almond lemon coconut chia macaroons
Makes 25 – 30 macaroons.
At first, I made the chocolate ones from the link below, but I found the chocolate (especially using raw cacao) too bitter. I like the intense sweetness of these which complements the coconut and lemon.
Adapted from these.
ingredients
3 cups/250g dried, unsweetened desiccated coconut
2 Tbsp/20g chia seeds
1 cup/100g almond meal (I used whole almonds, skins and all, then ground into a rough powder)
½ cup/45g almond flakes
¼ tsp fine rock salt
zest from one lemon
¼ cup/60ml water
¾ cup/185g maple syrup
⅓ cup/80ml extra virgin coconut oil (melted)
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
preparation
1. Preheat oven to 150C/325F.
2. In a large bowl, combine the coconut, chia seeds, almond meal, almond flakes, salt, and lemon zest – stir to combine thoroughly.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the water, maple syrup, coconut oil and vanilla extract, then add to the dry ingredients – stir until fully combined, and no dryness remains.
4. Cover and place the mixture in the fridge for 15 – 20 minutes. The chia seeds will help bind the mix together and the coconut oil solidifies, making it much easier to scoop.
5. Use an ice-cream scooper that has a spring action, which releases the mixture by sliding the band underneath. This works perfectly for easy shaping. Fill the scoop half full and firmly pressed the mixture. If you don’t have an ice-cream scooper, use a teaspoon to create more rustic mounds.
For the oven, place the macaroons on a baking sheet. I fitted all macaroons snugly on one tray. Bake them in the oven for 25 – 30 minutes, or until golden.
For the dehydrator, dehydrate at 115F for 6 – 8 hours if you want them fudgy, and longer if you want some chewiness.
light and festive!
Goodness shared from Stacey
