Dried Coconut Recipes

Gluten Free Coconut Dishpan Cookies

Prepared by Sarah Shilhavy, Photo by Jeremiah Shilhavy

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
2 eggs
3 1/2 cups gluten free flour mix*
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup dried, unsweetened flaked coconut
1 cup corn flakes cereal
1 cup chocolate chips or chopped nuts of choice
1 cup rolled oats (Optional – leave out for gluten free)

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 eggs 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).

*Gluten Free Flour Mix

2 cups plus 4 teaspoons brown rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup corn starch
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons coconut flour
2 teaspoons xanthan gum

Mix together until very well blended and use as directed.

Submitted by Sarah Shilhavy

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Coconut Granola II

Coconut Granola

Photo by recipe author

Servings: 12
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour 15 minutes

6 cups rolled oats
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1 cup chopped almonds
1 1/2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup coconut oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup raisins (optional)

Preheat oven to 250.

In a large bowl, combine oats, nuts, and shredded coconut.

In a separate bowl, combine maple syrup, oil and salt. Combine both mixtures and pour onto 3 sheet pans. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes for even coloring.

Remove from oven and add raisins if desired.

Recipe submitted by Chanelle, Beaumont, CA

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Coconut Meringues

I don’t like making meringues. It worries me. I’m always afraid I’m going to do something to deflate the beautiful, fluffy, marshmallowy mixture in one way or another. But I love eating them, so I still willingly make them when I can. Meringues are a nice way to get rid of those leftover egg whites.

For a long time I did flop at making meringue, but over time I finally, finally found out what was going wrong and got it to work for me. Meringue making actually isn’t as simple and easy as it looks. Once you get it down, it is one of the easiest cookies to make. Let’s go over a few things.

First, the weather must NOT be humid. You have to have dry weather to make meringues. No kidding. If the weather is humid, don’t even think about making meringues. They’ll flop and become soggy. Believe me, I speak from experience. This was the one thing that kept me from making a successful batch of meringues for a long time.

Second, make sure your bowl and beaters are spotlessly clean. I don’t care if that means you have to wipe every single wire on your whisk beater; you need to do it! Even just the tiniest amount of water or fat will kill the meringue.

Third, bring the egg whites to room temp, or almost room temp. It’ll make the whipping process a whole lot quicker.

Fourth, use a light hand. Never, ever scrape meringue down. You can scrape the powdered sugar off the sides of the bowl, but don’t touch the meringue.

Following those guidelines and the recipe below, you’ll have light, airy, fluffy, marshmallowy, Coconut Meringues with a delicate crisp exterior and chewy inside. It can’t get much better then that.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask! Don’t be shy.

Enjoy!

Sarah

Coconut Meringues

Coconut Meringues

Prepared by Sarah Shilhavy, Photo by Jeremiah Shilhavy

Servings: 24 meringues Preparation Time: 20 minutes

4 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup flaked coconut

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In large bowl with mixer at high speed, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form.

Gradually sprinkle in sugar 2 tablespoons at a time at high speed. After all the sugar has been added you may beat in the vanilla extract (or fold in with the coconut). Beat until meringue stands in stiff, glossy peaks.

Using a rubber spatula, very, very gently fold in flaked coconut and vanilla extract (if you didn’t add it in the above step). Do not fold until well mixed, this should take only about 2-3 turns of the spatula.

Drop meringue by rounded spoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets about 1 inch apart.

Bake for 70 minutes or until dry to the touch. Remove to rack to cool.

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Vanilla-Flecked Coconut Macaroons

Photo by recipe author

These cookies are incredible easy to make – no need to whip the egg whites beforehand. Just mix everything and bake. Parchment paper is the key to keeping these cookies from sticking (and easy clean-up).

3 egg whites (about 1/2 cup)
1 cup white granulated sugar (you could substitute raw honey)
2 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut flakes
1 whole vanilla bean
5 ounces semisweet chocolate

1. Mix the egg whites, sugar, and coconut in a large bowl.

2. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise down the middle and scrape all the seeds into the bowl. Mix again making sure to evenly distribute the vanilla seeds. You should see tiny specks of black throughout the batter.

3. Using a tablespoon or ice cream scoop, place 12 scoops of batter at a time (evenly spaced) on a baking pan lined with parchment paper; each scoop should be about the size of a golf ball. The batter will be thick and lumpy with little peaks of coconut.

4. Bake at 350 for about 12 minutes or until the tips of the coconut turn golden brown. Let cool completely on the pans, then separate the batch in half.

5. Melt the chocolate.

6. Dip a spatula into the melted chocolate and wave over the macaroons about 4 or 5 inches above the tray. Let the chocolate drizzle down in zig-zag patterns and let cool. (You can also dip the cookies one at a time by hand.)

Enjoy!

Recipe submitted by Alejandra, New York, NY

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Coconut Fruit Smoothie

Prepared by Sarah Shilhavy, Photo by Jeremiah Shilhavy

Servings: 1
Preparation Time: 10 minutes

1 cup coconut milk or regular whole milk
1/2-1 whole banana
1/4 cup frozen fruit: berries, peaches, etc.
2 tablespoons fresh ground flax seeds
2 tablespoons fresh ground nuts: almonds, pecans, etc
1 tablespoon dry coconut (flakes, etc.)
1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted

Place all ingredients except coconut oil in blender and blend. Slowly pour coconut oil into blender while blending. Blend until smooth and serve.

Recipe submitted by Jean, Melrose, NM

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Chocolate Coconut Protein Bites

Chewy Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Prepared by Sarah Shilhavy, Photo by Jeremiah Shilhavy

Servings: 1-2 servings, 11 pieces

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

1 scoop chocolate protein powder, about .7 oz
2 tablespoons coconut oil, solid
2 teaspoons raw honey
1 teaspoon coconut peanut butter or other nut butter of choice
1/2 cup unsweetened dried coconut flakes
1/4 cup coconut milk*, as needed

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl until a sticky
dough like consistency has formed. Add a little more protein powder if needed.

Roll into small balls and drizzle with melted chocolate.
Refrigerate or freeze until firm.

*The best coconut milk is fresh homemade coconut milk. See
our

recipe and video demo here.

Recipe submitted by Darlene, Enumclaw, WA

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Better Than Candy Nut Crunchies

Prepared by Sarah Shilhavy, Photo by Jeremiah Shilhavy

It’s true! These creamy little bark-like “crunchies” are seriously better than candy. No lie.

When this recipe was first published over 2 years ago it became an instant hit. Readers raved about the stuff. When I made it myself, I did too.

It is very simple and easy to make. The only really long part is waiting for the Coconut Cream Concentrate to warm up to a liquidy-ish state (see our video on how to do this) for proper measuring and mixing. After that, it’s just a throw-it-all-together-and-refrigerate process. How much simpler can it get?

The first time I made this 2 years ago, the whole batch was gobbled up and then (it being Christmas and everything, with various other sweets lying around) was promptly forgotten. Now, at around the same time this recipe was first posted two years ago, we’ve finally gotten around to making another batch. At the first bite the taste of the salt turned me off, but on the second piece, I remembered why I liked this recipe so much. It’s creamy, rich, versatile, easy, crunchy and low on sugar without sacrificing any taste. That is a nice thought considering how much one can overload on sugar this time of the year.

I like to cut down on the salt (not a big fan of the sweet and salty mix) and add a bit of vanilla extract. Chocolate is a great addition to this as well. Just melt and spread over the bark before chilling or drizzle. Use your imagination (this recipe will actually let you, it’s next to impossible to mess it up), watch the video below for a step by step tutorial and mix up a batch to add to your Christmas cookie and candy plate. You won’t regret it. I’m sure of it.

Better-Than-Candy Nut Crunchies

2 cups organic pecans & almonds
1 cup (or more) Coconut Cream Concentrate
1 tablespoon (or as needed) coconut oil
1 – 2 tablespoons organic whole sugar (or to taste)
1/4 teaspoon Himalayan salt
1/2 cup (or more) shredded coconut or coconut flakes

Process sugar in a food processor until very fine.

Spread nuts in a cookie sheet and toast very lightly in a low heated oven. Place Coconut Cream Concentrate jar in hot water to soften. In a medium sized bowl, beat desired amount of Coconut Cream, your choice of sweetener (see below), coconut oil, and salt with a mixer until creamy. Make sure the sugar and salt are mixed in well.

Fold the toasted nuts into the mixture and mix well with a large spoon until all nuts are well coated. Spread mixture evenly on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper.

Sprinkle the coconut shreds or flakes toasted lightly if desired over the Nut Crunchies and place cookie sheet in the refrigerator.

When cold, break apart the Nut Crunchies into bite-sized pieces and store in covered containers in the refrigerator.

Note: all measurements are approximate and can be varied to suit your taste. It is pretty hard to mess these up.

Variations:

Use any nuts you prefer, and/or use stevia instead of sugar to taste.
Stir dried coconut toasted into the mixture before spreading out.
Add flavoring such as a tablespoon or two of lemon juice and some lemon zest for Lemon Nut Crunchies.
Melt some organic dark chocolate, and spread over the mixture before or instead of sprinkling on the coconut and refrigerating.
Stir bits of dried pineapple into the mixture for Pina Colada Nut Crunchies

Use your imagination!

Beware: They are addictive! But sooo healthy too. Enjoy!

Submitted by Carol, Palm Bay, FL

Thanks for stopping by!

Sarah

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Rise & Shine Breakfast Smoothie

Photo by recipe author

Servings: 2
Preparation Time: 10 minutes

2 1/2 cups kefir, yogurt or buttermilk
1 whole mango, fresh or frozen
2 handfuls strawberries, fresh or frozen
1 or 2 frozen bananas
1-3 tablespoons raw honey
1 tablespoons freshly ground flax seed (optional)
Raw egg yolks (optional)
2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted (more/less as desired)
Coconut flakes

Pour your choice of cultured dairy into the blender. Add in mango, strawberries, bananas and honey (add flax seed and/or egg yolks if desired).

Give it a whirl till smooth and while it is blending… add coconut oil and let it run for a minute more. Pour into a tall, large glass and top with coconut flakes and extra ground flax seeds if desired.

Recipe submitted by Marillyn, Bloomingdale, IL

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