Lemon Coconut Almond Meal Macaroon Style Truffles

One of my health and food loving girlfriends and I picked up some store-bought lemon coconut macaroons when out shopping for kitchenware and food, truly my favorite kind of shopping. These macaroons were pretty good, and I was inspired to create my own version. Using the ingredients list on the package to guide me—and with a little trial and error—I came up with a replica keeper recipe. A big bonus is I incorporated a way to use the pulp leftover when making my almond coconut milk.

These are ever so easy to whip up and are great to freeze for those moments when you feel you want a sweet fix without guilt or worry of a blood sugar spike. There is something magical for me when fresh lemon pops up in sweet treats.

Ingredients:

• 1¼ cup almond coconut pulp, well strained, from making Teri’s Raw Almond Coconut milk
• ½ cup almond meal, grind almonds to corn meal consistency in a food processor or spice grinder
• 1 cup organic coconut flakes, unsweetened
• 3–4 tablespoons raw unpasteurized local honey or vegan sweetener, to taste
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon Maison Orphee fine grey sea salt (any salt can be substituted)
• 3 tablespoons organic lemon juice
• 1 heaping teaspoon organic lemon zest
• 4 tablespoons Maison Orphee organic coconut oil, warmed to melt

Directions:

Whirl all of the ingredients except coconut oil, in a food processor or mix together in a large bowl. Once mixture is combined, drizzle in coconut oil until mixture clumps together. Taste, and adjust sweetness if desired. Dough needs to stick together. If you find it isn’t then add additional coconut oil as needed. Roll into bite size balls and chill or freeze for at least one hour before serving.

Options:

Press into a 9 inch glass pie plate or spring form pan for a fabulous vegan pie crust option. It’s great with banana butter ice crème as a filling.

If you’d like to boost the protein content, a scoop of Sunwarrior vanilla protein powder is perfect!

Want an additional boost for energy? Stir in a tablespoon or two of raw cacao nibs.