Eggless Macaroons

Here is yet another recipe that I will be serving at the upcoming Passover Seder I am helping to coordinate at ECM on the campus of the University of Kansas.  While most of my blog posts are NOT recipes...my blog has been heavy with recipes as of late, as I work out the details for the  menu for this unique Passover Seder, based upon the philosophy of Holistic Non-violence.  Please visit my PASSOVER PAGE to learn more about this event, see the entire menu, or find out how to purchase tickets from ECM.

Please note -- because many coconuts now are harvested using enslaved monkeys (captured from the wild as orphans, after their mothers are killed) it is very important to only purchase coconut products from companies that you are certain are not obtaining their coconut in this way.  Let's Do Organics, is one such company.  When I can find it, I prefer their, "reduced fat" shredded coconut.  It works just as well in recipes, but has less calories and fat than their regular shredded coconut. Take a look and notice the difference in serving sizes between the two products as well:

                                           2.5 TBS Regular Coconut                   4 TBS Reduced Fat Coconut                                               
Calories                                    90                                                                 70
Total Fat                                   10                                                                   6
Saturated Fat                            9                                                                   5
Protein                                        1                                                                    1
Carbs                                          4                                                                    4

Although it does take some time to form each individual macaroon, this recipe is otherwise extremely simple to make.

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Ingredients:

3/4 cup water
1/4 cup ground golden flax seed
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 1/2 cups Let's Do Organics Shredded Coconut

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line a cookie tray with parchment paper
2. Place the coconut into a large bowl
3. Place the water and flax into a blender and blend on high until thickened.  Add the xanthan gum and blend for another minute until it is like egg white.
4. Add the syrup, salt  and vanilla extract and blend one last time.  Then pour contents of blender into the coconut and use a spatula to scrape out every last drop. Stir well until all coconut is evenly moist.
5. use your fingers to grab about a rounded TBS of the mixture and form it into a small macaroon  shape (like in the photo above).  Place these almost touching on the parchment paper lined cookie tray and bake in the middle of oven for about 15 minutes - just until they begin to brown.  Remove and allow to cool completely before storing.  They freeze well.

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