Apple Cinnamon Macaroons

Have you ever walked through the bulk section of Fresh & Natural and taken time to look at everything?  I do most of my shopping in the produce department.  Dried fruit, nuts, seeds and grains are staples in my kitchen.  I make a lot of raw desserts at home, so lately I have been buying a lot of dates and dried coconut (which make amazing desserts).  I recently decided to pick up some dried apples to make some apple cinnamon macaroons.  They turned out to be a tasty snack that satisfies any sweet craving, perfect for this time of year.  The best part is they are easy to make, and would make a great on the go snack perfect for school lunches (or lunch at work, I would include them in mine)!

Author: Amy Lyons O’Neil

Amy has worked for Fresh and Natural Foods since 2006 contributing to the variety of healthful foods we offer. She graduated with a degree in studio art from Bethel University in 2007, but in her senior year of college, found that her passion was with the art of food. She later used her photography and culinary skills to create a vegan food and recipe blog, Fragrant Vanilla Cake. She has also written 3 cookbooks. She specializes in vegan and vegetarian recipes. Local, fresh and organic food has always been her focus in whatever she creates.

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Servings: 12 | Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 12 hours | Ready in: 12 hours and 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup dried apples (available in bulk)
• 4 medjool dates, pitted (available in bulk)
• 2/3 cup Bob's Red Mill almond flour
• a pinch of sea salt
• 1/2 tsp organic cinnamon (available in bulk)
• 1 cup finely shredded unsweetened coconut
• 1 Tbsp maple syrup (available in bulk)

Instructions

Place dried apples, dates, almond flour, sea salt, and cinnamon in the food processor and process until finely chopped and well combined.

Place the mixture in a bowl, and knead in the coconut and maple syrup.

Form the mixture into 12 balls, and place on a dehydrator sheet.

Dehydrate for about 12 hours, or until they are dried, but not so much so that they are not a little chewy in the middle. Alternatively, if you do not own a dehydrator, you can make these in the oven on a lined baking sheet. Just set the oven to the lowest temperature possible and bake on the sheet. They will be done faster however than the dehydrator with the higher temperature. Check them after 6 hours.