Spectacular Macaroon - A Gluten-free, Vegan Treat

Fettle Vegan's - Samoa Macaroon

I am always on the look out for awesome recipes and treats I can make my family given all the food sensitivities in this household.  As a holistic health coach, I have studied over 100 dietary theories and utilize many of them in my practice.  So, when I go looking for recipes, I look everywhere - Epicurious, Food Network, Traditional Foods blogs, Gluten-free blogs, Paleo/Primal Blogs and Vegetarian/Vegan blogs.  There are so many great recipes floating around out there and all of them can be adapted to suit your needs.

Today, I really needed a treat and one that was gluten-free, egg-free and dairy-free because that's how we role in my family.  For this reason, I started my search on some vegan websites (since their recipes don't include animal products like eggs and butter).

I found just what I was looking for at Fettle Vegan.  It's a great website on vegan living.  I really enjoyed my time there trolling the site.  I chose their take on the Girl Scout's famous Samoa cookies.  I had to tweak the recipe a bit for my needs (they weren't gluten-free).  Check out their recipe, use mine below for a gluten-free/low-sugar start or create your own!

Samoa Cookie Macaroons (mostly copied directly from Fettle Vegan

Ingredients:
2 cups shredded or flaked coconut, unsweetened
1/2 cup coconut oil ***Coconut oil should NOT be melted. (FV recipe: 1/4 cup coconut oil)
1/2 cup coconut flour (FV recipe: whole wheat flour, or you could try almond flour)
1 1/2 tbsp raw honey (FV recipe: 1/3 cup maple sugar.  This was way too much sugar for my family + you've read my "Sugar Addiction" post below so you know my challenges...)
3/4 teaspoon Celtic Sea Salt (FV recipe: 1/2 tsp finely ground pink sea salt)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 cup of cold water (FV recipe: 2-4 teaspoons of cold water)
1/4 cup (2 ounces) unsweetened dark or other vegan chocolate

Directions:

1. Combine coconut, coconut oil, flour, honey, salt, almond and vanilla extracts.  
2. You want to have to fork the mixture together until the solid coconut oil has been completely smooshed up and combined with everything else. It takes about 2 minutes of dedicated forking.
3. Add water, starting with two teaspoons, and mix until mixture comes together and becomes sticky.
4. Once combined, use your hands to form the mixture into (about) 1 inch balls.
5. Once your macaroons are formed, set them on a paper lined cookie sheet in a cool place. The fridge will work beautifully here.
6. While the macaroons are chillin', melt about 2 ounces of chocolate. Use a double boiler (I don't believe in the microwave.  Not even for chocolate.)
7. Once chocolate is fully melted, remove macaroons from cooling area. Dip a fork in the chocolate and drizzle chocolate over the top (to keep the sugar low, minimize how much you drizzle or leave it out altogether.)
8. Once a little chocolate has been added, place macaroons back onto lined cookie sheet and let sit for about 20-40 minutes, allowing chocolate to set. This process can be sped up by placing the entire cookie sheet into the refrigerator until the chocolate cools completely. 

Enjoy!

As you can see, I had a great starting point and easily tweaked the recipe with substitutions to fit our needs.  They turned out delicious!  I only wonder if the "forking" could have been made easier by using a potato masher instead.  If you try this recipe out and use the potato masher, let me know how it worked out by commenting below.  Thanks!

What do you think of this recipe?  Join the discussion!

Welcome to The Healthy Plate!

It's nice to have you here.  The Healthy Plate brings energy, balance and joy into your life by sharing my experiences and what I've learned through my own quest for health and balance. In our busy world, our plates tend to be too full.  Too much work, not enough time for play and rest, and poor eating habits lead us feeling unbalanced and unfulfilled. The Healthy Plate is about adding nourishment to your plate whether it be with food, fun or fitness.

I believe deeply in the body's ability to heal itself given the right combination of food, exercise and personal nourishment.  As a mom and a trained chef, I enjoy creating healthy, fast and easy menu plans to keep your family going throughout the week.  I also love to share quick recipes and fitness plans for on-the-go people and families.

I also have experienced physical and health challenges.  After a traumatic auto accident, I had to learn how to use and strengthen my body again as well as how to manage pain effectively.  In addition, I have been healing myself of an autoimmune thyroid disease for the past few years.  Because of these experiences, I have learned wonderful healing techniques to address physical pain, weight management, stress, thyroid challenges and autoimmune and inflammatory diseases such as diabetes, IBS, and obesity.

As a busy parent, I am always trying to find ways to find balance and stay healthy.  We all know what a feat that can be to accomplish when so many "to-dos" are on the list that it is difficult to actually do it all - prepare healthy meals, sit down to eat, make time for friends, family, fun, and ourselves and find time to exercise.  This blog will provide ideas, tricks and tips for putting balance back into your.  I will share information from my own experiences with health issues and from my training as a health counselor and chef.  I will also share blog posts and articles from other websites that are valuable to us all.

I hope you enjoy and please feel free to post comments and questions.  We're all in this together!  Now, what's on your plate?