Coconut Almond Macaroons
By: Tricia
Published: Thursday, February 18, 2010 - 8:53am

Ingredients




3 cups Shredded unsweetened Coconut
1/4 cup Coconut Oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or one vanilla bean, pods extracted
1 1/2 cups Raw Almonds
1 cup Agave Nectar

Preparation

1 Pulse the almonds in a food processor until broken down and only some medium size pieces remain. Transfer this mixture to a large bowl and add all remaining ingredients. Stir with a wooden spoon or strong rubber spatula. Get in there with your hands and mash it all together.--This is actually AMAZING for your hands, they will feel super soft, like you just had a manicure, if you get them in there and mix using them. Coconut oil is wonderful for the skin too. So go for it! 2 Form large golf ball sized macaroons with a tablespoon and your hands, transfer macaroons to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour prior to serving. You may also wrap individual macaroons in an airtight container and freeze - simply thaw out before serving.

About


I have another guilty pleasure: coconut. I love it in all it's forms including shredded, the milk, the oil, and coconut water. To me, it is like eating the nectar of the gods--especially with the lack of sun up here in the Pacific Northwest. I wonder if eating the coconut is somehow transferring all the sun it took to grow it, to me. Let's hope!
And I can't seem to get enough of it. The other day, I found myself making a big pot of brown rice with coconut milk--the full fat kind. And last week, I got a surprise box of goodies from my school, The Institute of Integrative Nutrition, with some amazing coconut macaroons in there. They were made by a graduate who has started his own business called The Laughing Giraffe Organics. And, they pretty much blew my mind. These are vegan?... and raw? I thought to myself. It was right then and there I decided I was going to trust my taste buds instead of listening to the long list of stigmas those two words tend to conjure up in my mind. Because these were incredible!
So I decided to do a little sleuthing to figure out how to make some of these on my own. I found a lot of recipes out there that use a dehydrator, and I have a feeling that is how the Laughing Giraffe does his too. But I stumbled across another recipe that looked like it was going to be the winner. And as far as I'm concerned, it is--my coconut fix will forever be--fixed! What I love about these little no-bake cookies is that they have very few ingredients: shredded coconut, almonds, coconut oil, agave, and a little sea salt. You can keep them in your fridge in an air tight container for a long time (at least a month, maybe more) and in your freezer for even longer. People, I am telling you, if you are looking for an amazing sweet fix that won't make your teeth fall out or you feel woozy afterward, then this is your treat. They actually give you a nice burst of energy--try eating one or two of these things before working out or as a mid-afternoon pick me up!