Scottish Macaroons

A Scottish recipe for a traditional homemade sweet treat with a surprise ingredient. These are a tasty coconut treat covered in chocolate and more coconut.

Wartime Treats

Scottish macaroons were a popular treat during the second world war.

People were trying to make their rations go further, so a sweet treat that didn't include butter or eggs was always going to be popular.

Sugar, including icing sugar, was rationed, so it did need to be saved.

A sign to make this childhood treat

I was on Facebook when a message popped up from one of my fellow Scottish bloggers, Marie from You'll Have Had Your Tea.

She had just finished baking for her 10-year-old who was doing a school project on World War II.

She had to dress up for school the next day and bring along a wartime treat. They decided to make macaroon bars.

Now I was desperate to make some too.

Macaroon Bars

I've thought about making macaroon bars from time to time but never got around to making any.

Marie gave me a rough idea of the recipe, so I gave it a go and took note of the quantities so I could share them with you. They were so good.

Some of you may be surprised when you discover what the main ingredient is.

Bars or balls?

I shaped my macaroons into balls, but the traditional way to serve macaroons in Scotland is in bars.

Balls are an easy option as they are easier to shape than bars, but do make them which way you would like.

What are Scottish macaroons?

Macaroons are a traditional homebaked sweet (candy). They are coconut-based and very sweet. 

Do not confuse these with french macarons (mack-a-ron), which are a sweet meringue-based sandwich of two little discs sandwiched with ganache, jam or buttercream.

Do not confuse these with coconut macaroon cookies, which are coconut cookies dipped in chocolate.

Scottish macaroon bars (or in this case balls) are coconut bars with a sweet fondant type melt in your mouth centre, which are completely dipped in chocolate and then coconut.

They are awesome! 

But, don't eat too many at once as they are very sweet.

The history of Scottish macaroon bars

Scottish macaroon bars were created during the second world war. 

It was a time of food shortages and ration books, where people had to be very frugal with their ingredients and clever to make their rations go a long way.

Creativity was the name of the game.

This recipe is very creative. 

You would never in a hundred years guess the secret ingredient after tasting them.

What is the secret ingredient in Scottish macaroons?

The secret ingredient is MASHED POTATO.

Yes, you heard me right, mashed potato. 

You would never know it when you taste them.

They taste like a sweet coconut fondant.

These bars were made in homes across the land during the war and also commercially made by the confectioners' Lees.

You can still find these homemade bars sold along with bars of tablet beside the till at many a corner shop or newsagent in Scotland.

More easy no-bake recipes

Here are a few more easy no-bake recipes for you to try next.

• Mars Bar Slice
• Mini Strawberry Cheesecakes
• Oreo Chocolate Tiffin
• Peanut Butter Bars
• Peanut Butter & Cornflake Tiffin

For more Scottish recipes have a look at my recipe index of Scottish Recipes for Vegans and Vegetarians

Making Scottish Macaroon Snowballs

You can make these Scottish macaroons as bars or balls (full printable recipe below)

The balls are easier to make the first time you make them, but if you are feeling brave, do try making bars.

Step 1 - Making the macaroon snowballs

Mash your cold boiled potatoes with vanilla extract then add the icing sugar (confectioners sugar) a bit at a time, mixing in with a spatula until you have a thick dough. 

You may need to move from a spatula to a wooden spoon when the mixture gets stiffer.

Once all the icing sugar is folded in, roll the mixture into balls the size of chocolate truffles.

While you are making the dough, toast some coconut on a baking tray in the oven until golden.

Step 2 - Coating the macaroon snowballs

Melt dark or milk chocolate in a bain-marie (bowl over simmering water - do not let the base of the bowl touch the water or the chocolate will seize).

Set up a little work area so you can move from dipping into chocolate, then onto dipping into the coconut and a lined tray for the snowballs to set.

I had one bowl with desiccated coconut, one bowl with toasted desiccated coconut and one bowl with a mixture of both.

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traditional Scottish recipe, wartime sweet recipe, fridge cake, macaroons, no bake, traybake, coconut, condensed milk

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Scottish

Yield: 32 balls (or 16 bars)

Author: Jacqueline Meldrum

Scottish Macaroons

A Scottish recipe for a traditional homemade sweet treat with a surprise ingredient. Tasty coconut treats covered in chocolate and more coconut.

Prep time: 30 MinInactive time: 30 MinTotal time: 1 Hour

Ingredients

• 1 large potato (150g approx), boiled or steamed
• 500g (4 - 4 ½ cups) icing sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 200g (7 oz) good quality dark chocolate
• 145g (1 ½ cups) desiccated coconut

Instructions

1. Mash the potatoes until smooth and then spoon into a large mixing bowl. Leave to cool (this is very important, they need to be cold)
2. Add the icing sugar a large heaped spoonful at a time, stirring with a spatula. The mixture will be quite wet and gloopy at first, but eventually, it will form a smooth dough. Towards the end, as the dough gets stiffer, it is easier to work with a wooden spoon.
3. Once your dough is ready (it should be like a firm fondant), wrap it in clingfilm and pop it in the fridge for half an hour.
4. Prepare a couple of baking trays, by covering them in greaseproof paper, then tear off small balls of the macaroon dough and roll into smooth balls (or make into bars). Once you've finished, pop the macaroons in the fridge, while you move on to the next step.
5. Pour half of your desiccated coconut into an ovenproof dish. I covered my dish with greaseproof paper, so the coconut would be easy to remove.
6. Toast the coconut under the grill, shaking occasionally until it is golden. Do be careful as it burns easily You can mix some of the toasted coconut with plain coconut, so you end up with three bowls of coconut in varying colours. One plain, one mixed and one toasted. However, it is entirely up to you. The original bars are coated in toasted coconut.
7. Next, break your chocolate into pieces and melt in a bain-marie (or in the microwave, checking regularly).
8. Take your macaroon balls out of the fridge and set up a little production line. First, dip your macaroons in melted chocolate, then roll them in coconut before placing them back on the baking tray. I advise a spoon to dip the balls in chocolate and then to drop into the coconut and another to toss in the coconut. Have some kitchen paper at the ready too and baby wipes are very handy at this point.
9. Once all your macaroons are coated, pop the trays back into the fridge to allow the balls to set.
10. Enjoy!

Notes

For a traditional Scottish macaroon, form them into bars.

I have found the mixture is better if it has some chill time, so pop them in the fridge while you clean up and prepare the coconut and chocolate.

I have not included cook time for the potato as this can be done ahead and will take a very different time, if you boil or steam.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

137.33

Fat (grams)

5.59

Sat. Fat (grams)

4.12

Carbs (grams)

21.56

Fiber (grams)

1.67

Net carbs

19.89

Sugar (grams)

17.22

Protein (grams)

1.03

Sodium (milligrams)

3.94

Cholesterol (grams)

0.19

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