How a Dehydrator Began a Marriage: Coconut Almond Macaroons

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Note: I am currently traveling and may not be able to immediately respond to emails, etc. Thanks for your patience!

This post is adapted from my post on Stone Soup, the blog of Food and Nutrition Magazine, which is a publication of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

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Shortly before my husband and I were married, my then-fiancé entered what I like to call his “kitchen appliance-gathering phase”. In spare moments between law school papers, he would comb the Internet for the greatest in kitchen accessories. He repeatedly mentioned something called a “food dehydrator”, which, in my pre-nutrition days, seemed superfluous in a home kitchen. Who wants to make space food, anyway?

Fast forward to his birthday. He tore the wrapping paper from my gift to reveal:

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A food dehydrator. At that moment, he said, he knew I was the one for him. To break in his new dehydrator, he didn’t make beef jerky or fruit leather or any of the foods he had talked about for months. Instead, he made coconut almond macaroons for his future wife. And that’s how I knew he was the one for me.

Since then, we’ve dried chili peppers, figs, tomatoes, meats and more in our dehydrator. We enjoy homegrown fresh produce in the summer and dried or frozen in the winter. While our need is less, we follow those who for centuries used dehydration as a way to preserve an abundance of food against lean times.

What about nutrition? The fiber, mineral and calorie content of dried food remains the same, although calorie density will increase with the removal of water. Moderate loss of B-vitamins may occur during drying. Blanching vegetables before drying preserves vitamin A, while decreasing temperature over the course of drying will help maintain vitamin C content in produce.

Macaroons are still my favorite food to make in our dehydrator. And so, I share this marriage of almond and coconut with you. If you don’t have a dehydrator, you can use a conventional oven on its lowest setting. Prop open the oven door to allow moisture to escape and use a fan to circulate air if possible.

Recipe

Coconut Almond Marriage Macaroons

   Prep Time: 10 minutes

   Cook Time: 6-10 hours

   Keywords: dessert snack vegan coconut cookie

Ingredients (50 macaroons)

  • 2 cups finely shredded coconut (finely shredded, not long flakes)
  • 1 1/2 cups raw almond, ground in a food processor to a cornmeal texture, or almond flour
  • 1/4 – 1/2 cup maple syrup (choose sweetness level)
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl until combined. To shape macaroons, use a 1-inch diameter ice cream scoop/melon baller or clean hands to scoop about a tablespoon of the coconut mixture. Place on dehydrator, leaving at least 2 inches of space between macaroons. Stagger dehydrator trays to allow air circulation.

Dehydrate at 145 degrees F for 2 hours, then decrease temperature to 115 degrees F and continue dehydrating for another 4 to 8 hours, depending on preferred dryness. Store in a cool, dry place.

Oven option: Bake at 195 degrees F for 45 minutes.

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Reference: Home Drying of Food, Utah State University Cooperative Extension

Q: What’s your favorite kitchen appliance?

8 Comments

  1. Awwww, how cute!! Although I would definitely dig it if my fiance made me beef jerky. I won’t lie, I love that stuff.
    I think a dehydrator would be a wonderful kitchen appliance, but perhaps with the space we have now (or lack there of) not quite yet. The macaroons sound amazing, but, I think I’ll just have to make them in the oven for now!

    1. Haha, I know! You would not believe how much space this dehydrator takes up. Someday … 🙂

  2. The only time I had started considering a food dehydrator was when I had passed through a phase of eating raw food. That didn’t last and of course…I never made it to the possible purchase of the machine.

    I could only imagine how many more goodies can be had from this!
    Your recipe reads perfectly delish ;o)

    Hope you’re well Jessie.
    Ciao for now,
    Claudia

    1. Thanks, Claudia – you’re a dear 🙂 I hope you’re having a great weekend!

  3. How cute! Chris won my heart by making me roasted veggie sandwich for a picnic and actually roasted the bell peppers 🙂 These do look tasty!

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