Are we nuts to do more coconuts? I hardly think so. There are so many good things that can be made with coconut in one form or another.
Have you ever seen a picture of something to eat that you wanted to make only to find that it didn’t turn out exactly like you thought it would? In my efforts to find a healthier way of eating, I stumbled upon a terrific website – www.tropicaltraditions.com.
(Note: They are a good information source about coconuts & have lots of recipes using this divine nut meat. Understand, I am in no way promoting their products.)
I must confess to having a terrible “sweet tooth.” So when I saw a picture of some German Chocolate Style Bars, I was hooked. No processed sugars, no dairy, no eggs, no gluten… The only hindrance in making them was that I had NO coconut cream/concentrate or ghee.
Hence, the additional coconuts Jen & I picked up on our way home from Shari’s – where we processed 13 coconuts! As Shari previously stated, whole coconuts are a very labor intensive proposition with very little reward – my 4 coconuts produced 1 1/4 lbs of shredded/sliced coconut.
After making the coconut concentrate (about 45 minutes), I was ready to make my chosen “goodie.” When we processed the coconut, Jen & I added a bit of coconut oil to hopefully speed up the process. All it appeared to do was add a layer of oil on top of the cream.
I made the bars according to the recipe – however, I did not chop the pecans finely enough so they were still in fairly large chunks. After the bars sat in the refrigerator for the requisite time, I pulled them out & cut them. (Question: How do you cut an 8×8 pan of cookie bars into 25 pieces?) It appeared that the coconut cream separated out of the base & was extremely oily; but it was good coconut oil!!! They were a bit chewy & oily.
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After sampling the German Chocolate Style bars, I found out that my husband, Dale, doesn’t like coconut as much as I do. He has a problem with the excessive oil because of his dentures.
I have since drained the excess oil off of the coconut cream & I think it is much better. Since I have never purchased coconut cream before, I really have no idea of what it should look like but I think this is what I would imagine it should be.
In order to make these cookie bars, I had to make ghee (or clarified butter). It was not difficult..just a bit time consuming. I will add some commentary, pictures, & instructions on how I made it in another post as well as some Peanut Butter Cups that I made (dairy free, soy free, gluten free, egg free, & no processed sugar). Yummy!!!!!