Dried Coconut

Brandied Coconut Apple Walnut Bread

Decadent and addictive, you’d never guess how wholesome this fabulous bread actually is! Wonderful for a snack, as part of a holiday meal, or for loving gift-giving, this is THE best, moistest and most flavorful apple bread I’ve ever had.

Brandied Coconut Apple Walnut Bread

Photo by recipe author

Servings: 1 loaf
Preparation Time: 20 minutes

1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup virgin coconut oil (solid form), or grass-fed butter
1 cup whole sugar (you could easily use less according to taste)
2 soy-free eggs
1/4 cup brandy
1 cup (generous) unpeeled organic apples, freshly shredded or minced
1/2 cup coconut flakes
1/2 cup chopped raisins (even if you don’t normally prefer raisins, consider adding them, as they really add a lot of depth and flavor to this recipe)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, more to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9×5 bread pan.

Sift first four ingredients together and set aside. Cream together oil or butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir into the wet mixture one at a time in this order: brandy, apples, dry ingredients, coconut, raisins, walnuts. Stir until combined but do not over-mix more than necessary.

Spread mixture evenly in pan. Bake for one hour or until a toothpick comes out clean in the center.

Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then use a butter knife to gently loosen the edges and turn out on a cooling rack to cool completely. Cuts best with a serrated knife and gentle sawing motion when cool – if you can wait that long! Enjoy with a nice glass of cold milk or good coffee.

Makes your house smell wonderful and keeps for days in the fridge – IF it lasts that long! 🙂

Recipe submitted by Lydia, Salem, VA

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Coconut Apple Crisp

Prepared by Sarah Shilhavy, Photo by Jeremiah Shilhavy

Servings: 6

4 medium apples, cut into 1/4 inch slices
Shredded or flaked dried coconut, optional
3/4 cup brown sugar
2/3 to 3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup coconut oil, at soft butter consistency
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

If desired, mix the apples and dried coconut together (or you can sprinkle the coconut on the crumb topping later). Arrange the apples in a greased 13×9×2 inch baking pan.

Mix the remaining ingredients and then sprinkle it over the apples in the pan. Sprinkle coconut on top if not used earlier.

Bake this wonderful surprise for about 30 minutes, until it turns a golden brown on the top. Serve it warm, if you want, or you can wait until it is cooled. Serve it with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. (Make sure it’s a big dollop or scoop – it makes it all the better!)

*I actually make double the topping because it’s never enough.

Recipe submitted by Ra’chel, Heredia, Costa Rica

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Easy Coconut Macaroons

Photo by recipe author

Servings: 20
Preparation Time: 20 minutes

3 cups shredded coconut
1/2 cup almond butter
1/2 cup brown rice syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2-3 tablespoons water

Preheat the oven to 275 F degrees. In a bowl, mix together the first 4 ingredients. Slowly add the water until the texture becomes moist yet pliable (about the same as sticky rice).

Using a melon baller, ice cream scoop, or spoon, form the macaroons on parchment paper lined baking trays.

Bake for 55 minutes or until the edges start to brown. Makes about 30 1-inch cookies.

Recipe submitted by Evan, Marlborough, MA

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Coconut Chocolate Chip Cherry Cookies

Photo by recipe author

Servings: 18
Preparation Time: 10 minutes

1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup dried cherries
1 1/4 cups dried coconut, shredded or flaked
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

In a large bowl beat together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add in the egg and vanilla and beat until smooth and creamy.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder. Gradually add flour mixture into the butter mixture, beating well after each addition.

Add in the cherries, coconut and chocolate chips; mix into dough until well combined. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Scoop a tablespoon full of dough and roll into balls using hands. Place cookie balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 12-15 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes and then move to cooling rack to finish cooling.

Recipe submitted by Dunne, Columbia, SC

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Trail Mix Pie with Coconut Oil Crust

Photos by Recipe Author

This started out as an ordinary pie but then I decided to include plums. Then instead of using corn starch or flour to thicken, I chose my prepared oatmeal mixture instead which includes trail mix. I augmented with more dried fruit, raisins, cherries, cranberries, and pecans. I added a cup. Decided that wasn’t enough so added another cup. I included coconut oil in place of butter in the filling. This made more filling than the pie could contain so I ate it apart from the pie. It was a little bit like the most amazing granola in the history of ever.

Pie crust:

3 rounded tablespoons coconut oil (cold)
1 1/2 cups sifted flour (cold)
1 tablespoon organic sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (cold) water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Rub the chilled coconut oil into the flour, sugar, and salt in the usual way until mixture resembles pea sized lumps. Add just enough water to bring the mixture together. This needn’t be sweetened. It can be seasoned however the impulse strikes.

Roll dough out into pie plate and place a round of parchment paper with a few spoons for weights on top. Bake for 12 minutes in preheated oven. Remove paper and weights.

Pie filling:

5 or 6 apples, depending on size
3 plums
1 1/2 cups to 2 cups oatmeal combined with trail mix and/or dried coconut
extra dry fruit as desired
1 rounded tablespoon coconut oil
1 tablespoon sugar

Any sugar will work, including brown sugar or honey, or none at all if you prefer to keep it to the natural sugar in the fruit.

Heat all the pie filling ingredients on stovetop to cause apples to shrink and fruit to release liquid which is then soaked up by the oatmeal. Stir constantly. Spoon into pie crust and bake for 25 minutes at 400 degrees F.

Recipe submitted by Bo, Denver, CO

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