I was never a fan of coconut growing up. Say what you want, but I never liked Almond Joys or those Snowball pastries as a little kid. I was more of a Nestle Crunch and Twix kind of a guy.
Coconut was an acquired taste for me.
It was only until recently, when I was in Cabo, and for the first time ever, I had a Pina Colada. You heard that right. Never had one in my life ’til then! I know, I know, how uncool is that?? What a place to have my first one ever though, right?
But anyway, we were at a beach bar—music was playing, people were partying, and everyone at the bar was ordering Pina Coladas. I had to see why it was so popular, so I got one too. That drink was so freakin’ good…it was in slushy form, it tasted of coconut and pineapples, the rum was perfectly mixed in—- I couldn’t get enough of it!
It became my go-to drink at the beach. And I became a huge fan of coconut!
Once I got back home, I was on a mission to try everything coconut. I couldn’t believe after all this time, I missed out on so much goodness! It was coconut on this, and coconut on that, and next thing you know, I’m experimenting with it on my own creations.
Which leads me to my next delicious recipe….
Enter my Dark Chocolate Coconut Protein Macaroons!
These dark chocolate dipped macaroons are exploding with coconut flavor and packed with muscle-building protein!
NO flour needed for these protein macaroons, which keeps the carb count low!
Shredded coconut and fluffy egg whites provide the base and are the main ingredients.
Pure maple syrup gives them its natural sweetness.
A little hint of nuttiness is supplied with a dab of almond butter.
And what better way to finish off these delectable, exotic treats than with melted dark chocolate—-dipped on the bottom, and drizzled on top.
Now that’s a winning combination!
The key to these macaroons’ fluffiness is in the egg whites. You gotta make sure to whisk up the egg whites vigorously until they form soft peaks, either by hand or with an electric hand mixer. Meaning that once you remove the whisk from the batter, the peak that forms should hold its shape, like so:
Doing this adds volume and fluffiness to the macaroon. You can beat them even further until you get stiff peaks and this will alter the texture of the finished product even more so. But for this recipe, whisking until soft peak formation is all you need.
Whisking them up by hand will take good, strong forearm action for a couple of minutes. Or if you have a hand mixer, go ahead and use that. It’ll be much easier for you and less tiring, lol. Once you get those soft peaks, just add in the maple syrup, vanilla extract, and almond butter.
Mix it in real well before folding in the rest of the dry ingredients. Once everything is well incorporated, all you gotta do is scoop them up onto the baking pan and let the oven do the rest!
More details in the recipe notes below.
Here’s a quick rundown of the nutritional benefits of some of the main ingredients:
Shredded coconut, according to most online sources, is not very nutritional. After much research, good, reliable, nutritional information on shredded coconut is few and far between. The one thing that most sources agree on, is that although coconut is a good source of fiber, it is rather high in saturated fat. Most of coconuts’ nutritional benefits are in its oil, which is absent from shredded coconut. Check out this interesting article by Dr. Axe for more on it. Fiber is essential for smooth digestion.
Egg whites are quite possibly the leanest source of muscle-building protein available on the planet because of its low calorie, low carb, and near zero fat content. Egg whites also contain important nutrients like potassium (boosts heart health), selenium (boosts the immune system), riboflavin (for energy production), and magnesium, which supports healthy bones.
Pure maple syrup has been shown to contain 20+ different antioxidants that help fight inflammation and disease. Pure maple syrup is also good sources of manganese, which boosts metabolism, and contains zinc, which supports skin health.
If you’re thirsting for more delicious dark chocolate protein recipes, try my…
Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Banana Protein Donuts
Triple Dark Chocolate Macadamia Nut Protein Cookies
Dark Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Protein Bars
Ok, here’s what you’ll need for these Dark Chocolate Coconut Protein Macaroons:
Side note: these protein macaroons are on the delectable side, and pretty high in saturated fat. General wisdom says all saturated fat is bad for you, but conflicting reports abound on the web as to whether the type of saturated fat in shredded coconut is really beneficial or not. I’ve included some links to certain articles above.
In the meantime, enjoy in moderation, use as an occassional cheat dessert, and please try not to eat them all in one sitting. Remember, sharing is caring!
Alright, let’s get to it!!
| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 18-20 minutes |
| Servings |
macaroons
|
- 4 egg whites (XL size)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp almond butter
- 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
- coconut oil spray
- 2 cups shredded coconut
- 2 scoops vanilla whey protein powder
- pinch sea salt
- 1/2 tsp stevia
- 4 dark chocolate squares (70% or higher cacao)
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
Fillings and Toppings
|
|
- Preheat oven at 350.
- In mixing bowl, add egg whites and salt, then whisk vigorously until fluffy and soft peaks form.
- Add wet ingredients. Then fold in dry ingredients, until fully combined.
- Line baking pan with parchment paper and spray with coconut oil.
- Scoop mixture into balls and spread evenly on baking pan.
- Bake in oven for 17-20 minutes, or until firm, and edges are golden brown.
- Melt chocolate in microwave for 50 sec, or until fully melted.
- Dip bottoms of macaroons into chocolate, then place back on baking pan. Drizzle melted chocolate on top.
- Enjoy warm, or let set in fridge for at least 30 minutes. Store in an airtight container. Will keep for about a week in the fridge. Enjoy!
-I use extra large sized eggs for this recipe. If you are using smaller eggs, add an extra egg white or two.
-To separate the egg whites from the yolk, crack the egg open and juggle the yolk between the two half shells back and forth, as you let the whites drip down into the bowl.
-I prefer to whisk the eggs by hand (because it's kind of a good arm workout lol), but an electric mixer will get the eggs to fluff up much quicker----and not tire out your arms so much!
-Whisk the eggs vigorously until you get voluminous soft peaks. By hand, this usually takes about 5 minutes of stop and go whisking. An electric mixer should get you there quicker.
-When adding dry ingredients, go back and forth between the shredded coconut and the protein powder. This helps evenly distribute the flavors.
-I use Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey Protein, vanilla flavor. Each scoop yields 24g protein. You can sub in any other protein powder / flavor you wish, but keep in mind, it may alter the texture of the bars as not all protein powders are created equal. You may have to experiment to find the right combination.
-You can also add a little dash of cinnamon into the batter for an extra kick.
-Almond butter is totally optional, but encouraged!
-Stevia is optional as well, but I felt that little bit of it got the sweetness just right and kept the sugar content lower. If you don't have stevia, just add a bit more maple syrup.
-I prefer a 70% or higher cacao dark chocolate bar for the drizzle and to dip. The darker the chocolate, the healthier it is (as studies have shown). Sub in any other chocolate bar if you wish.
-I used a regular ice cream scoop to scoop up the batter and this produces a nice, round macaroon---just a bit bigger than a golf ball I would say. You can vary the size and quantity to your own liking.
**Nutritional information is an approximation using Nutrifox, information found on Google, and my own calculations to the best of my knowledge. It is not the definitive values or guaranteed to be 100% accurate information. Use only as a reference.**