Salted Dulce De Leche Macaroons
There is something that competes with chocolate for my favorite dessert flavor, and that is salted caramel.
Salted caramel ice cream? Yes please. Salted caramel cupcake? Oh my. Chocolate covered caramel with sea salt on top? I’m giddy with excitement.
So when I decided to bake coconut macaroons for the first time, I could’ve gone the chocolate route and incorporated chocolate chips or cocoa powder, or dipped the macaroons in chocolate. But I thought, no, let me give some love to my other favorite dessert flavor. And to make it even better, instead of caramel, I’m going with dulce de leche.
Dulce de leche is caramel’s more exotic, sensual cousin. Dulce de leche is milkier, silkier, thicker. It’s not overly sweet (as I make my caramel to be) and best of all, it can be purchased in a can from good ole Nestle:
of course if you’re the patient/enterprising type, you can make your own dulce de leche – boil some milk and sugar and wait and wait wait – but I like the ease of enjoying this heavenly treat in a can
just look at how thick that is!
these macaroons are really easy to make – the hardest part is trying not to lick the batter
an old friend is making an appearance in this recipe: espresso salt
Remember espresso salt sprinkled on top of Nutella fudge and dark chocolate cookies?
espresso salt works equally well, if not better, sprinkled on top of dulce de leche coconut macaroons
and I’m telling you, these macaroons, they are luscious and right on point with salty-sweet goodness
In fact one of my friends even said that he will die a happy man because of these macaroons. You know if your friends start hypothesizing about their happy demise with your baked goods, that you’re doing something right.
Salted Dulce De Leche Macaroons
Ingredients
5 cups shredded coconut
1/2 can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 can dulce de leche (or about 8 oz)
1 egg white
1/4 cup flour (can be omitted and replaced with another egg white for gluten-free version)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon espresso salt (you can also use sea salt or any other flavored salt you prefer)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Mix the coconut and flour together, then add the rest of the ingredients except the espresso salt. Stir everything together until combined.
- Place 2-inch balls of the mixture on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
- Sprinkle the macaroons with espresso salt, or any other flaky salt. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
Recipe
Salted Sulce De Leche Macaroons
The bottoms got a teeny bit burned but they only tasted more caramelized and got stickier. The salt tempers the sweetness of each macaroon, so if you like salty-sweet desserts, you will like this!
Do you have a favorite salted dessert?
Hi! I’m Bianca Garcia. I love food, running, yoga, sangria, and my job. I'm an advertising professional, social media enthusiast, blogger, freelance writer, and obsessive list-maker. I think about dessert constantly. 
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These look so incredible! I love dulce de leche and the sweet/salty combination. Thank you for sharing!
Bianca Garcia replied October 19th, 2011 at 9:23 am
Hi Claire, there really is something about dulce de leche and sweet/salty combos that is so appealing!
These look wonderful, I love macaroons!
yeah i don’t know if the batter would even make it into the oven in my apartment… :)
Bianca Garcia replied October 19th, 2011 at 9:24 am
Haha Shannon you’re my kinda gal!
Oh these look fabulous! My dad loves macaroons so I will have to make these for him soon!
Bianca Garcia replied October 19th, 2011 at 9:24 am
Hi Kathryn, that’s great – I hope you and your dad likes it!
These look dangerously delicious. I had the best salty dessert last weekend. Salted caramel sundae. Salted caramel ice cream. Topped with hot fudge, peanuts, and caramel corn.
Bianca Garcia replied October 19th, 2011 at 9:25 am
Lindsay, I want that sundae for breakfast…
You probably know that I love ALL things salty and sweet. These look like the perfect balance!
Bianca Garcia replied October 19th, 2011 at 9:25 am
I knew you would approve, Emily! ;)
Wow. These look insane. I need to make these right now. Seriously. I might have to leave work.
These look delicious – love the flavor combination. I really may have trouble not licking the bowl!
Oh my, you had me at the dulce de leche picture! I think I will have cravings all day! Great post, thanks. :)
I love salted caramel anything!
these look fantastic. and is that a missoni for target tray?! very cute!
Bianca Garcia replied October 19th, 2011 at 1:19 pm
Daisy – yes that’s a Missoni (Target) tray!
Wholly yummy these look delicious Bianca! I must try and make them this weekend.
I am not much of a baker, but these look so easy that even I would enjoy making them. Plus I’m a HUGE salted caramel fan; we made salted caramel brownies for the Bloggers Bake for Hope earlier this year, and I’ve been addicted ever since!
I’m not a big fan of coconut macaroons, but with dulce de leche, I might have to be!
:-O Oh my gosh, these look AMAZING! I love macaroons as it is; I’m sure these would be bring the flavor to a whole new level! Love it!! :-)
Yum! Those look great! I’ve been wanting to try the Sprinkles Salty Caramel cupcake forever now, but I always miss it (it’s a flavor they only have twice a year). It comes back November 4 though, and this time I WILL get it!
You are right, it’s so hard to resist licking the batter, especially when it looks so yummy! Your macaroons look gorgeous!
Dulce de leche ice cream used to be my absolute favorite.. these would definitely get the vote of approval in my house!
Ahhhh! I was totally imagining this and wondering whether it would work just the other day! With that exact Nestle version, although it’s called “Top-n-Fill” in Australia. Hurrah for your experiments!
This is such a delicious post! I will take that can of dulce de leche and a spoon, please! :)
I’m super picky about macaroons. These look just like the Danny Macaroons I had in NY, which were amazing
Anything with dulce de leche makes me a very happy girl! These look incredibly good – love the touch of saltiness. My fave salty/sweet treat is salted pb cups.
Bianca Garcia replied October 21st, 2011 at 9:49 am
Oooh Reeni salted PB cups sound awesome!
i’m a fan of the macaroon, that’s for sure. incorporating the oh-so-magical flavor of dulce de leche is brilliant and make these what must be the best macaroons ever. well done!
Bianca Garcia replied October 21st, 2011 at 9:50 am
Thanks Grace! Dulce de leche was definitely the winning component here :)
I love Dulce de leche! Sadly I don’t consume as much as I should ;)
Salted caramel is my new obsession. The salted caramel mocha at Starbucks has become my go-to bad day fix. It’s.so.good. These macaroons would be a much cheaper and still delicious alternative :)
Wow – I read this really quickly and thought it said “Salted Dulce de Leche MUSHROOMS”
:D wow, I’m tired today.
Anyway, I like this recipe a lot better. I’ve been obsessed with salty/sweet since I tried a salted caramel macaron in Chicago. I also don’t know why I tried just one…