I’ve never been a huge macaroon fan. Not to be confused with the french confection, macarons—the tiny footed, usually bright, meringues held together by a pastry cream or jam. I’ve never had a problem eating those. A couple weeks ago, the co-op was sampling lemon poppyseed macaroons (with two Os). I grabbed a bite of one at the tail end of my trip. I was pleasantly surprised with the lemon poppyseed macaroon flavor when I found myself nestled into the check-out line, too late to go back and grab one. But, these little lemon poppyseed macaroon morsels piqued my interest enough to think about a recipe of my own.
I hesitate to use the word healthy to describe anything. It means a lot of different things to different people. And it has meant a lot of different things to me in my short life. I used to think there was no place for healthy desserts. It was probably after the “decadent” fat-free chocolate cake I made in college that made me think so. We all choked that one down. Sadly, it’s still my legacy to some.
I’ve lived through the low-fat, no-fat days. Remember Snackwells? Late high school brought me to the WeightWatcher days of iceberg lettuce and frappaccinos. I used my points creatively. In college, I took up baking exclusively with whole wheat flour. It was around that time that I came to terms with the permanence of my sweet tooth. Soon after, I entered into the purist, full-fat phase. Then the mostly vegetarian phase, which was brought on by reading Mark Bittman and grocery budget cuts.
We’re still nestled into the phase of eating a full fat, whole ingredient, vegetable heavy diet. We eat plenty of dessert due to the aforementioned sweet tooth, mostly in the form of dark chocolate and peanut butter balls. There will always be a place for the occasional slice of cake. But I’ve been on a hunt to expand our, dare I say, healthy dessert options. The kind suited for daily consumption.
These lemon poppyseed macaroons fit the bill. The best part about this lemon poppyseed version is that the lightness of the shredded coconut allows for a full flavor without feeling weighed down.
I scavenged the store for the lemon poppyseed macaroons on my next trip. I came up empty in my search to find the original but instead found a pack of four teeny lemon poppyseed macaroon cookies. I ate two on my walk home, and filed it under healthy dessert research.
Mastering the Lemon Poppyseed Macaroon
10,000 tries later and this tiny little flavor bomb of a lemon poppyseed macaroon was born. They’re healthy if you ask me. Sweetened with maple syrup. Infused by the oils from plenty of lemon zest. The flavor is full-bodied, not sour. And held together by an egg white whipped into a meringue plus a bit of oat flour. It was the last minute drizzle of white chocolate over the top of the lemon poppyseed macaroon that sent them over the top. It’s completely optional and completely mandatory.
I tried to get my tiny human to hold one for scale. Her lemon yellow dress was a perfect backdrop. Despite the number of lemon poppyseed macaroons I’ve allowed her to consume over the last couple of days, this is what I got in return. I hope you can use your imagination. These little bombs are just under a tablespoon in size.
A couple notes about the ingredients used in this recipe. It’s important that you use finely shredded coconut to get the consistency for the macaroon right for this recipe. The green bag gives the best results. It has a light flake to it. I’ve linked to it from Amazon, but I consistently find it at Target. I tested several other varieties—from chunks to shredded. I tried processing the coconut in the blender, but the results were too inconsistent and the flake too heavy. Go green. It’s also important that you use lemon extract. When paired with the zest it gives a nice round lemon flavor, not sour, and almost sweet.
Lemon infused poppyseed macaroons sweetened naturally with maple syrup. A light dessert bomb packed with flavor. Drizzle with white chocolate if you wish. Recipe easily doubles.
Preheat oven to 350°. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper. Set aside.
Into a bowl, add coconut. Zest lemon into the bowl. Rub the coconut and lemon zest between your fingers and thumb to release all the oils from the lemon. Add in oat flour, poppyseeds, and salt. Stir to combine. Pour in lemon extract and mix with your hands or a spoon to infuse the coconut again with lemon.
In another bowl, add in egg white. Using an electric mixer, beat on high speed until soft peaks form. It will look like a tight foam. Add in maple syrup and beat again until soft peaks form and ribbons hold for a second when you run the mixer back and forth. The mixture will be fluffy and have the color of pale caramel. Pour into the dry mixture and fold together until evenly combined.
Use a 2 teaspoon spring release scoop to assemble macaroons, being sure to tightly pack each scoop. Release scoop, and carefully mold back into the rounded shape if needed.
Bake for 8 minutes. Remove from oven. Allow to cool for a minute on the baking sheet until returning to a cooling rack. If baking larger macaroons, increase baking time.
Once completely cooled, prepare drizzle. Melt white chocolate, being sure not to let any water come near it. This will cause the chocolate to seize and crumble. Pour melted chocolate into a small ziplock bag, pushing the chocolate to a corner as you would a piping bag. Trim off a tiny corner of the bag and drizzle chocolate over macaroons. Allow to harden before serving. Store macaroons in a single layer container. Barely cover the top. Storing air tight causes the macaroons to soften too much. Best consumed within 3 days.
Notes
I’ve used oat flour as a binding agent in this recipe. You can easily buy oat flour at the store, but I use my high-powered blender to blitz oats into a fine powder. Though this recipe was tested with oat flour, I have good reason to believe other non-traditional flours would work as a substitution.
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these looks absolutely delicious and going on my must try this weekend list! Have your tried adding chia seeds with the poppy seeds? We have a toddler that goes through finicky times and I am always looking a way to sneak in flaxseed and chia seeds into everything! ha! Thanks for the inspo mama!
That photo of Hallie- just too much! Such a stunning shot and that expression… I totally relate! I’ve got to give these a try; they look and sound just so perfect. I’m so in the mood for lemon these days! Beautiful, Melissa!
These look amazing, I’ll definitely try them out (had a very good and a very bad experience with macaroon making once but it’s definitely worth giving it another shot). I’ve just started with blogging myself and I find myself in what you said: living without meat is really good for the budget (for me it’s easy because I don’t eat it anyways but SO many people just don’t know haha). So it’s good to have some healthy dessert to compensate for cravings 🙂 Happy easter!
The face she is making! Priceless! It’s like “Mom, no I will NOT pose for the camera with a macaroon!” Love it!
I am a macaroon fan, but not all macaroons are made equal, as you remarked. Some I love, others not so much! I’ll definitely give your recipe a try soon! Happy Easter!
I’ve never been a huge sweets person, but I’ve always had a lover for both macaroons and macarons. These are happening. And I’ll happily file them under healthy as well.
Am I the weird one that really likes macaroons? My fave are a version I adapted slightly of this chocolate macaroon recipe from Martha Stewart. They don’t use any flour and are totally gluten free! You can also cut back on the sugar or substitute palm sugar for lower glycemic index. They still turn out delicious:
YIELD: 2 DOZEN
INGREDIENTS
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate (Ghirardelli Bittersweet 60% cacao choco chips is my preferred), broken into small pieces 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted 1/2 cup sugar (or Palm sugar) 2 1/2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut 3 large egg whites 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract Pinch of salt
DIRECTIONS
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil. Reduce heat, and allow it to simmer. Place chocolate in a small bowl, and set over saucepan. Stir until chocolate is melted, and set aside to cool. (You can also do this step using the microwave to melt chocolate)
In a large bowl, combine cooled chocolate, cocoa, sugar, coconut, egg whites, vanilla, and salt. Use your hands to mix well, completely combining ingredients.
Dampen hands with cold water. Form 1 1/2 tablespoons of mixture into a loose haystack shape, and place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining mixture, placing macaroons 1 inch apart.
Bake until just firm to the touch but still soft in the middle, 10-15 minutes. Remove baking sheet from oven to a wire rack, and let cool on baking sheet
“Healthy” and “dessert” are not two words commonly associated together in our house. This, however, sounds like an option worth trying. Good work and beautiful photos!
Is poppy seed one or two words?
Caught me. It’s two.
These look so fresh and delicious! And those eyes! I’m still captivated by them 🙂
These look so amazing. I can’t wait to give them a try!
these looks absolutely delicious and going on my must try this weekend list! Have your tried adding chia seeds with the poppy seeds? We have a toddler that goes through finicky times and I am always looking a way to sneak in flaxseed and chia seeds into everything! ha! Thanks for the inspo mama!
I haven’t tried the chia seeds but that sounds like a smart substitution. Will try that next time!
That photo of Hallie- just too much! Such a stunning shot and that expression… I totally relate! I’ve got to give these a try; they look and sound just so perfect. I’m so in the mood for lemon these days! Beautiful, Melissa!
Ha – I love that picture! And these looks divine… I’ve been craving lemon poppyseed lately and this looks like the perfect fix.
These look amazing, I’ll definitely try them out (had a very good and a very bad experience with macaroon making once but it’s definitely worth giving it another shot). I’ve just started with blogging myself and I find myself in what you said: living without meat is really good for the budget (for me it’s easy because I don’t eat it anyways but SO many people just don’t know haha). So it’s good to have some healthy dessert to compensate for cravings 🙂
Happy easter!
The face she is making! Priceless! It’s like “Mom, no I will NOT pose for the camera with a macaroon!” Love it!
I am a macaroon fan, but not all macaroons are made equal, as you remarked. Some I love, others not so much! I’ll definitely give your recipe a try soon! Happy Easter!
I’ve never been a huge sweets person, but I’ve always had a lover for both macaroons and macarons. These are happening. And I’ll happily file them under healthy as well.
P.S. When did your little girl get so big??!
It seemed to happen overnight 🙁 I ask her everyday to pause. This age is my favorite. The days are so long but the years are short.
Well I’ll be making these… Annnnd, I totally just bought that dress for my daughter! 🙂
We buy dresses almost exclusively for Hal for the length. She seems to outgrow her shirts after a wash. Also, it’s the cutest! ❤️
Oh my days, that photo is absolutely classic! The macaroons sound great – a link has done the rounds in my office already!
Thanks for the love Hannah!
Am I the weird one that really likes macaroons? My fave are a version I adapted slightly of this chocolate macaroon recipe from Martha Stewart. They don’t use any flour and are totally gluten free! You can also cut back on the sugar or substitute palm sugar for lower glycemic index. They still turn out delicious:
YIELD: 2 DOZEN
INGREDIENTS
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate (Ghirardelli Bittersweet 60% cacao choco chips is my preferred), broken into small pieces
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1/2 cup sugar (or Palm sugar)
2 1/2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
3 large egg whites
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
DIRECTIONS
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil. Reduce heat, and allow it to simmer. Place chocolate in a small bowl, and set over saucepan. Stir until chocolate is melted, and set aside to cool. (You can also do this step using the microwave to melt chocolate)
In a large bowl, combine cooled chocolate, cocoa, sugar, coconut, egg whites, vanilla, and salt. Use your hands to mix well, completely combining ingredients.
Dampen hands with cold water. Form 1 1/2 tablespoons of mixture into a loose haystack shape, and place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining mixture, placing macaroons 1 inch apart.
Bake until just firm to the touch but still soft in the middle, 10-15 minutes. Remove baking sheet from oven to a wire rack, and let cool on baking sheet
That face!! She’s not having it.
“Healthy” and “dessert” are not two words commonly associated together in our house. This, however, sounds like an option worth trying. Good work and beautiful photos!
I’m with you on not usually being a fan of macaroons, but I like that these are more bite sized and flavor filled!
Kari
http://www.sweetteasweetie.com