Have you ever made your own coconut milk only to be left with a handful of leftover coconut pulp and nothing to do with it? It’s too valuable to throw away, but what in the world are you supposed to do with it?
It’s actually really simple. Just use it as you normally would use dried coconut. It’s great in smoothies, granola, cookies, as a breading for meats, a treat for your pets (dogs, cats, and horses love this stuff)—just be creative. The only problem would be that the coconut is now drier after getting blended, scalded, and squeezed to death during the coconut milk process.
But not to worry, some recipes will just need a little extra moisture. I adapted the Classic Coconut Macaroons recipe to work with the coconut pulp, and it needed very little tweaking. I used more egg whites than usual since the cookies came out too dry the first time. But other than that, it’s pretty much the same. A double batch of the homemade coconut milk should give you a good amount to work with. But for those odd amounts that are “neither this measurement nor that measurement,” just use regular shredded coconut to make up the loss.
For this recipe, you need to dry the coconut first. Simply spread it out on a baking pan and pop it in a warm oven (100–200 degrees, however low it’ll go) for 3 hours or overnight. You can turn the oven off after an hour or less and just let it sit until dry. It’s not very picky. Here’s a video demo showing you how to do this.
Enjoy everyone!
Sarah
Macaroons from Coconut Milk Pulp
Servings: approximately 1 dozen cookies
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups coconut pulp from homemade coconut milk*
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- pinch of salt
- 1/3 cup raw honey, melted slightly
- 3–4 egg whites
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a bowl, combine coconut, vanilla, salt, and honey until well combined.
Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold into coconut mixture along with cream of tartar.
Scoop mixture into a cookie scoop and press onto a greased cookie sheet as you drop it (you can compact the balls or leave them fluffy). Bake for 10–15 minutes or until browned.
*For the freshest coconut milk, try our recipe for homemade coconut milk. (See video at this link.)
Recipe courtesy of Sarah Shilhavy.
Recipe prepared by Sarah Shilhavy and photographed by Jeremiah Shilhavy.
