Raw Cranberry Macaroon Thumbprint Cookies

These cookies are the balance to all of the other holiday baking I’m doing and will be consuming over the next few weeks.  My cranberry macaroons are “raw” which means I dehydrated them at 115˚ instead of baking them.  This way, all of the enzymes that naturally occur in raw foods will still be active.  It also means I used ingredients that were never cooked over 115˚, like raw organic shredded coconut, raw cocoa powder and raw agave nectar.  

I adapted the recipe for these macaroons from the book “Raw Food Real World”. It’s the original recipe book (I don’t really want to call it a “cook” book) from the New York City raw food restaurant “Pure Food and Wine”.  Whenever I’m in NYC I try to find the time to have dinner there.  The food is amazing.  

I’ve made these macaroons many times.  I usually make the cocoa ones but I decided to give the recipe a holiday spin and make vanilla cranberries macaroons with a chocolate thumbprint.  They’re wheat free, dairy free, egg free and really delicious.

You mix together some raw unsweetened dried shredded coconut with some raw agave nectar, organic dried cranberries, coconut flour, raw coconut butter, vanilla extract and a pinch of salt.  Then, using a small ice cream style scoop, make the mounds on the screen of a dehydrator tray.

I used the handle end of a teaspoon (or your little finger) to make a dent into the top of each macaroon...

and piped in a little raw fudge sauce.

The hardest part about making these cookies is waiting the 18+ hours for them to dehydrate into the chewy, coconut wonders that they are.  A guilt free treat!  

Cranberry Macaroon Thumbprint Cookies

Makes 15 cookies - use raw organic ingredients whenever possible

For the Cookies:

1/2 cup agave sweetener

2 1/2 tablespoons coconut butter (if it’s in a solid state, warm it in your dehydrator)

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1 1/2 cups dried unsweetened shredded coconut

3/4 cup coconut flour (which can be made by putting shredded coconut into a high spread blender for a minute-a food processor won’t do it)

1/2 cup dried cranberries

In a bowl, combine agave, coconut butter, vanilla and salt.  Stir well.

Stir in the shredded coconut and coconut flour,

Using a small ice cream scoop, or your fingers, scoop rounds of the dough onto a dehydrator screen.

Make an indentation on the top of each cookie.

For the Fudge Sauce:

4 tablespoons agave

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoons coconut butter (if it’s in a solid state, warm it in your dehydrator)

4 tablespoons cocoa powder

In a small bowl, mix together the agave, vanilla and coconut butter.  

Stir in the cocoa powder. (you may need to sift it first if it’s lumpy)

Using a pastry bag and a decorative tip, pipe some fudge sauce onto the top of each cookie.

Dehydrate at 115˚ for a least 18 to 24 hours.

You can make chocolate macaroons by replacing the coconut flour with cocoa powder.