I have been on the hunt for unsweetened dried coconut for awhile now with no success. So far all of the stores I’ve tried here in SC only carry the sweetened version.
I’m happy to report that a friend recently brought me to an Indian market in North Charleston where I was finally able to find some! And cheap! I also scored some Fenugreek, Asafoetida powder, and a few other fun things that I’ll be working with and posting about soon.
The coconut was going to be for some kind of low carb macaroon but when I got started it somehow turned into this cookie. In hindsight that’s not really surprising, because everybody knows that chocolate and almonds work great with coconut. I suppose you could omit the almond and go for the Mounds bar thing but really other than a nut allergy why would you???
I never got the people who ate Mounds bars – they cost the same as an Almond Joy – but without the yummy nuts. Why? WHY??? Somebody please explain it to me because it breaks my brain even thinking about it. Just. Don’t. Get it.
Anyway, these cookies are pretty decent if I do say so. You may want to adjust the sweetness to your own taste. I used the 90% Lindt because I’m used to it but some people may find it too bitter, so again, use what you like.
Chock full of healthy fats, fiber, and even a decent amount of protein, these are super satisfying and very filling. I ate two for breakfast and it’s almost noon. Still full. Might eat two more for lunch, just because I can. You can too – here’s how:
Almond Joy Cookies – Low Carb and Gluten Free
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- Author: Mellissa Sevigny
- Yield: 18 cookies 1x
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 Tbsp almond butter
- 1 Tbsp coconut oil
- 1/4 cup coconut milk
- 2 Tbsp SF coconut syrup
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar substitute
- 1 1/2 cups SF dried coconut
- 1/2 cup flax meal
- 2 squares 90% dark chocolate
- 18 almonds
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the almond butter and coconut oil and blend well.
- Add the coconut milk, coconut flavored syrup and eggs, blending until smooth. Stir in the baking powder, salt, sweetener, dried coconut and flax meal until a stiff dough forms.
- Roll the dough into 18 one inch balls and place on a greased or parchment covered cookie sheet. Press lightly on each ball to make a dent.
- Chop your chocolate and place a piece onto each cookie and top with an almond.
- Bake in a preheated 375 degree (F) oven for 20 minutes until browned and slightly puffed. Let cool and enjoy!
Notes
If you don’t have sugar free coconut flavored syrup, you can omit it & increase the sweetener to 3 Tbsp and your coconut milk to 1/3 cup.
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: Cookies
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 114
- Fat: 11g
- Carbohydrates: 4g/ 1g net
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 3g
Reader Interactions
Comments
Wende Schultz says
These sound wonderful!!
Is the coconut milk the kind from the can or from a carton?Reply
Mellissa Sevigny says
The canned kind!
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Bay Ganyo says
I just made those and I am very disappointed — they taste like nothing. First I measure everything with cooking measurement spoons and the dough came out too moist and sticky. I added few spoons of almond flower to make it “stiff”as the recipe calls for. Not pleased with the results at all.
Steven Davidson says
You commented that you were unable to find shredded coconut that was not sweetened. Have you thought about buying a fresh coconut drying the chunks in a food dehydrator (mine was $15 at Wal Mart) for about 33 hours and then grating the chunks in a food processor?
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Mellissa Sevigny says
That could work too Steven, but I usually just order in bulk from Amazon now which saves time!
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Tammy says
Oh yes, please work on the combo of mounds & almond joy and I would love you forever.
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Emily says
Be careful with the Lindt 90%. I hear that one is dutch-processed which totally ruins the flavenoid and antioxidant content. The Lindt 85% doesn’t though..and I’m pretty sure ghiradelli is good too:)
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maedee says
Hi Melissa!!
I just found you….and I’m so glad I did it!!! You are so talented not only in the kitchen but also with your art food work!!
I would love to try this recipe, because I love anything with almond…but, I’m allergic to coconut. Unfortunately, for me, coconut oil, coconut flower, coconut milk is trend right now as a healthy staple. What can I use to substitute the coconut when a recipe calls for it??Reply
Mellissa Sevigny says
Welcome Maedee and thanks so much! In this recipe I suppose you could use almond flour or flax meal to sub for the coconut but it would be a completely different flavor and texture – still probably good though. Butter can always stand in for coconut oil, heavy cream for the coconut milk, and almond flour can replace coconut flour in most recipes, though you might need a little more than the recipe calls for since coconut flour is so absorbent. Hope that helps! :)
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LouWana says
You seem like such a neat person. I just bought and downloaded your book. I’ve got Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes and I’m looking forward to some of these yummy treats!
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Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks so much Louwana! Hope you enjoy the book and recipes!!!
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Tania in PDX says
Making these today (finally)! My mom ate all of my almonds, so I used walnuts on top instead, but they smell delicious as they are baking. Thanks for helping me satisfy my sweet tooth!
Mellissa Sevigny says
I bet it was just as good with walnuts! After my whole 30 I’m going to make these again!
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Anonymous says
All my life, my reason for Mounds over Almond Joy — in two words: Dark Chocolate
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You know I forgot that Mounds has dark and AJ uses Milk chocolate! Probably because I never eat Mounds due to lack of nuts. I understand your reasoning and I approve! Now if they just combined the two and had a dark chocolate with the almond I’d be a happy camper! Maybe that will be my next sweet project…
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Guru Uru says
These cookies look super tasty – can it get any better than perfect almonds choc coconut combos?
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
http://gobakeyourself.wordpress.com/Reply
nope, it really can’t!
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Anonymous says
You mentioned an Indian market in North Charleston. Do you happen to remember the name of it? I’d like to stop in since I live in the Summerville area
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It’s called Nelli’s and they are awesome and so helpful! The address is 1901 Ashley River Road – I loved it, hope you have fun in there!
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Terra says
Oh they sound delicious!!! I love almond joy, but can’t eat them much of course, love this healthy treat:-) I live in South Charlotte, where abouts are you? Take care, Terra
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We are in North Santee, SC right now which is right on Lake Marion in the southeast corner of the state. We may be relocating at some point to the Greenville area though because it’s a better area for our business. We’ll see! Hope you like the cookies!
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pietro says
In Australia the main use for coconut oil is as a sunscreen. Most food authorities seem to avoid it because of the amount of saturated fat. Hence I think it might be difficult to find. I’m wondering about butter or a tasteless vegetable oil. What do you think?
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Hi Pietro – I feel sad for you that you may be missing out on the benefits of coconut oil which are many, due to the misconception that it is unhealthy for you. Here is a link to some information about the many health benefits of it. http://www.organicfacts.net/organic-oils/organic-coconut-oil/health-benefits-of-coconut-oil.html But if you can’t get it, I think butter would be a delicious substitute!
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Chelsei says
Really? I live Melbourne and this soooo is not the case. You can find it at woolies,safeway or coles easy.
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Anonymous says
Cant wait to try this one with a little tweaking. I am not a fan of stevia so I think I am going to try using a date or two as my sweetener. It should give enough sweetness and work fine consistency wise if I mix it with the almond butter in my blender.
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I love dates and it would probably add a nice chewiness to the cookie! Let us know how they come out!
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I think if you omit the almond butter you could just add an extra tablespoon of coconut oil and two more tablespoons of flax meal. Just a guess though since I haven’t tried it – I hope you’ll let us know how they come out if you experiment with them!
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Anonymous says
Is there a good substitute for the almond butter? I’m one of the unfortunate people who are allergic to nuts.
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Anonymous says
How about sunbutter-the sunflour spread. My sister uses it to sub for nut butters all the time
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I don’t see why not – if I remember from last time I had some it has a nice sweetness to it too that would probably taste great! Let us know!
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