Coconut Macaroons, delicious and flavorful cookies made with just two main ingredients such as dried shredded coconut and condensed milk. 

It's one of the easiest bakes that i have made so far. If you have been following me for a while then you may already know that how much i love coconut or anything with coconut. I had been wanting to make these macaroons for a while and finally made them a couple of months ago. As expected, the cookies are so delicious! 

Ever since, i have been making these macaroons regularly at home and it's been my favorite now. It tastes and reminds me of the coconut cookies from the Indian bakeries. If you like coconut flavor then do give it a try !  

Life has been so busy with running around the toddler lately. So everything takes a back seat and i have been struggling to post a recipe in a month :-) But i love to cook/bake with my little one and he's so curious about mixing, pouring and everything that i do in the kitchen. 

Though it takes time and a lot of energy to bake along with the kids, sometimes i do love it. Lastly, he happily poses for the pictures whenever i ask him to hold the food :-)  The below picture has my whole heart ❤️  It's always the little things that make the most beautiful memories, right?

Now coming back to today's recipe, let' see what type of coconut to use 

Coconut Flakes vs Shredded Coconut vs Desiccated coconut. 

All these varieties are dried versions of coconut that's usually available in packets under the baking section in the grocery stores. These dried versions are available as both sweetened and unsweetened. I have used unsweetened coconut. 

Also for this recipe, we want finely shredded coconut. Both finely shredded and desiccated coconut works but desiccated coconut may need little more of condensed milk for the below mentioned quantity in the Ingredients section. 

If you find only coconut flakes that are thick or long stripes then pulse it for a couple of times in a blender/mixie that will help to shape the macaroons better. I have used dried finely shredded coconut flakes  in this recipe.

Ok, now let's check out how to make these delicious macaroons. 

2 Ingredients Coconut Macaroons | Coconut Macaroons with Condensed milk

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Coconut Macaroons,Coconut Macaroons with Condensend milk,2 Ingredients Coconut Macaroons Coconut Macaroons, delicious and flavorful cookies made with just two main ingredients such as dried shredded coconut and condensed milk.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients

Dried Shredded Coconut(unsweetened) - 1 cup

Condensed milk - 1/4 cup*

Vanilla essence - 1 tsp

Candied Cherries - a few(optional)

*You can use up to 1/3 cup for more sweetness

Procedure

Preheat the oven at 350 F 

In a bowl, add the dried shredded coconut(unsweetened), condensed milk and vanilla essence.

First mix it all with a spatula and then switch to your hands and mix it well until it all combines together.Check whether you're able to make balls from the coconut mixture. If not, add a couple of tsp of condensed milk at a time and check again. Do this until until you're able to form the ball. Even with the same brand of all ingredients, sometimes 1/4 cup of condensed milk is enough for 1 cup of coconut and sometimes it needs more. So depends on the ingredients, you may need more or not.

Next cut the candied cherries into half and keep it aside. Make a small ball out of the coconut mixture and flatten it a bit in your palm.

Place it on the parchment lined baking sheet and then place the cherries on the center for each macaroon. Candied cherries is totally optional. So you can skip it if you don't have it.

Place it in the oven and bake it for 18-20 mins.

Delicious Coconut Macaroons are ready. Let them cool completely and store it in airtight container.

Related: How to make Almond flour Cookies

Notes:

• Macaroons would be soft when they are out of the oven. It firms up once it's completely cooled.
• These macaroons stay crispy for a day or two, after that it became soft. 
• Cherries are totally optional, so you can skip that if you don't want to use them.

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Coconut Pastry, a delicious snack made with puff pastry and sweetened coconut filling. Whenever i crave for the Indian famous Dilpasand / Thengai Bun, this is my short cut to satisfy my craving. 

This coconut filling recipe is the same as the Dilpasand / Thengai Bun, but instead of making dough for the bun, i have used the puff pastry for the outer layer. It tastes so delicious and you can't stop by one.

Coconut filling 

In today's recipe, i have used fresh coconut because i knew that it would be gone in minutes and there would be no leftovers so i didn't worry about it going bad.

But you can very well use coconut flakes or desiccated coconut (see my coconut bun post where i used coconut flakes for the stuffing ). Make sure to adjust the sugar depends on  whether you're using sweetened or unsweetened coconut. 

Puff Pastry 

I have been using the "Tenderflake" puff pastry(not sponsored/ad) ever since we moved to Canada and so far it's good for making the savoury and sweet as well.  

When this coconut pastry is right out of the oven, it's crispy(i know which is totally contrary to the coconut bun) but still it tastes amazing.  But if you really want the soft outer layer like a coconut bun, just leave it for a couple of hours or overnight so that the outer layer of the pastry becomes soft. 

Shaping the Coconut Pastry

In today's recipe, i have just folded it in half (you can see it in the step by step pictures) and cut it into squares. But you can make it as bite sized pastry like how i did in this mini apple turnovers. So it all depends on how you want or what occasion you're making. 

I personally make bite sized pastries for a get-together or someone visiting our home or when i'm making more that last for a couple of days.

Ok, now let's check out on how to make this delicious coconut pastry. 

Sweet Coconut Pastries | Coconut Pastry

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 30 mins | Serves : 4 
Recipe Category: Dessert/Sweet | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Coconut Bun, Thengai Bun, Coconut Pastries, Coconut Pastry Coconut Pastry, a delicious snack made with puff pastry and sweetened coconut filling.It tastes like coconut bun/Thengai bun.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients

Puff Pastry - 1 sheet

For Stuffing

Grated Coconut - 3/4 cup
Tutti frutti - 1/4 cup
Sugar - 1/4 cup
Cashews - 5
Raisins - 2 tsp
Ghee - 1 tsp
Water - 2 tbsp
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp

Procedure

First heat the pan with ghee, add the cashew and raisins, roast till the raisins are puffed up. 

Then add the sugar, coconut, and water. Mix it all together and cook till the sugar is completely melted.

Next add the tutti frutti and cardamom powder. Mix it all well and let it in the flame for 2-3 mins. Switch off the flame and let it cool completely.

Preheat the oven @ 420 F

Take a one sheet of puff pastry and roll into thin sheet with a rolling pin.

Then add the coconut stuffing on one side and close the puff pastry from the other side such that the coconut stuffing is sealed well. 

Next, take a fork and press it on the outer edges of the pastry(it helps to seal the edges well and also make a nice design on the border.) Then transfer the pastry sheet into a parchment lined baking sheet and cut the pastry into squares as shown below.

Brush the top of the pastry with some milk and put it in the oven and bake it for 15- 20 mins or until the top turns golden brown.

That's it, Delicious Coconut Pastry is ready to serve.

Related : How to make Bakery Style Vegetable Puffs 

Notes:

• Depends on the sweetness of the coconut add more or less of sugar.
• Adding tutti frutti truly enhances the taste of the pastry. You can use store bought or home made tutti frutti

 

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Thengai Payasam, a delicious sweet recipe prepared with coconut and a little bit of rice. It's one of the payasam that i have learned recently and love it very much. 

When i came across this recipe online, i instantly knew that i would love this payasam because i'm such a huge fan of coconut based dishes. As expected, i love this payasam. Though the recipe has very basic ingredients but somehow they all work together and make such a spoon licking delicious payasam.

If you love coconut  flavor as like me or simply you want a different payasam recipe to satisfy your sweet cravings, then i would highly recommend to give a try on this amazing Thengai Payasam.

 

Coconut

For this payasam, i have used the fresh coconut. But you can use the frozen grated coconut that are available in the market. Whatever you are using, make sure that the coconut is fresh because that's key for the taste and the flavor in this payasam. 

Rice 

Adding rice gives the thicker texture to the payasam. Basmati rice flavor really elevates the flavor and taste of the payasam.  But i tried this payasam with regular cooking rice too in the past and it tastes equally good. 

Jaggery 

The color of the payasam solely depends on the jaggery color. Use paagu vellam or yellow colored jaggery for the vibrant color payasam. I have used brown colored jaggery so the color is a bit dull.

Like many payasam, this one too tends to thicken when it's cooled down, so switch off the flame when it's a bit runny than the required consistency.

Ok, now let's check out on how to make this delicious payasam.

Thengai Payasam | Arisi Thengai Payasam

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Sweet | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Thengai Payasam, Coconut Payasam, Arisi Thengai Payasam Thengai Payasam, a delicious sweet recipe prepared with coconut and a little bit of rice.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients

Grated Coconut - 1/4 cup

Basmati Rice - 1 tbsp

Jaggery - 1/4 cup

Milk - 1/4 cup

Water - 1 cup

Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp

Ghee - 1 tspCashew - 5 

Procedure

Heat the pan, add the coconut and rice, roast till they are aromatic. Let it cool a bit.

Add it in the mixie jar and grind into coarse mixture. Next in a sauce pan, bring the water into boil and then add the coarse coconut-rice mixture. Let it cook till the rice is soft.

In the mean time, in an another sauce pan, add the jaggery and a couple of tbsp of water, heat it until the jaggery melts completely. Strain the jaggery syrup and keep it ready.

Once the rice is well cooked, add the jaggery syrup and boil it for a couple of minutes.

 Next add the milk and give a quick stir. In an another pan, fry the cashew in ghee .

Finally add the cardamom powder, fried cashew, give a gentle mix and switch off the flame.

Delicious Thengai Payasam is ready.

Related:How to make Paruppu Payasam

Notes:

• I have used Basmati rice in this payasam, but any cooking rice works fo this recipe.
• Instead of dairy milk, coconut milk can also be used.

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Mango Coconut Ladoo, a delicious ladoo made with desiccated coconut and mango pulp. It's one of the easiest ladoo recipes to make within 10 mins. 

If you have followed me for a while, you might already know about my love for mangoes . It's really hard for me to reserve some mangoes to try any recipes because i simply love eating them as it is ! 

But i have been wanting to make this ladoo for a while, so this summer, i bought some extra mangoes on every grocery shopping with a hope of making these ladoos before mangoes are gone for this season. As a result, so far i have made these ladoos three times ! Yep, it's that much good and addictive ! 

Condensed Milk 

For this ladoo, i have used condensed milk for sweetness. It gives such a rich taste to the ladoo.

Also depending on the sweetness of the mango, you may need more or less condensed milk.

So start off with 1/3 of condensed milk.  First mix coconut, mango pulp and condensed milk, give a quick taste and then add more condensed milk if needed.

Fresh Mango Vs Mango Pulp

I have used fresh mango for this ladoo. But store bought mango pulp can also be used for this recipe. If you're using canned mango pulp, make sure to add less condensed milk because most of the canned mango pulp already has sugar in it. 

Now let's check out on how to make these delicious mango ladoo.

Mango Ladoo | Mango Coconut Ladoo

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 10 mins | Serves : 10 
Recipe Category: Sweet | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Mango Ladoo, Mango Coconut Ladoo, Ladoo Recipes Mango Coconut Ladoo, a delicious ladoo made with desiccated coconut and mango pulp.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients

Mango pulp - 1/2 cup

Desiccated Coconut - 1 cup

Condensed milk - 1/3 -1/2 cup*

Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp

Ghee - 1 tbsp

* Depends on the mango sweetness, you can add more or less of condensed milk.

Procedure

Take a one medium size well-ripen mango, scoop out all the flesh in a blender and grind into smooth puree. Take 1/2 cup of mango pulp from it.  

Next add the desiccated coconut, mango pulp and condensed milk in a pan and then switch on the heat. Milk it all well together.

Cook it in a medium flame and within a few mins, it all comes together like a single mass. At this stage add the ghee and the cardamom powder.

Cook it for a few more mins. When you're able to roll the mixture into smooth ball, switch off the flame. The ladoo mixture is ready. 

Let it cool down until the heat of the mixture is hand bearable. Then take a small amount of mixture and roll into smooth ball. 

That's it, Delicious Mango Ladoo is ready.

Notes:

• Within 8-10 mins the ladoo would be ready for the given quantity, so don't cook for a longer time otherwise the ladoo would be chewy.
• My mango is very sweet ,so i have added only 1/3 cup of condensed milk
• It stays well in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
• Use a fine variety of desiccated coconut.
• Use mango that has less fibre and in bright color for smooth and vibrant looking ladoos
• Store bought mango pulp can also be used for this recipe.

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Eggless Coconut Cookies | Thengai Biscuits

Coconut Cookies/ Thengai Biscuits, delicious, crispy and melt in your mouth cookies. These cookies are mildly sweetened and full of flavor. Tastes great as a snack or as a tea biscuits. 

Right now, it's one of my kid's favorite cookies , so i bake them often at home. I simply love when the kid enjoys the baking goods that i make ! While i was growing up, baking was not a part of our cooking at home, so it always gives immense pleasure to enjoy the homemade baking goods. 

Whenever i bake cookies for my kid, i try to minimize or completely avoid the leavening agents, so often i stick with shortbread types of cookies. 

Initially when i try these cookies, i didn't add any leavening agents and the cookies turned out really good. But today, in this recipe, i have added a little amount of baking powder and the cookies are super lighter than before other than that everything else are the same

So it's really up to you to add baking powder in this recipe.  If you're worried that the cookies would be dense, then add the baking powder for safety :-)

Coconut

Make sure to use a fine variety of desiccated unsweetened coconut because it easily blends with the flour. Don't use shredded types of coconut in the recipe. I got my dried coconut from the Bulk Barn store here in Canada. 

Rolling the cookie dough in the coconut is optional. So you can skip this step and bake the cookies and still it tastes awesome. 

Sugar 

For all my cookies with a few exceptions, i like to use the store bought powdered sugar because it gives such a smooth melt in your mouth cookies. 

Vanilla Essence

Coconut and vanilla flavor goes together really well. But you can skip the vanilla essence and make it with coconut flavor alone or you can use a bit of cardamom flavor/ powder too.

Now let's check out on how to make this delicious Coconut Cookies / Thengai Biscuits 

Coconut Cookies | Thengai Biscuits

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 15 mins | Serves : 12 
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Coconut Cookies, Thengai Biscuits, Coconut Cookies/ Thengai Biscuits, a delicious and crispy melt in your mouth cookies. These cookies are mildly sweetened and full of flavor.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients

Butter - 1/4 cup

Powdered Sugar - 1/4 cup

Desiccated Un-sweetened coconut - 1/2 cup 

All purpose flour - 1/2 cup

Vanilla essence - 1/2 tsp

Baking powder - 1/4 tsp(optional)

Procedure

Preheat the oven @ 350 F 

In a bowl, add the butter and whisk it smooth, then add the sugar and salt.

Mix it all together well with a whisk. Next add the vanilla essence.

Mix it well and then add the coconut, flour and baking powder. Now use your hand and mix it all together until it forms a smooth dough.

Then pinch a small amount of cookie dough and roll it into a smooth ball. 

Take 1/4 cup of desiccated coconut in a bowl and roll the cookie dough on it until the cookie coats with coconut on all sides. This step is totally optional so you can skip it too. Then flatten the cookie a little bit and place it on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake it in the pre-heated oven for 15-18 mins until the top turns slightly golden brown in color.

Cool it completely and store it in airtight container. Delicious Coconut Cookies/Thengai Biscuits are ready to munch.

Related : How to make Shortbread Cookies / Butter Cookies

Notes: 

• These cookies stay well for up to 15 days at room temperature.
• These cookies are mildly sweetened sweetened. 

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