Sarah Schiffman decides to go all in on these amazing coconut macaroons with lemon curd for Passover.
Text And Photo By Sarah Schiffman
As a kid, I was no fan of Passover. I decided at an early age that long seders, dry meat, and flourless baked goods disguised as brownies and fluffy cakes were not for me. Each year, however, I found myself holding out hope for the cylinders of coconut macaroons that would begin to line the shelves of our pantry come April. Not trying to be something they were not, the little globs of sticky coconut held so much potential. But no matter how much I hoped, they were always just a bit wonky: sometimes too dry, other times too moist, a little grainy at best, and sticky sweet in all the wrong places. I would usually eat two, maybe three, mostly because I can be quite persistent when trying to get good cookie fix, but eventually I would give up and resign myself to the black hole of bad food that has the tendency to engulf Passover.
Tradition is important. It teaches us lessons from the past and engrains a sense of stability and value in our lives. Tradition brings us together each year but eating food that actually tastes good keeps us coming back. Our ancestors spent forty years wandering in the desert for heaven’s sake, a little variety isn’t going to kill us. So I say: spice up that brisket with a little aoli, add a twist of cranberry to the haroseth, bust out the good wine, and while you’re at it whip up some homemade coconut macaroons and sandwich a little lemon curd in between. I think you’re going to like this new Passover, I really do.
Meyer Lemon Curd
I love using Meyer lemons for this curd which I adapted from a recipe found in a December 1999 issue of Gourmet. Meyer lemons have a little less pucker than traditional lemons, sort of lemon meets tangerine. Also they are magical and don’t come around very often so if you only have regular lemons just increase the sugar to ¾ cup (170g). Keep in mind that the curd will need to chill in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.
Coconut Macaroons With Meyer Lemon Curd
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 15-20 cookies 1x
Description
The macaroons are terrific on their own and can be quickly assembled if you don’t have time to make the lemon curd.
Ingredients
For The Lemon Curd
- 2–3 Meyer Lemons
- 1 cup (113g) sugar
- 2 Large eggs
- 1 Large egg yolk
- 1 stick unsalted butter (113g), cut into 4 pieces
For The Macaroons
- 2 cups (150g) shredded sweetened coconut
- cup (115g) granulated sugar
- 2 egg whites, slightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
For The Lemon Curd
- Set up an ice bath by placing a medium bowl in a larger bowl partially filled with ice and water. Set a fine mesh sieve strainer over the top of the smaller bowl and set aside.
- Finely grate enough zest from lemons to measure 1 tablespoon and squeeze enough juice to measure ½ cup (118ml).
- Combine lemon zest and sugar in a small bowl and blend thoroughly with your fingers.
- Whisk together sugar mixture and eggs in a metal bowl. Set bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and whisk until sugar has dissolved, about 1 minute. Add the lemon juice and continue whisking, until thick and smooth and an instant-read thermometer registers 160°F (71°C), about 5-7 minutes.
- Add butter and whisk until well combined. Remove from heat and strain into prepared bowl.
- Let mixture cool completely then transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate over night. Lemon curd will keep for about 1 week, covered and chilled.
For The Macaroons
- Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C). Mix all of the ingredients together in a medium bowl until well blended. I like to use my fingers at the end to make sure everything is combined well.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Scoop 1 heaping teaspoon of the dough and place on baking sheet. Shape dough into a thin flat circle and repeat with remaining dough. Try and make circles more or less even in size since they will be sandwiched together.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes or until edges are golden brown then remove from oven. Let cookies cool for a couple of minutes before transferring them to a wire baking rack to cool completely. If using a silicone mat, cookies can cool on baking sheet. Repeat with any remaining dough.
- When ready to serve, spread desired amount of lemon curd between two cookies and sandwich them together. Note that once lemon curd has been placed between cookies, they will need to either be eaten or refrigerated. I like to keep the sandwiched cookies in the fridge and eat them cold. This recipe makes about 15-20 sandwiched cookies depending on the size of dough circles.
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
Love the story and I am totally with on bumping it up a notch. Coconut macaroons and lemon, I am undone!
Lemon and coconut…one of my favorite combos! I would love one of these right now!!
Great article Sarah, tradition with a tasty twist! I don’t have fond memories of coconut macaroons, given that the only ones I’ve tasted were overly sweet commerical concoctions with sawdusty coconut. You have changed my mind! I am making these!
Thank you for the lovely comments!
Hester-Thanks for stopping by!
These look HEAVENLY!!! On top of looking like the most appetizing adaptation of the macaroon, your writing is absolutely impeccable. Thank you for sharing and I’m excited to give these a shot (fingers crossed they turn out just as lovely as yours look)!
What a wonderful use of lemon curd. This looks simply delicious. Love your comments on tradition too … we hate some, we love some, but they’re what makes us all what we are.
Hana-if you try them let me know! I’m sure they will turn out beautifully!
Chris-so glad you stopped by!
Thanks to you both for the lovely lovely comments.
Yum! This is like everything I love rolled into one! I will definitely try them out
In your notes you mentioned increasing the sugar if you can’t find Meyer lemons. You say TO 3/4cup but did you mean BY 3/4cup? Thank you! These look amazing!
Just curious because I cant find any meyer lemons anymore, have you used the plain old regular lemons? Would they be just as tasty?
OMG! I can NEVER make these again. They are To. Die. For. Seriously, made them for Easter and they were a huge hit! (I probably WILL make them again but I eat too many myself. I started with the broken bits, then the “irregulars”, and moved on to the ones “for company” in the days leading up to my brunch. Need to work on moderation !) Thanks for sharing the recipe.
just saw a link to this on pinterest and thought someone took a photo and posted a pic of mine! so funny. i’ve been making these since last spring, too – and they’re so awesome.
try chocolate flats with some chestnut cream. also fantastic.
hooray for doing fun things with macaroons.
How long will the assembled cookies last in the fridge and still taste as good? I’ve made these 5 times (awesome every time) but am trying to plan ahead for a party and wanted to make sure they would be just as good made 3 days in advance. Thanks!
They should last about 3-5 days in the fridge. Make sure they are in an air-tight container. Enjoy!!
They are really flat:( They do not look like picture:( Followed directions exactly.
For the macaroons, how much sugar is called for? The recipe just says “cup of sugar”. I’m assuming that means 1 cup, but I want to make sure. These look so yummy, I want to make them ASAP. Thank you!
Hi Teresa,
The, “cup of sugar” calls for 115g, which converts to just over 1/2 a cup (100g) of granulated sugar for the macaroons. Hopes this helps!
Thank you so much!
So I made these according to your weights and I ended up with a pretty runny dough. The batter spread a lot while baking into messy looking amoeba shaped cookies. Do I need the full actually 2 cups of coconut by measurement? Please adjust your weights or measures to match. Thanks!
The measurements given are confusing. In the Lemon Curd ingredients, the 1 cup of sugar is stated to be 113g.
In the Macaroon ingredients, the mysterious “cup” of sugar is 115g. In a comment above you clarify that 115 g is a little over 1/2 cup.
Does that mean that the 113g of sugar in the Curd is therefore 1/2c instead of the 1 cup listed?