Chocolate, Coconut Macaroons with Chocolate Glaze

Servings: 6–8
Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

Macaroons:

• 2 cups finely shredded coconut, unsweetened
• 1/2 cup cacao powder
• 1/4 cup almond flour*
• pinch of sea salt
• 3/4 cup coconut milk, full fat and unsweetened**
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup

Glaze:

• 3 tablespoons raw cacao butter, chopped
• 2 tablespoons cacao powder
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  
• 1 tablespoon raw honey
  

Directions:

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a mixing bowl, sift together all dry macaroon ingredients, removing any clumps.

Add coconut milk and syrup, stirring till a thick batter forms.

Firmly pack coconut batter into a 1 1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop by scooping and dragging along the sides of bowl. Drop onto baking sheet.

Bake for 40 minutes.

Transfer to a cooling rack to allow macaroons to harden.

Glaze:

Heat one cup water in a small saucepan. Place cacao butter in a heatproof bowl and melt over simmering water. Remove from heat and whisk in remaining ingredients.

Allow the chocolate glaze to briefly cool and thicken; however, do not allow glaze to harden.

Dip macaroons in chocolate and place on frozen cookie sheet. This will quickly harden the glaze. Allow the macaroons and glaze to set before serving.

Chill macaroons in refrigerator for 30 minutes. Macaroons are best served chilled.

*You can grind your own almond flour by placing whole almonds in a blender/food processor and blending until you get a fine meal.

**For the freshest coconut milk, make homemade coconut milk. (See video at this link.)

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Clementine, Cranberry, Coconut Macaroons

Servings: 4
Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cup dry flaked coconut
• 2/3 cup raw almonds
• 2/3 cup juice from fresh, ripe, organic clementines (about 10) Reserve the peel for another recipe.
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pink salt
• 1 tablespoon fresh ground dried orange peel
• 1/2 cup raw honey
• 1 cup unsweetened organic dried cranberries

Directions:

Pulse coconut in a food processor to make small flakes but not powder. You still want to see texture. Grind almonds to a medium-coarse grind.

In a large bowl, mix the coconut, fruit juice, and water. Allow to rehydrate at room temperature for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Squeeze out and then drain the coconut in a wire mesh strainer. Allow to continue to drain for 3 hours while stirring and pressing/squeezing occasionally.

Mix almond meal, salt, and orange peel well in food processor and add honey. Blend well until incorporated. This is your almond paste.

Put the almond paste in a mixing bowl and knead in the coconut and cranberries until blended well. Using a metal scoop, scoop up mixture and pack it well and place on dehydrator tray that is meant for fruit leather (the one that is solid without slots).

Cover and dehydrate for a total of about 10 hours. Check every hour and pack down with scoop to maintain shape. After about 7 hours, you should be able to transfer macaroons to regular dehydrating tray without them falling apart. Continue to dry until firm but still chewy. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Recipe and photo submitted by Joelle, South Lake Tahoe, CA.

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Coconut Cream, Blond Macaroons

Servings: about 2 dozen

Preparation Time: 30 minutes preparation, varies

Ingredients:

• 2 2/3 cups shredded, unsweetened coconut (or 1 cup prepared Coconut Cream Concentrate)
• 2 cups shredded, unsweetened coconut
• 3/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

Directions:

First, you’ll need to use the 2 2/3 cups of shredded coconut to make homemade coconut butter or just 1 cup of Coconut Cream Concentrate instead. Blend the coconut in a high-powered blender or food processor until creamy. (It’s okay if the texture is slightly grainy.) To the coconut butter, add the rest of the ingredients and mix well until a batter forms.

These macaroons can be baked in an oven or gently dried in a dehydrator. For the oven, preheat to 300 degrees F and drop batter by rounded tablespoons onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 20–25 minutes until the outsides are crispy, and then allow to cool for an additional 25 minutes before removing from the pan to cool completely.

If using a dehydrator, simply drop the batter by rounded tablespoons onto the mesh sheets and dry at 118 degrees F for up to 24 hours or until desired crispiness is achieved.

Recipe and photo submitted by Megan, Los Angeles, CA.

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