Coconut Macaroons
It's Girl Scout cookie season and we've been seriously craving the coconut and chocolate 'Samoa' cookies. Sadly, the nutritional content is those cookies is pretty much none and though I've heard rumors that they offer vegan girl scout cookies in some states, we didn't find any near us. Disappointing but perfect- it forced us to get creative and make a healthy version of those sweet, tempting cookies.
These macaroons have since become a staple in our house. They are so easily thrown together that we are constantly making them for parties and quick get-togethers. They keep well in the fridge for several days and can even be frozen and thawed for later use.
These macaroons are raw, refined sugar free, and can easily be made gluten free by substituting almond or rice flour...a guiltless treat if ever there were one!
Ingredients:
2 cups shredded coconut, unsweetened 1/4 cup coconut oil 1/2 cup whole wheat flour 1/3 cup pure maple syrup or agave nectar 1/2 teaspoon finely ground pink sea salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2-4 teaspoons of cold water 1/4 cup (2 ounces) unsweetened dark or other vegan chocolate
Directions:
Combine coconut, coconut oil, flour, syrup, salt, and vanilla. Coconut oil should NOT be melted. You want to have to fork the mixture together until the solid coconut oil has been completely smooshed up and combined with everything else. It takes about 2 minutes of dedicated forking. Add water, starting with two teaspoons, and mix until mixture comes together and becomes sticky. Once combined, use your hands to form the mixture into (about) 1 inch balls. Or two inch balls...because who am I to tell you how much macaroon to enjoy? Once your macaroons are formed, set them on a paper lined cookie sheet in a cool place. The fridge will work beautifully here. While the macaroons are chillin', melt about 2 ounces of chocolate. To keep the recipe raw use the bain-marie (the double-boiler) method. To do this, fill a large saucepan with water. Bring the water to a boil, and cover with a heat safe bowl, never allowing the heat safe bowl to come into contact with the water. Gently melt the chocolate. Once chocolate is fully melted, remove macaroons from cooling area. Dip macaroons carefully into the chocolate, being careful not to coat them, but rather add the chocolate as more of an accent, 'cause these babies are rich! (Sometimes we use a piping bag to add a little decorative chocolate to the tops.) This is most easily done using a spoon and/ or your fingers (I used my fingers so I had a reasonable excuse to lick the batter off of my fingers after...). Once a little chocolate has been added, place the completed macaroons back onto lined cookie sheet and refrigerate for about 30-60 minutes, allowing chocolate to set. This process can be sped up by placing the entire cookie sheet into the freezer until the chocolate cools completely. Enjoy!
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9 Comments
Vegan link
3/25/2012 07:15:03 pm
Whoa! Macaroons and chocolates! Love this one! The photos themselves look very mouth-watering. I'm a little concerned that it would be too sweet?
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Amber St. Peter
6/3/2012 04:28:10 am
Whoops- somehow just seeing this comment! I think the bitter of the dark chocolate keeps things from getting too sweet. Hope you like them!
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krysi
6/4/2012 12:36:02 pm
OMG, Im drooling all over my keyboard and am all set to make these tomorrow, except I will have to use honey.........God bless you for putting this recipe on here.
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brynrose
9/30/2012 11:53:44 am
delicious!! used a little more agave than the recipe called for... just a smudge. and didn't pay attention to the hint about the chocolate until it was too late, will definitely use less chocolate next time so i can handle eating more than one at once haha also added a bit of coconut extract. other than that, i followed the recipe and it did not disappoint!! after trying out two other vegan recipes for macaroons that failed miserably, i was so happy to find this one. thank you!
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Amber
10/4/2012 10:23:58 am
So happy that you enjoyed them! They're one of my favorite, quick dessert recipes!
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Caitlyn
5/13/2014 08:48:19 am
Just made these and loved them! Thanks!
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Caitlyn
5/13/2014 08:49:28 am
Forgot to add, I did not need to add any water at all to the mixture.
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Courtney
11/17/2015 08:41:49 am
I absolutely love this recipe!! Thank you for posting it. I have made these delicious little wonders many times and even get requests to bring them to parties. I am wondering though... how do you get the coconut to become such fine little pieces in the pictures? When I "fork" the mixture together the coconut shreds don't break up like that and never look like your pictures. Do you know what I mean? Anyway, they're delectable and I don't mind that they only *almost* look like your pics... but I was just curious. Thanks again!
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Amber link
11/18/2015 09:11:59 am
Hi Courtney! So glad you enjoy the recipe!! Haha I see what you mean, and they don't always look this great for me either. The trick is finding a brand with realllllly finely shredded coconut. Thats my best advice! Thanks, hope that helps! :)
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