Preheat oven to 350℉. Line half sheet trays with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine the coconut flakes, chocolate chips, flour, and salt. Stir or toss together with hands until distributed well.
Add the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla extract. Fold ingredients together with a spatula until thoroughly combined. The mixture should be wet, but come together.
Use a #30 cookie scoop (about 2 Tablespoons) to form cookie dough balls. Place cookies a couple of inches apart on prepared cookie trays. Wet fingers with water to shape cookies into round balls and ensure there aren’t any fly-away coconut pieces that will brown faster than the rest of the cookie.
Bake the coconut macaroons at 350℉ for 12-14 minutes, or until the coconut is just starting to brown. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet. Then transfer cookies to an airtight container for storage. (See notes.)
Notes
Use 1/4 cup of flour with regular sweetened condensed milk. Use 1/3 cup with fat-free.
Lightly pack the cookie scoop. Make sure that when you scoop the cookies, it's solid enough that it doesn't fall apart when it bakes, but don't overpack it so much that it won't bake through.
Store cookies in an airtight container in the fridge up to 2 weeks.
Freeze cookies in an airtight container with parchment paper between layers up to 3 months. Let cookies come to room temperature, about 1 hour, before eating.
If using a smaller #40 scoop, this recipe will yield 30 cookies.