Dried Coconut Recipes

Coconut Vanilla Granola

Prepared by Sarah Shilhavy, Photo by Jeremiah Shilhavy

This granola has a long shelf life, although it’s usually eaten up very quickly. In addition to eating as cereal, try it sprinkled on top of vanilla ice cream or over yogurt.

Servings: 10 cups
Preparation time: 10 minutes

6 cups regular rolled oats
1 1/2 cups chopped nuts (I like a mix of almonds, walnuts and pecans)
1 1/2 cups shredded dried coconut
1 cup honey
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup coconut oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.

Combine oats, nuts and coconut in a large bowl. Set aside.

Combine honey, water and salt in a small saucepan. Heat, stirring frequently, to thin the honey. Remove from heat and stir in coconut oil and vanilla. Pour over oat mixture and stir well.

Place granola into 2 greased 13x9x2-inch pans or 1-2 greased cookie sheets. Bake in a preheated oven for about one hour, until golden. Stir/turn over using a wide metal spatula about every 20 minutes. The granola will get crunchier as it cools. Store in an airtight container.

Recipe submitted by Susan, Madison, MS

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Coconut Dishpan Cookies

Prepared by Sarah Shilhavy, Photo by Jeremiah Shilhavy

Preparation time: 15 minutes

1 cup salted butter, softened
1 cup coconut oil, melted
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 egg
3 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup dried, unsweetened flaked coconut
1 cup cornflakes cereal
1 cup chocolate chips or chopped nuts of choice
1 cup rolled oats

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy with an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Slowly add oil and mix until oil is well incorporated. Beat vanilla extract and egg in until well incorporated.

Mix flour and baking soda together and stir into butter mixture just until combined. Combine remaining ingredients and add to dough, mixing just until incorporated.

Using a small cookie scoop drop tablespoonful sized cookie dough balls onto an ungreased cookie sheet spacing about 1 inch apart (they won’t spread much). Bake in preheated oven for 7-12 minutes, just until lightly browned.

You can also freeze individual balls of cookie dough and freeze for later baking. To bake simply place frozen cookie dough onto sheet (there’s no need to defrost) and bake as directed (adding a few minutes to cook time).

Recipe courtesy Sarah Shilhavy

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Coconut Ice

Photo by Recipe Author

Preparation time: 10 minutes plus the ice cream maker time
Servings: 2

Almond Milk:

1/2 cups raw almonds
1 1/2 cups coconut milk*

Ice:

2-3 frozen bananas
1 cup fresh pineapple, diced
1/2 cup shredded dried coconut
1/4 cup organic pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Blend almonds and coconut milk in a high-speed blender until smooth.

Add other ingredients and blend until smooth. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

* For the freshest coconut milk make homemade coconut milk. (See video at this link.)

Recipe submitted by Kelly, Grandview, MO

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Chocolate Balsamic Truffles

Vinegar in chocolate?? I scratched my head at the idea, but this is a fantastic combination. The unique, tart-ish flavor with the silky smooth and creamy chocolate was just meant to be. You’ll love it.

Truffles are pretty simple and easy to make. It’s all in the ingredients. Use high quality everything in this recipe as every single ingredient stands out. Use a nice tasting, high quality dark chocolate and a rich, dark, high quality balsamic vinegar especially. This is one recipe that you really don’t want to skimp on.

Another fun thing about truffles is that you can coat/dip them in so many different things! Nuts, chocolate shavings, dip in different melted chocolates, etc. Let the imagination run wild.

The next important thing is the chilling. The mixture has to be at the perfect temperature to roll into balls as well as for eating. You don’t want to eat a truffle straight out of the refrigerator when it’s all hard. Let them come to room temperature first. Then enjoy the tiny little melt-in-your-mouth candies all you like.

Enjoy!

Sarah

Chocolate Balsamic Truffles

Chocolate Balsamic Truffles

Prepared by Sarah Shilhavy, Photo by Jeremiah Shilhavy

Servings: approx. 45 truffles
Preparation Time: 10 minutes

8 1/2 ounces dark chocolate (semisweet, bittersweet, or combination)
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon coconut oil
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
cocoa powder
shredded coconut
other coatings of choice

Pour the heavy cream into a glass bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Turn heat off as soon as you place the bowl on top. Stir in the chocolate and coconut oil in with a rubber spatula.

Once the chocolate has melted, remove bowl from the pot and stir in the balsamic vinegar. Refrigerate the chocolate for 1 hour. Remove from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 1-2 hours, until firm but moldable.

Place coatings of choice into shallow bowls, starting out with about 1/4 cup. Using a teaspoon scoop out measuring teaspoon sized balls of the chocolate. Use your hands to form into tiny balls. Drop the balls into the coatings of choice and roll until coated.

If the truffles are too soft after forming refrigerate for about 15 minutes, or until a littler firmer.

To store, refrigerate overnight and store at room temperature. The truffles will keep for about 1 day at room temp.

Submitted by Sarah Shilhavy

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Gluten Free Chocolate Coconut Chewies

These cookies are naturally gluten free. Think flourless chocolate cake in a meringue cookie form.

Now that I’ve gotten your attention, you’ve probably already scrolled down and taken a look at the recipe, and are perhaps surprised by the amount of sugar. But before you leave, let me assure you that that is the correct amount of sugar.

Think about it.

We’re using pure, unsweetened, cocoa in this recipe, and over half a cup at that! That’s a lot of concentrated, bitter stuff you know. The amount of powdered sugar used is just enough to make it a bittersweet type chocolate flavor, since we’re not using pre-sweetened chocolate. If we were using a block of bittersweet chocolate chances are that’ll be the only sweetener used, but we’re not using that.

Also, keep in mind that powdered sugar will about double in volume when ground into a powder. So technically, 1 cup of granulated sugar will make about 2 cups of powdered.

Make sense?

Sure it does.

So don’t try to decrease the sugar amount and expect the cookies to turn out the same. They won’t. I’ve already tried. They came out soggy and flat as a pancake. No lie. Not to mention they were bitter. One work: Yuck.

With the correct amounts of each ingredient, these cookies bake up like a meringue on the outside with a wonderfully chewy, fudgy, rich, deep chocolate inside.

Hungry yet?

Enjoy!

Sarah

Gluten Free Chocolate Coconut Chewies

Gluten Free Chocolate Coconut Chewies

Prepared by Sarah Shilhavy, Photo by Jeremiah Shilhavy

2 oz organic cocoa, about 1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons
11 oz powdered sugar, about 2 3/4 cups
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 egg whites, at room temp
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 – 1 cup dried, unsweetened flaked coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets with palm shortening or line with parchment paper.

Stir dry ingredients (except coconut) together in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.

On low speed and add egg whites one at a time. Add vanilla extract and turn mixer on high for about 2 minutes, until the batter has thickened.

Gently and briefly fold the coconut in. Don’t mix it in completely.

Drop batter (about the side of a rounded measuring tablespoon) onto a prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 13-15 minutes. Cookie should be puffed and cracked. You can let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet or remove them and let cool on a wire rack.

Recipe courtesy Sarah Shilhavy

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Spicy Coconut Cilantro Dressing

Prepared by Sarah Shilhavy
Photo by Jeremiah Shilhavy

Servings: 15
Preparation Time: 12 minutes

1 cup cilantro leaves
1/3 cup coconut milk*
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 whole jalapeño, ends trimmed
1 whole garlic clove, peeled
1 inch ginger, peeled
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon honey

Place all ingredients in high-powered blender. Blend until smooth.

Store in glass container in the refrigerator.

Very easy and delicious. Use it in salads or soups.

* For the freshest coconut milk make homemade coconut milk. (See video at this link.)

Recipe submitted by Tamara, Salida, CO

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Coconut Banana Ginger Brown Rice Pudding with Raisins

Prepared by Sarah Shilhavy, Photo by Jeremiah Shilhavy

Servings: 6
Preparation Time: 10 minutes

This Brown Rice pudding is sweetened with banana, crystallized ginger, and raisins. Perfect for breakfast or dessert!

4 cups cooked brown rice
2 cups water
1 teaspoon ground cardamom, or whole cardamom pods
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup raisins
1/3 cup chopped crystallized ginger
1/3 cup shredded coconut
2 overripe bananas, chopped
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 cup coconut milk* or regular whole milk

Place cooked rice in a pot. Add water, cardamom, vanilla, cinnamon, raisins, ginger, and shredded coconut. Turn heat to medium, make sure to stir constantly.

Once the mixture has come to a simmer, add in the bananas and stir so they become liquefied in the mixture. Keep stirring! Add in the coconut oil.

Once the mixture has absorbed all or most of the water, add the milk. Keep stirring! When the rice has become mushy and absorbed a lot of the coconut milk and has a pudding like thickness to it, your rice pudding is done! Add more milk if/as needed to adjust texture and consistency. Delicious!

Recipe submitted by Emily, Philadelphia, PA

*Use 1 teaspoon of coconut cream concentrate for every 6-8 oz of water for coconut cream milk. Mix together and use as directed or make homemade coconut milk.

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Coconut-Tuna Walnut Salad

Prepared by Sarah Shilhavy, Photo by Jeremiah Shilhavy

Remember a good cook doesn’t always follow a recipe perfectly. Creativity plays a big part. I was using a traditional recipe for years and decided to TRY something different with ingredients I had available. Hope you enjoy this one and I dare you to try a new spice.

1 – 2 (7 oz) cans tuna
1/2 cup roasted walnuts, chopped (Roast for 10 minutes on cookie sheet at 350. Cool, then chop.)
1/2 cup coconut flakes
1/2 teaspoon fresh peppermint – finely chopped
1 apple – peeled and diced small
Salt to taste
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 to 1 cup Plain Yogurt
1/2 cup mayonnaise*