Coconut Lemon Macaroon Nests
Updated March 05, 2020
Today is the first day of spring and I’ve got major spring fever. Bring on the tulips, chirping birds, green grass, picnics at the park, and sunshine. I am also in the mood for lemon everything! Lemon pancakes, lemon muffins, lemon salads, lemon bars, and lemon cookies. Hellooooo spring!
To celebrate the first day of spring, I made Coconut Lemon Macaroon Nests. These little nests are bursting with lemon and scream spring! And they are a fun treat for Easter too, which is coming right up! Spring has officially sprung!
Last year we made Coconut Nutella Macaroon Nests and they have become a favorite. The only problem, Josh can’t eat them because he is allergic to all things that involve nuts, even Nutella. I know, sad day.
I really don’t need to be eating an entire batch of Nutella Macaroon Nests by myself, swimsuit season is right around the corner, so I created coconut macaroon nest cookies that Josh can help me eat. Josh loves lemon, so I knew he would love these lemony coconutty treats!
The coconut macaroon nests have fresh lemon juice and zest mixed into the coconut. I baked the nests until they were set and slightly golden brown around the edges. When I pulled them out of the oven, I pressed my thumb into the center to create a little bird’s nest.
I filled the centers with lemon curd. I love our lemon curd recipe, it is easy to make and SO good. You can use store bought lemon curd if you are in a pinch! I like Trader Joe’s lemon curd.
I decorated the nests with little “eggs.” I took a trip down the Easter candy aisle and found some pretty pastel jelly beans. They look like eggs and taste even better. They are the perfect sweet ending to my cute little nests.
Celebrate spring with Coconut Lemon Macaroon Nests. They are easy to make and super cute! They are perfect for ringing in spring! They are also a great addition to any Easter basket and will also look great on any Easter brunch or dinner table. So festive and fun! Happy spring!
Coconut Lemon Macaroon Nests
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
- 1 egg white
- 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 3 1/2 cups sweetened coconut
- 3/4 cup lemon curd
- Jelly beans
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat mat.
- In a large bowl, stir together the sweetened condensed milk, egg white, vanilla extract,lemon juice and salt. Stir until combined. Add in the lemon zest and coconut. Mix well.
- With a spoon, scoop up about 2 Tablespoons of the dough and place the dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Form the cookies into the shape of a bird nest. Press down the center with your thumb.
- Bake cookies for 18 to 20 minutes, or until slightly golden brown. Remove from the oven and press your thumb down in the center of the nests again. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for about 5 minutes or until they are firm and set. Remove with a spatula onto a cooling rack. Cool completely.
- Place about a tablespoon of lemon curd in the center of each nest. Place 2 jelly beans in the center of the nest. Finish decorating the nests and enjoy!
- Note-you can make these 2-3 days in advance. Store in an air tight container in the fridge. Let come to room temperature and then decorate with jelly beans.
Have you tried this recipe?
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Yayyy for lemon (and spring)!! Def a perfect easter dessert
These are adorable and I’m sure they taste amazing!
Ohhh, looks delicious! I need to buy some lemon curd!! Gorgeous cookies!!
Coconut and lemon are PERFECT together! Love these!
What an amazing treat for Easter! The lemon and coconut combo is great!
Such a darling treat for the family for Easter…lemon and coconut…scrumptious!
I am on a huge coconut kick and these are fuel to my fire!! I love the addition of the Easter eggs! So cute!
Perfect little Easter Treats! So fun!
These are adorable!
These are too adorable!!! Love all things lemon and coconut. 🙂
These are so darling!!! Perfect Easter treats!!!
I absolutely love lemon or coconut anything, so these are basically perfect.
How stinkin’ cute!! I love these!!
Loving the twist on macaroon nests. Lemon is perfect for right now.
These are perfect to use up some leftover coconut and lemon curd. I might have to try these with chocolate eggs.
We must secretly be related because I just posted coconut macaroon “nests” with pineapple jam filling on my blog today 🙂 Long-lost culinary cousins? Yours look so fun and festive!
Love that you filled the nests with lemon curd! Perfect for welcoming in spring!
How perfect are these for kiddos? Totally adorable! Great Easter recipe. 🙂
What a cute idea, these look delicious! 🙂
I love macaroons- and making them into nests is just plain adorable.
I love these! So springy and fresh!
Oh! These are SO cute!! I made chocolate ones for my chocolate happy girls the other day, but I would so prefer these lemon- my favorite!!
Really cute idea!
These are so pretty and fun for Easter!
WAAH!!!…In France it is sooooo difficult to find the sweetened variety of coconut!!
I CAN find large “shreds”…but unsweetened….Would I destroy your spectacular recipe if I used non-sweet coconut?!…Any suggestions?…Really wanting to make this very timely and appropriate recipe for our Easter festivities!!!
No, they will be a little less sweet, but they are plenty sweet:) They will be fine! Enjoy!
These are so cute! I made your coconut Nutella nests last year and those were great, too!
LOVE LOVE LOVE the combination of coconut and lemon. It’s my absolute favorite. I can’t wait to try these. 🙂
Spring fever for sure! These look and sound perfect!
I bet these are bursting with flavor and sweetness! Such a perfect way to ring in spring 🙂
coconut macaroons are my mom’s favorite. 🙂 and it’s her birthday in a few weeks. you just reminded me to make them for her! Thanks Maria!
Ahhh these are adorable!!! I LOVE coconut macaroons – I used to eat way too many of these 🙂 I love the nest idea – it’s so darling!
I’m ready for spring too!! And these cookies are the perfect way to welcome it in!
I’m listening to the bird’s chirp as we speak! Spring is definitely in the air. Such a cute creation! What kind of jelly beans are those, I like that they are speckled !
Maria, these are so cute and I KNOW they taste amazing!
These are so adorable! Love the macaroon nests!
I’m on a lemon kick too, and these are perfect! SO pretty.
So cute and so easy!
Totally on the lemon bandwagon here. =)
these are adorable!
I am so excited for spring too! Now if only the weather would get the memo! These look and sound wonderful. My life is also Nutella- less, as I am allergic to chocolate. But lemon curd sounds like a lovely alternative filling!
These are so cute! Lemon and coconut are great together!
It so doesn’t feel like spring here in the northeast…but with these little nests at least it can taste like it! Yum!
i’m dying over the cuteness! Happiness is a cookie!
These are too cute!!!
These are so adorable and perfect for Easter!
These are too cute! They would be addition to anyone’s Easter table!
Hi Maria, I made the Coconut Nutella Macaroon Nests you posted last year and they were a huge hit at home and at work. I had to make a nut-free version because my hubby is also allergic to nuts and I couldn’t send them to daycare with nutella. So I filled the center with Dulce de Leche and let me tell ya, they were soooooo sooooo soooo good!!! 😀 So give that a try; you won’t be disappointed.
I’ll have to try this lemon version though. It looks delicious and I’m sure my Hubby will like this one even more. 🙂 Thanks for the recipes!!
Dulce de Leche sounds so good! I am glad you like the nests!
This is too cute!! And those pastel jelly beans had my heart racing!!!
oh what fun!! I love the lemon in the macaroons!!!
These are adorable Maria! And the perfect way to welcome Spring! 🙂
I’ve had macaroons on my brain for a while now. Easter always means coconut in some form for me, so these look just perfect! The addition of lemon curd make these perfect for spring.
These are so cute!
Yummy! Just saw your link over at Tidy Mom and thought I’d come and check it out 🙂
I’d LOVE for you to link up a few recipes, projects or crafts at my weekend Link Party {The Weekend re-Treat} on The Best Blog Recipes that is going on right now! http://thebestblogrecipes.blogspot.com/
Hope to see you there!
These are too cute, I love the lemon curd filling!
These sweet little Coconut Lemon Macaroon Nests with Eggs are adorable! Saw them over at Pinterest and just had to comment. What a fabulous idea to celebrate both Easter and spring! Between Kelly’s pineapple macaroons, and your lemon, you have both inspired me to create my own rendition. Happy Spring & Happy Easter!
Adorable! Love the addition of little eggs. I made something similar over the weekend but we called them thumbprints and they were for Passover. Will have to remember your version for Easter next year!
They look delicious! I’m going to try them with mini eggs instead of jelly beans! If I can find lemon curd…
How festive and fun! And coconut! Yum coconut! 🙂
I’ve made rice krispie nests, but never macaroons. I will trying these next Easter! Thanks for the idea!
If you make them ahead, do you add the lemon curd then or when you add the jelly beans before serving.
these look delish! do you think I could make them and freeze now and then add the curd and jelly beans the morning of Easter?
I am making these for Easter . The coconut and lemon together …yum. They are so sweet looking too!
Do you think you could double or triple the batch easily or should you do each set separately? I just know 10 will not be enough!