape and a few of my cookies fell apart in the oven as a result. I’m not sure what I did wrong there. But taste was still amazing!
Thank you for this amazing recipe! Such a nice combination of flavors, and very easy to put together.