Raw Macaroons

Last night, Carson and I made some raw chocolate macaroons. My friend, Lina, had brought these in to work a while back and I thought they were so yummy, so I asked her for the recipe. The recipe comes from the book Raw Food, Real World. Lina let me borrow her cookbook and I copied down several recipes that I hope to try. These cookies are super easy to throw together and then the dehydrator does all the work while you sleep. We woke up to a house smelling like cocoa. :) These really taste great, too. They're very rich. Carson loves them... he kept sneaking tastes of the batter last night while we were making them and I let him have a bite of one as a treat after he ate his eggs and toast this morning. He immediately wanted more, but we'll have to wait till later in the day to indulge again.

Raw Chocolate Macaroons

3 cups dried, unsweetened coconut flakes (organic)
1 1/2 cups cocoa powder (organic, free trade certified)
1 cup pure maple syrup (local, organic)
1/3 cup coconut butter (extra virgin, organic)
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract (organic)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients and stir well. You can also use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment.

Using a small cookie scoop, your hands, or a big tablespoon, spoon rounds of the dough onto dehydrator screens. If you are using your hands, you may want to chill the dough a bit first.

Dehydrate at 115 degrees for 12-24 hours, or until crisp on the outside and nice and chewy on the inside.

For blonde macaroons, replace the cocoa powder with an equal amount of almond flour.