When I was a kid, my favorite dessert was my mom’s Chocolate Coconut Drop Cookies. If you’re familiar with Haystacks, they’re kind of like those, but made with some kind of Momma P magic and a whole pile of coconut (something she and I both love fervently). She would spend an hour toiling at the stove, perfectly boiling and reducing a glorious chocolatey syrup, adding in oats and coconut, then transferring these little blobs of chewy yumminess to waxed paper-lined trays in the fridge to set for the most unbearable 90 minutes of childhood. (That is a darn long time to wait when all you want is chocolate coconut bliss! Kind of like waiting for your favorite stuffed animal to come out of the washing machine… do you remember that kid-specific torture? Hah.)
Last week, I got playing with some ingredients in the kitchen while attempting to construct a quick dessert for a dinner gathering we hosted for a new neighbor.
Oats, check.
Cocoa, check.
Coconut oil and coconut, always, check.
Macaroons, I thought… and immediately rummaged through my mental recipe box to see what of this past recipe I could recreate using the (new and slightly more nutrient-dense ingredients) we had on hand.
We had the remains of two of my new obsessions sitting in the fridge – Love Bean Superfood Fudge and Jem Organics Maqui Camu Almond Butter – so I tossed in the last of each of those. If you’re without these, you could easily make your own chocolately nut spread by combining coconut oil and cocoa powder (see recipe below).
The preparation for these macaroons is a little quicker than the one my dear momma used to make (no stovetop), and the waiting time is about a third as long. Coconut oil solidifies at any temperature slightly below room temperature, so these cookies will form a little faster. (The wait, however, is just as unbearable… taste the batter while you’re making this and you’ll understand why.)
Like many of the recipes on the blog, this one involves giving the food processor some good lovin’.
Throw 3/4 of your oats into the blender and blend to a semi-coarse crumb.
Add cocoa powder, coconut oil (or Love Bean or Jem Organics if you’re using), remaining oats, coconut, sesame seeds and cacao nibs, processing everything together into a nice thick batter.
Form into cookie or macaroon shapes and place on a waxed paper-lined baking tray in the fridge for about half an hour.
When they’re set, put on your macaroon-eating bib and dig in.
Bring these out about 5 minutes before serving, and store any leftovers (hahahaha) in the fridge in a sealed container. They're great with tea, or red wine, or just on their own, particularly if you’re in good company. :0)
Enjoy, macaroon monster!
- 3/4 cup gluten-free oats
- 3 tsp cocoa powder + 3 tbsp coconut oil, combined (or 3.5 tbsp Love Bean Super Food Fudge or Jem Organics Macqui Camu Almond Butter)
- 2 tbsp shredded coconut
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
- 1 tsp cacao nibs
- 1. Process 3/4 of your oats in a food processor until they form a semi-coarse crumb.
- 2. Add cocoa powder, coconut oil (or Love Bean or Jem Organics if you’re using), remaining oats, coconut, sesame seeds and cacao nibs, processing everything together into a nice thick batter.
- 3. Form into cookie or macaroon shapes and place on a waxed paper-lined baking tray in the fridge for about half an hour.
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