Wayne Boatwright muttered....



I also grew up with the same coconut macaroon type that you described,
and was introduced to the crisp almond macaroon years later. Without
doing some research, I don't know the origin of either, however that
coconut macaroon was a kitchen staple in many US homes from early in
the last century through, probably, the 1960s. I still like them.

Al though some might disagree, I'd put the US (and Australian) coconut
macaroon as an late 19th/early 20th century "invention" to utilize the
newly available processed coconut from the South Seas trade, sort of a
small change adjunct to the coconut oil business (and long predated by the
almond macaroon).

TMO