Recipe: Gluten Free Coconut Balls

healthy gluten free vegan coconut macaroon dessert

Gluten Free Coconut Balls

Coconut Macaroons are one of the most popular desserts for coconut lovers. Traditional macaroons are made with condensed milk and sweetened coconut flakes, but that is a lot of extra processed sugar for our daily intake. Here at Njoie, we are always looking to create healthier dessert recipes, so we wanted to share a recipe with you that is 100% processed-sugar-free and gluten-free, but tastes just as good!

Coconut macaroons almost always come with chocolate bottoms, and we have developed a quick and easy way to whip up a chocolate sauce that does not require any processed sugar. If sugar is not on your dietary restriction, feel free to make your favorite chocolate sauce by simply melting down your favorite chocolate.


 

INGREDIENTS:

Coconut Balls

  • 2 cups of unsweetened coconut flakes
  • 2 room temperature egg white
  • 4 tablespoons of raw honey
  • 2 tablespoons of coconut oil
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 1 teaspoons of lemon zest
  • ½ teaspoons of vanilla extract

Chocolate Sauce

  • 1 cup of 100% cocoa chocolate (optional)
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup (optional)
  • Chopped almonds or hazelnuts (optional)

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

Coconut balls:

  1. Mix coconut flakes honey, coconut oil, salt, lemon zest, and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl
  2. Whip egg whites with a handheld or standing mixer on high speed until medium-stiff peaks form
  3. Fold whipped egg whites into the mixing bowl with the coconut mixture
  4. With a small ice cream scoop, form coconut mixture into balls and place on a baking tray
  5. Bake in a 325-degree oven for about 25 -35 minutes, make sure to adjust baking time based on the size of your coconut balls
  6. If you are dipping them in chocolate cause, make sure to let your coconut balls cool down completely.
  7. Dip each coconut ball in the chocolate, then place on a pan lined with parchment paper
  8. Put in the fridge to cool and Njoie!

Chocolate Sauce

  1. Chop chocolate bar into small chunks and melt with a double boiler
  2. Add maple syrup to your preferred level of sweetness
  3. You can use honey here but make sure to let the chocolate cool down a bit otherwise you may burn the honey
  4. Drop a handful of chopped nuts of your choice to add some extra nuttiness and crunch

Here are some photos of our macaroon-making process to guide you along the way:

Step 1:

Step 2:

Step 3:

Step 4:

After Step 5:

Final Product:

Njoie!