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One of my favorite guilty pleasures is watching television programs like Top Chef, Master Chef, and Iron Chef. You might wonder how can a raw foodist enjoy watching these kinds of shows but I find them to be inspirational in regards to the incredible flavor combinations and innovative ideas that these chefs come up with while under so much pressure.
And I’m sure I’m not alone here. There must be some other raw foodies out there who share my enjoyment of these programs. Even Cherie Soria admitted to watching these shows in one of her talks while I was recently at Living Light doing my raw chef training.
Last week I was watching a chef show involving a cookie competition and one of the judges pointed out that there are actually two types of macaroons. The ones made from coconut are most familiar to Americans, however, the original macaroon was actually based on almonds.
When you refer to macaroons in France or Italy it is the almond version and while the exact origins of these cookies are not known for certain, some historians claim that they were first created in an Italian monastery.
This recipe is somewhat of a marriage between the European and American versions of macaroons with a combination of coconut and almond flour. They are soft and moist with a mild almond flavor but coconut is still the main ingredient here.
They are really easy to make and the actual preparation time is fairly quick, but you will have to be patient while they are in the dehydrator as the delicious aromas are released. Mine took two days to dehydrate!
Almond Macaroons
Makes 2 dozen
2 cups shredded coconut
1 1/2 cups almond flour
3/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon Himalayan salt
Place all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine well. Form into cookies of about one tablespoon each ( a measuring spoon or mini ice cream scooper can help to create a nice shape) and place on the dehydrator trays with teflex sheets.
Dehydrate for about 12 hours or overnight then remove the teflex sheets and place onto the mesh trays. Then dehydrate for 24-36 hours longer until they dry to your desired level. They will still remain fairly moist even after a large amount of drying time.
I dried them for 48 hours total, but I am living in Costa Rica, where our humidity levels are high, and I always find I need to adjust dehydrator recipes to allow for longer drying time, so you may not need to dry them for quite that long.
But they are well worth the wait and will keep for a couple of weeks in the fridge and at least a month or two in the freezer, so you may even want to double the recipe so you always have something on hand for an afternoon pick-me-up or for when unexpected guests drop by.
I hope you like them!