Farmer's Market Find!

As the days grow short and crisp, I revel in Farmer's Market finds. They've changed from the first fruits of summer harvest to the colorful gourds, pumpkins, dried indian corn and juicy apples of fall. I, however, am a BIG advocate of summer, so I was beyond thrilled to find a vendor with a big basket of plump, almost purple raspberries. At the last end of their ripeness, I knew I wasn't going to be able to eat them quickly enough, so it called for one of our favorite recipes: Raspberry Coconut Macaroons! If you have a food processor, get it out now. Not only are these gluten and dairy free, but also Paleo! And the people rejoiced...

Raspberry Coconut Macaroons

Preheat your oven to 325F and have two pans laid out with parchment paper/wax paper

Ingredients:

3 1/2 c. UNSWEETENED shredded coconut

1 c. honey (or agave if vegan...I use agave and it works splendidly)

1 tsp orange oil (or almond extract, but I hate it, so I use orange oil)

1/2 tsp vanilla (real vanilla, if you please, not that nasty artificial stuff)

pinch of salt

3 egg whites

Chuck it all into the food processor and whirl it around until a smooth(ish) paste forms

Add 1 more cup of unsweetened shredded coconut

1 pint of raspberries (about 1 1/4 c.)

Pulse it a couple of times to mix in (but not fully incorporate) raspberries. It should be swirly. 

Using a med/small cookie scoop, grab some of the mixture (try to get some white and some red) and drop it onto cookie sheet. 

Bake for 25-30 minutes until tops are nicely browned. Let cool or they'll fall apart on you. 

Since the sugars have a tendency to stick the macaroons nicely to the paper, I will let them sit for a few hours until the sugar gets a little moist so they easily let go. 

Melt dark chocolate (or carob, or milk...whatever you prefer). You can dip them, but I prefer to turn them upside-down and smear the chocolate across the bottom with a spoon in a goodish layer, then return them right-side up to the paper, where I later drizzle the leftover chocolate on the top. Refrigerate or freeze. They keep well. 

Should make about 24 macaroons, depending on the size of your scoop. Don't get overeager on the scoop size...in this case, smaller is better and easier to handle.