These coconut macadamia nut tartlets are a perfect grain free dessert. They can be eaten on their own or topped with chocolate or a sorbet for a special occasion. The base of the recipe was adapted slightly from Kris Carr’s, Crazy Sexy Kitchen recipe for coconut tartlets. I added more nuts, used orange zest and a splash of orange juice to help them to bind together better. The original recipe was made with lemon zest (base on left was made with lemon, and the one on the right was orange-you can see the different in color). I made it both with lemon zest, and then again with orange. I loved the orange better and it paired perfectly with a cherry sorbet. I think they would go perfectly drizzled with chocolate too! These come together in a flash, since they’re raw. And since they’re raw, they taste best straight from the freezer. Serving them this way helps them to keep their shape.
These are perfect for a special do-ahead dessert. Make the tartlets and freeze them. Make a sorbet, and freeze it (pictured above is a clementine sorbet & a tart cherry sorbet). The day of serving, scoop out the sorbet with a small melon baller, place into tartlets, and freeze together cover. Then when you’re ready to serve, voila! Perfect with no fussing in front of guests. Plus, you can just eat them as finger food! Or ball up the mixture, freeze, and drizzle with chocolate. The tartlets are awesome on their own too-straight from the freezer for a nice treat!
Macadamia nuts are among the fattiest of nuts, so they’re not great to consume a ton of (that’s the case for all nuts though). The fat they do have however, is predominately monounsaturated, a good source of a whole food fat for cardiac health. They a great source of protein, fiber, and important trace minerals, including magnesium, calcium, iron, copper, chromium, manganese and zinc.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup raw macadamia nuts
- 2 cups shredded redued-fat dried coconut
- 2 tbsp freshly grated orange zest (or lemon, both are awesome-can’t go wrong)
- 1/4 tsp kosher/sea salt
- 1/4 cup agave nectar (or other liquid sweetener, honey would be great with the orange) *you could do a date paste instead, but will turn the dough brown
- about 1-2 tbsp fresh orange juice (or lemon if using lemon zest)-to help mixture bind together
Instructions:
- Place all ingredients except agave and juice into a food processor and pulse
- Add agave/liquid sweetener and pulse until mixture starts to come together. Add in juice, just enough to get the mixture to hold together to form a ball when squeezed.
- Line a cookie cutter with saran wrap on inside. Push in enough tartlet mixture to press into bottom and sides of mold. Flip upside down, and press out.
- Freeze on tray, and store. They last in the freezer for weeks. Serve frozen.
- If serving filled with sorbet, fill day of serving and re-freeze.
- If serving as a macaroon-use small cookie scoop to form. Freeze and drizzle with chocolate. Re-freeze and serve frozen.
Nutritional Benefits:
- Oil-free, and cholesterol free
- Whole food form of fat from macadamia nuts
- Coconut is a rich source of fiber & potassium-important for kidney & nervous system function, as well as regulating blood pressure/heart rate.
- Raw, gluten free, and plant-based-great for decreasing inflammation in the body
- 1 cup raw macadamia nuts
- 2 cups shredded redued-fat dried coconut
- 2 tbsp freshly grated orange zest (or lemon, both are awesome-can't go wrong)
- ¼ tsp kosher/sea salt
- ¼ cup agave nectar (or other liquid sweetener, honey would be great with the orange) *you could do a date paste instead, but will turn the dough brown
- about 1-2 tbsp orange juice (or lemon if using lemon zest)-to help mixture bind together
- Place all ingredients except agave and juice into a food processor and pulse
- Add agave/liquid sweetener and pulse until mixture starts to come together. Add in juice, just enough to get the mixture to hold together to form a ball when squeezed.
- Line a cookie cutter with saran wrap on inside. Push in enough tartlet mixture to press into bottom and sides of mold. Flip upside down, and press out.
- Freeze on tray, and store. They last in the freezer for weeks. Serve frozen.
- If serving filled with sorbet, fill day of serving and re-freeze.
- If serving as a macaroon-use small cookie scoop to form. Freeze and drizzle with chocolate. Re-freeze and serve frozen.
