These raw coconut macaroons are armed and dangerous.
They’re armed with a taste so compelling, that I dare you to eat only one, and that’s the danger.
I’ve made three batches so far, and I think we’ve eaten over half of each batch straight from the dehydrator, before they were even ready!
Oh yeah, these babies are irresistible.
It all starts innocently enough, with processing a bunch of shredded coconut long enough that it turns into your very own homemade coconut butter.
Harmless enough, and super easy. Blend, scrape, blend, scrape, blend, scrape, and blend some more.
I’ve even had my 3yo on button duty – she loves turning the processor on and off, on and off, on and off.
And it smells heavenly too. Kind of coconutly.
And then you blend your newly created coconut butter with some agave, some vanilla and a pinch of salt.
Chuck in a bunch more of shredded coconut, and mix, mix, mix.
That’s where the hazard begins.
“Oh, I’d better taste the mix to make it’s OK.” Taste. (OMG.)
“I’d better have another taste, just to make sure”. Taste. (So good.)
“One more taste, and then I promise I’ll start making macaroons.”
And on it goes….
Eventually I manage to get some onto the tray, using a quick and dirty “scoop and spoon” trick.
I have this awesome 15ml tablespoon that’s perfectly round, and perfect for macaroons.
But then I go and scrape it out with a spoon, leaving me with lop-sided macaroons.
Say hello to the “dement-aroon”.
Hello.
Ah, who cares, it’s quick and easy, and I definitely like that.
Besides, they still taste the same.
I’m not so keen on the fact that it takes 1-2 days to dehydrate these raw coconut macaroons to chewy-soft perfection.
Although it does give me ample excuses opportunities to test them out.
“Nope, not ready yet.”
“Nope not ready yet.”
“Nope, still not ready.”
Little wonder that most of them don’t make it to the end.
But the ones that do make it are definitely worth the wait.
An even more irresistible balance of crunchy outsides with soft melty insides.
Enough talking about it.
These photos are making me hungry.
I think it’s time to go and do some more “testing”.
Raw Coconut Macaroons recipe
Make sure to read the tips below the recipe to get the most out of this addictive Raw Coconut Macaroons recipe.
Raw Coconut Macaroons
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups shredded coconut , processed into coconut butter (230g)
- 3/4 cup agave nectar (210g)
- 2 tsp vanilla vodka or vanilla extra (10g)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 cups shredded coconut , fine (170g)
Method
- Process 2 3/4 cups of shredded coconut in your food processor until it is completely smooth and creamy. Stop often to scrape down the sides.
- Mix coconut butter, agave, vanilla vodka and salt in a large bowl.
- Add 2 cups of finely shredded coconut and mix well.
- Scoop small tablespoons of mix onto a dehydrator tray/sheet.
- Dehydrate at 42ºC for 24-36 hours, until the macaroons are dry on the outside (or there's none left, whichever comes first)
Preparation
- Before: -
- During: 30 mins
- After: 24-36 hours
- Need: Food processor, dehydrator (or oven)
Nutrition Information
Tips
- You can always make extra coconut butter by processing extra shredded coconut, and then use it for other recipes. This amount makes just enough for one batch of macaroons, which, if you’re interested is 1 cup or about 220g.
- The original recipe used maple syrup, although I prefer agave nectar, and you can just use your favourite liquid sweetener. I’ve just got myself some “light agave” to see if I can make almost-white macaroons.
- I use vanilla vodka instead of vanilla extract in my recipes, but you can use either. Vanilla vodka is made by soaking vanilla beans in vodka for a couple of months, which means you know exactly what’s in it, but if you’re not so keen on the alcohol, see if you can find a vanilla extract with a low alcohol content.
- I like to use Himalayan salt in my recipes. It’s got lots of extra minerals in it, and apparently tastes better too. And it also has a pretty pink colour (from all the minerals in it).
- I discovered that finely shredded coconut makes better macaroons than coarsely shredded coconut, but if all you have is coarsely shredded coconut, just pulse it in your food processor briefly to turn it into finely shredded coconut.
- If you don’t have a dehydrator, you can bake these in the oven at 150°C for 20-25 minutes, until they’re dry on the outside. Make sure you let them cool completely before eating them.
- And apparently you can store these for 5 days on the bench, 2 weeks in the fridge or 2 months in the freezer, but that’s never going to happen, is it?
- For a lower-fat macaroon, you can replace half the shredded coconut with rolled oats (coarsely ground).
- You can mix these macaroons up just by adding extra ingredients. I’ve already tried adding 2 tbsp lemon zest (yum), and I want to try adding cacao powder next, and I’m thinking about attempting a berry macaroon, a caramel/lucuma macaroon and maybe even a mint macaroon. Or, you could just smear a plain macaroon with some raw chocolate coconut butter and be done with it. Your call.
My inspiration
This amazing recipe comes straight from Chef Amber Shea’s book, Practically Raw Desserts.
I bought both of her cookbooks recently, because I love her approach to food, and I’m working my way through her recipes.
I tried this recipe out because my 3yo has been hankering after biscuits/cookies and I was hoping that she’d accept these as an alternative.
No such luck (yet), but I’ll keep trying with my variations on a theme and see if I hit the jackpot.
But at this point, I’m really not fussed whether or not she likes them, because I sure as heck do.
Coconut macaroon birthday “cake”
And when Paul’s birthday came around recently, and he asked for raw coconut macaroons as a birthday treat.
So I made a batch, and experimented with using dates to sweeten them, instead of agave.
And what do you know, they turned out rather well. (Surprise, surprise).
So well, in fact, that of the 36 or so macaroons that I made on Saturday afternoon, this was all that was left by Monday night.
Six macaroons.
Sigh. Making irresistibly delicious food is such a hazard!
So I made the most of the gems we had left and arranged them artistically on a plate to make a raw coconut macaroon birthday “cake”.
Who says you need to have a “proper” cake for your birthday?
I think it came up pretty well.
It was definitely enough for a candle, and we sang happy birthday, and they’re the bits that matter, right?
Want your own copy of Practically Raw Desserts?
You can order Amber's cookbooks online today at Amazon, or your favourite book supplier, and start playing with her recipes for yourself.
Get Practically Raw Desserts at Amazon.
Have an awesome coconut-filled day!
15 comments
Cheryl
I’ve made these several times and love them. I usually put them on the dehydrator sheets then I Top each one with a raw almond and after they’re done in the dehydrator usually 24 hours then I dip the bottoms in chocolate and then drizzle them with chocolate. They taste just like an almond joy. Making these again tomorrow! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Nikki Stokes
Oh, wow. I love this idea, Cheryl. I’m definitely going to have to try this one out the next time I make them.
I’d love to see a photo the next you make a batch – share it on Facebook or Instagram and tag me if you want.
Thanks for the idea and have an awesome day!
Nancy
Thanks for the recipe. We had a whole coconut my son got to just see what they were like and I needed to use it. I pureed the meat in the vitamix to make the “butter” and used some other dried coconut I had to do the rest. I didn’t really measure, but I think it was about 1 cup. I baked them a long time and they didn’t seem to do much. A hint for anyone doing the baking instead of dehydrating. Just cooling them doesn’t work. They need to be refrigerated to really set up. Otherwise they just fall apart in an oily mess. But fridge works great. I drizzled melted chocolate mixed with a bit of coconut oil over some of mine for an extra bit of yum. (And I took an awesome picture of them in the coconut shell which I don’t think I can share here.)
Nikki
Hi Nancy,
Sounds like you had great fun making these, and thanks for the tips for anyone baking them.
I’d love to see your photos. Feel free to share them on my Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/EatingVibrantly) or on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/eatingvibrantly/).
Stephanie H
I really want to try this. It sounds good and I don’t even like coconut. I bought my first coconut today and shredded the meat. Now I’m trying to figure out what to do next. I bought it mostly out of curiosity (for me & my kids) I don’t have a dehydrator or food processor though
Nikki
Hi Stephanie,
Congratulations on taking the plunge into the world of fresh coconuts. I’ve never made this recipe with fresh coconut, and I’m not sure if it’s really do-able without a food processor and dehydrator. You might be able to mix the ingredients by hand, and freeze the balls instead, but I don’t think it will taste much like the original recipe. One of my favourite things to do with fresh coconut meat is to make instant coconut yoghurt. Have a great day :)
Kara
My coconut was very dry, I processed it for 20 minutes & it became coconut flour rather than coconut butter :-) A little disappointing but I just added some coconut oil for moisture & ground chia for binding and continued. The result was good, not great. I’ll keep my eye open for different shredded coconut before I try again. Nice idea though, thanks!
Nikki
Hi Kara,
I’m sorry to hear that. Adding back some coconut oil is a great idea because it sounds like there wasn’t enough in your shredded coconut for it to turn into butter, which is a shame. Hopefully you can find some that has a higher oil content for next time. And you can always use dates instead of agave to help with the binding, like I did in my Raw Date Coconut Macaroons. Happy experimenting :)
Alice
Delich
Shalla
Hello,
I have coconut butter in a jar (purchased) can I use 2 3/4 cups of that? I tasted my shredded coconut I bought and it doesn’t seem it would turn into a buttery consistency? Too dry I thing? Suggestions?
Thank you!
Shalla
Nikki
Hi Shalla,
I’m not very experienced with coconut butter, but if it’s called “coconut butter”, I guess it might be OK. My shredded coconut is also very dry, but if you process it for long enough (mine takes 5 or more minutes and can get quite warm along the way), it does turn buttery eventually, I promise. It’s not like coconut oil, more like coconut puree, so you might just find that it does work with your shredded coconut.
Margaret
These are crazy good. I am amazed. I made them exactly according to the directions and they are chewy and sweet and coconutty. I baked them because I just did not want to deal with the dehydrator and they came out toasty brown and delicious! 3 cookies pack only about 15 gms of carbs. That is awesome! 2 are satisfying, so even better! A keeper
Nikki
Hi Margaret,
I know exactly what you mean :) I’m so pleased they turned out well for you. They definitely don’t last long around our house.
Laura Dembowski
These look really cool! I love coconut macaroons and this is a very inventive recipe!
Nikki
Thanks, Laura. I love how simple they are :)