I’ve told you about my sweet tooth. You know I love my desserts. I seem to think I can’t live without chocolate. Daily. At least once. If not twice. It can be a problem.
That’s why I like to have fun experimenting with natural sugars and whole food ingredients to put together tasty treats that are better for us. Does making these natural sugar treats give me permission to eat the entire pan? Um…no. Unfortunately, I still have to use some self control. Unless it’s chocolate. Oh wait, no – even if it’s chocolate. Especially when it’s chocolate.
Here’s an example of one of our favorite natural sugar treats: Coconut Macaroons. They are easy to make, use real maple syrup to sweeten them, and hey look at that – this recipe doesn’t even contain grains!
Coconut Macaroons
4 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 Tablespoons arrowroot powder
1/2 cup real maple syrup
2 cups unsweetened, shredded coconut
Separate eggs, putting the whites in a mixing bowl and the yolks in the fridge for tomorrow’s breakfast. Beat the whites and salt with a hand mixer until soft peaks form. Continue to beat and add vanilla, arrowroot powder and maple syrup, one at a time. Fold in the coconut. Drop by spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 300 degrees for 30 minutes, then turn the oven to 200 degrees for one hour to let them crisp up.
If you’re interested in having several more simple and healthy(er) dessert recipes on hand to treat your family, you’ll be happy to know that we’ve made a combo pack of our Have Your Cookie…And Eat it Too! and Have Your Cookie…and Eat it Two! ebooks – and discounted the cost for a limited time. (Click on each of those links to read the specifics about what recipes you’ll find in those eBooks.)
Have Your Cookie…and Eat it Too! and Have Your Cookie…and Eat it TWO! ebook package
$11.90Get both books now for just $7.95!
In addition, I’m excited to share that I’ve teamed up with two other bloggers who each have even more healthy desserts to share with you! If you purchase my above Have Your Cookie eBook Package, you will be sent coupon codes so that you can purchase both Kate’s Treat Yourself and Katie’s Smart Sweets for 50% off!! Don’t miss out on this deal! Sales and discount codes are valid through Saturday, March 10.
Katie’s Smart Sweets
Kate’s Treat Yourself
Any questions? Let me know!
Oh, those macaroons look GOOD!
Thank you for the recipe. I probably have about 30 egg whites stashed in the freezer, and I NEED to use them. The macaroons look yummy!
Hey Laura!! Do you think I could use organic corn starch in place of the arrowroot powder? Thanks for the recipe. As usual, it looks great!
Yes, I think that should work just fine!
These sound delicious, unfortunately the other 5 members of my family don’t like coconut. You think it’s ok to make these just for myself? Hmmmm, that could be dangerous. LOL.
Yes, I definitely think it’s okay for you to make these just for yourself. Or, you could invite me over and I could share them with you… :)
What would happen if we tried a little cocoa powder in them too? Thanks for the recipe. Will try them this week.
I think that sounds like a great idea to add cocoa powder!
Yum! I wonder if this would make a good pie crust for a custard pie. I love a meringue style crust. Just might have to try that.
Ooooh! I made these at Christmas and they are SO. GOOD. I wasn’t able to get them to “crisp up,” but they still tasted AHmazing. The sticky fingers were definitely worth it. ;)
Looks yummy Laura. If you do not have arrowroot what are good substitutions?
Organic corn starch would work just fine. :)
Okay, I just read the list of recipes included in these books and am now salivating! The baby in my womb is telling me I want a chocolate chip cookie…
Chocolate Covered Katie
This is a new-to-me blog devoted exclusively to healthy desserts (tons of chocolate!) that I discovered recently, many can be raw. Eating her treats is definitely a challenge to redefine what we thought was a healthy dessert to something truly healthy. I’m learning a lot there and just thought I’d share my discovery with others looking to enjoy a healthy treat.
MMMMMM. You should submit this to Tropical Traditions!
The recipe I use to make mayonaise always leaves me with egg whites that I have to use up or throw out. Macaroons are the perfect excuse to make mayonaise! Or mayonaise is the perfect excuse to make macaroons – either way we’re making macaroons!
I saw this post yesterday and promptly made these for our dessert last night. They are AMAZING! I had tried making homemade macaroons several years ago, when I didn’t have a KA Mixer. It was a fail! So, I cautiously tried your recipe using my KA and it was wonderful. So easy and worked wonderfully. I did sub cornstarch for the arrowroot since that is what I keep on hand. I also drizzled a bit of dark chocolate over the tops after they baked. This made 24 cookies for us, plenty for tonights dessert as well. I baked them for the 30 min, then turned my oven to 200. But, I only left them in for 20 min because they were getting very brown. Next time, I think I will just do about 10 min to brown and crisp them. So yummy! Thank you for this recipe and for giving me the hope that I could indeed make Macaroons!!