These coconut-flavored cloud cookies feel like you are eating a cloud. They are light, airy and soft. They are easy to make and can be made ahead of time for an event. The cookies are just 3 ingredients and also don’t need any flour, butter or oil.
These coconut cloud cookies are so fun to eat. They have a delicate crisp exterior which gives way to a soft, airy, marshmallow-like center. It really feels like you are biting into a cloud.
Ingredients
- Unsweetened shredded coconut
- Egg whites
- Sugar
Unsweetened shredded coconut: The cookies are already quite sweet so I recommend using unsweetened shredded coconut. The recipe uses finely shredded coconut which will be added to the cookie batter and also sprinkled on top so that there is coconut in every bite. If you need a substitute for coconut, you can simply leave it out and you’ll still have plain cloud cookies.
Egg whites: This recipe uses fresh egg whites which are beaten with sugar to create a meringue, which forms the structure for these cookies.
Sugar: These cookies work best with superfine sugar. Other names for this sugar include baker’s sugar, ultrafine sugar, or caster sugar. Superfine sugar melts better and makes these cookies have a more airy and cloud-like center. It also helps the cookies cook faster. You can use regular granular sugar but your cookies will be slightly darker in color and will need an additional hour in the oven. I explain more in the notes section of the recipe card.
Coconut Cloud Cookies
Coconut cloud cookies are a type of meringue cookie. However, unlike a classic meringue which is crisp all the way through, these cookies are cooked so that only the exterior is dried out and the inside stays soft and pillowy, so they feel like you are eating a cloud.
How to Make Coconut Cloud Cookies
The egg whites are first beaten until soft peaks are starting to form. The sugar is then gradually added in until the batter reaches stiff peaks. The coconut is then folded in.
The cookie batter is then added to a piping bag and piped into oval shapes. You don’t have to pipe the cookies but it does make them look nicer. You can also just drop spoonfuls of batter onto your baking sheet if you don’t want to pipe them. More shredded coconut is then sprinkled on top of each cookie.
The cookies are baked at a low temperature for one hour. They will then need to sit out at room temperature until the inside of the cookies turn soft. The cookies are then ready to be eaten or stored for later.
More Cloud Recipes
3 Ingredient Coconut Cloud Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 large (60 g) egg whites
- 1/2 cup (96 g) superfine sugar
- 2 1/2 tbsp (14 g) unsweetened finely shredded coconut divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 225°F (107°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add the egg whites to the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the wire whisk attachment, beat at high speed until the eggs turn foamy white and soft peaks are just starting to form, about 1-2 minutes.
- With the mixer still running, slowly add the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until all of it is added. Do not stop the mixer to scrape any sugar that might be stuck on the sides of the bowl. Continue to beat until mixture is thick, glossy and stiff peaks form. This can take several minutes, depending on how fine the sugar is. Once the peaks are stiff, you can scrape the sides of the bowl to get any sugar that stuck to the sides, add it back into the mixture and then beat on high for a few more seconds until that excess sugar is incorporated. I found that it is important not to stop the mixer in between. If you stop it, the mixture does not whip up to stiff peaks. Once your meringue is ready, remove it from the mixer.
- Sprinkle in 1 tbsp of shredded coconut. Use a spatula to gently fold it in until it is evenly incorporated.
- Transfer the meringue to a large piping bag with an open star tip. I used a Wilton 4B tip which has a front opening of about .5 inch. You can use other tips or tip sizes.
- Pipe the meringue into ovals between 1.5 inches and 2 inches long onto the prepared baking sheet. Try to make the meringues all about the same size. The cookies can be piped pretty close together as they do not spread much. To pipe, make it like you are drawing an oval and then add another partial layer on top to close up the oval so there is no hole in the middle. See photo in post for reference.
- Wet your finger and press down on the tops to remove the points on the cookies. Sprinkle the remaining coconut over the cookies.
- Place cookies into the oven and bake for 1 hour. To test if the cookies are done, they should feel dry on the outside and you should be able to pull them off the parchment paper. The cookies will initially be very crisp when they are done but if you let them sit out a few hours uncovered at room temperature, the inside will become soft and chewy (but the outside stays firm and should not turn sticky). Once they reach this stage, they can be stored in an airtight container.
Notes
- These cookies work best with superfine sugar but you can substitute with regular granular sugar. Regular granular sugar will cause the cookies to look more tan when they are finished. They will also need to cook longer. After baking them for an hour in the oven, you will need to turn the oven off but keep the cookies in the oven for an additional hour. If you use regular sugar, your meringue will also whip to stiff peaks much faster (about 1-2 minutes).
- I used two egg whites from standard US large eggs. The total weight for the egg whites should be about 60 grams.
- To successfully make meringue, make sure your egg whites don't have any egg yolk (not even a drop), and your mixing bowl, wire whisk attachment and anything else the egg whites touch must be clean without any grease. When making the meringue, make sure to stop the mixture once it has reached stiff peaks. If you mix too long the meringue will become too stiff and break down again.
- These are a meringue type of cookie but don't have the same texture as regular meringue cookies. When the cookies are done, they will be dry on the outside and airy and chewy on the inside.
- I used 365 by Whole Foods shredded coconut.
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
