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| These Coconut Almond Macaroon Cookies can be eaten for Phase One if you use portion control! |
I see a lot of food blog posts about desserts, but although I indulge a bit when I'm traveling I don't make desserts at home all that often. However a lot of people love sweet treats, and when I mentioned on the Kalyn's Kitchen Facebook Page that I was experimenting with a Phase One cookie recipe from The South Beach Diet Super Quick Cookbook, it generated a lot of excitement. (Desserts are a challenge on Phase One, and before this the Jelled Ricotta Pudding recipe I got from a reader was the only Phase One dessert on my blog.) I experimented with a couple of versions until I got a cookie I thought was just right, and I'm excited to share the recipe. Even though I'm not a big sweets person, I liked these cookies so much that I had to remind myself about portion control, so if you're trying to lose weight, keep that in mind!
Really I think these Coconut Almond Macaroon Cookies are a pretty classic macaroon (not to be confused with macarons, which are a whole different baking experience!) The recipe uses ground almonds, and I was actually surprised that an official South Beach Diet Cookbook had these labeled as phase one, since one of the other cookbooks says no nut flours are allowed in Phase One. I don't know if grinding the almonds yourself makes a difference, but I did follow the recipe for that part. Coconut is definitely a fruit, but unsweetened coconut has only 1 gram of sugar in 3 tablespoons, which does a lot to explain why it's permitted. Anyway I'm trusting the book on this, and I did eat *quite a few* cookies when I was testing the recipe without gaining any weight! (If you're eating them for phase one though, check the South Beach suggestions after the recipe for portion size.)
Put a generous 2/3 cup slivered almonds into a small food processor or the bowl attachment of an immersion blender and process until just ground. (I ground mine until it was just slightly more chunky than almond meal. I'd guess you could use almond meal in this recipe in a pinch, but I haven't tried it. I would not use the more finely-ground almond flour though.)
Put the ground almonds into a bowl and add the shredded unsweetened coconut, Splenda, and a generous pinch of salt. (If you're not making these for South Beach you can substitute sugar for Splenda.)
I love this little egg separator to separate the egg white, but you can also do it by hand using the shell. You need two egg whites. (The original recipe used one, but I found the cookies were crisper and the dough was much easier to handle with two.)
The recipe called for macaroons made into balls, but I wanted a flatter cookie. (Anna from Poland followed the recipe in the book and made Coconut Almond Macaroon Balls if you want to see how they look.) Thanks Anna for sharing that on Facebook!
I used a fork to smash mine down into cookies not quite 1/2 inch thick. The batter is a bit crumbly so I pushed the edges together with the fork too.
(Makes about 16 small cookies, recipe adapted from The South Beach Diet Super Quick Cookbook, and this is a cookie that's approved for Phase One in that book!)
generous 2/3 cup slivered almonds
1 1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut (I used Bob's Red Mill unsweetened coconut, which I found at a health foods store)
1/2 cup Splenda or sugar (use Splenda for the South Beach Diet)
generous pinch of salt
1/4 cup non-fat Greek Yogurt (I used Fage Total Greek yogurt)
2 egg whites (I used extra-large eggs)
2 tsp. vanilla
Preheat oven to 325F/170C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or use a silicone baking mat.
Use a small food processor or the bowl attachment for an immersion blender to chop the almonds, just until they are ground but still a little chunky. Put the ground almonds, shredded coconut, Splenda, and salt into a medium-sized bowl and mix together with a spoon.
Separate 2 eggs to get 2 egg whites. (Save the yolks for something else or discard.) Add egg whites, fat-free Greek yogurt, and vanilla to the dry mixture and blend together with a spoon until the ingredients are well-combined.
Scoop out dough one tablespoon at a time and form into a round ball, then place on the baking sheet about 2 inches apart. (I used a metal tablespoon, which worked well.) Use a fork to press each ball down into a cookie slightly less than 1/2 inch thick. (The cookies don't spread out much, so don't worry about that.) I also used the fork to press the edges together because the batter is rather crumbly.
Bake cookies until they are well set and starting to get nicely brown on the edges, about 30-32 minutes. (This was quite a bit longer than the cooking time in the original recipe, but I liked the brown edges. If you want a lighter cookie, take them out sooner.)
I loved the crisp cookies when they were fresh from the oven and barely cooled. After they had been stored overnight in a plastic container they were much less crisp. I might consider only baking a few at a time (or even putting leftover cookies back into a hot toaster oven for a few minutes to crisp them.)
The original recipe said 24 cookies and gave the serving size for Phase One as three cookie balls. I only got 16 flat cookies, so I would limit the serving to 2 cookies if you're doing Phase One.
South Beach Suggestions:
The low-glycemic ingredients in these cookies make them approved for any phase of the South Beach Diet. If you're eating them for Phase One I would limit myself to 2 cookies per day (and maybe don't have nuts as a snack on that day, since nuts are so calorie dense and the macaroons contain almonds.)
More Tasty Ideas for Low-Sugar Cookies with Coconut or Almonds (but not for Phase One, sorry!)
(Recipes from other blogs not always South Beach Diet friendly; check ingredients. Splenda can be substituted for sugar in most any cookie recipe.)
Low-Sugar and Whole Wheat Molasses-Almond Cookies from Kalyn's Kitchen
Low-Sugar and Whole Wheat Ranger Cookies with Pecans, Coconut, and Chocolate from Kalyn's Kitchen
Sugar-Free and Gluten-Free Triple Almond Cookies from Kalyn's Kitchen
Sugar-Free and Gluten-Free Cookies with Almond and Flaxseed Meal from Kalyn's Kitchen
Low Sugar or Sugar-Free Almond Flour "Snickerdoodle Cookies (also gluten free) from Kalyn's Kitchen
Gluten-Free Rasberry Coconut Almond Bars from Gluten Free Goddess
Vegan Coconut Almond Cookies from Health Nut
Gluten Free Almond Power Bars from Elana's Pantry
Granola Cookies with Toasted Coconut, Almonds, and Chocolate from Dandy Sugar
Cranberry Almond Coconut Macaroons from The Sophisticated Gourmet
(Want even more recipes? I find these recipes from other blogs using Food Blog Search.)
40 comments:
Whether dieting or not these cookies look delicious!
I looovvee macaroons and anything that makes them a little bit figure friendly sounds fantastic to me! These look great! And are definitely a great way to keep you on track during phase one!
These look good, and I'm not even doing phase one!
I am definitely making these and the ricotta one. I'm with you. I tend to make a lot of veggie and lean meat dishes but almost no desserts.
I love macaroons and yours look great!
I've got to get a food processor....
Almonds and coconut are two of my favorite cookie flavors.
I, too, am not much of a sweets person - however these look interesting.
I believe these could easily be made vegan with some flax meal and.... hmm. Something for the yogurt. Maybe silken tofu.
Thanks!
CJ, I think you might be able to find the nuts in a blender if you're careful not to get too fine.
Would love to hear how it works if you come up with a vegan version of this!
I JUST made a healthy cookie last night that I'm really excited about. I am really enjoying exploring more healthy and vegan baking. Its quite the challenge. I look forward to trying this recipe out! I love anything with almond and coconut so I'm sure it will be a winner.
One of the things I love the most about your blog is that I love the recipe FIRST and then the HEALTHINESS second. I am not even doing South Beach, but I absolutely love every KK recipe I have ever made. These look amazing to me, and will try them soon!
Donna
Becky, look forward to seeing your new healthy cookie!
Donna, you're sweet! I did really enjoy these (and I am not that much of a coconut fan, but I loved the coconut in this.)
This has my name on it. Coconut, almonds and Greek yogurt. Three of my favorites.
the cookies look delicious and i will just keep aside my diet till i taste this
Is there any reason not to beat the egg whites before adding them?
Paula, hope you enjoy!
Kadhyaa, these are diet friendly if you don't eat too many!
Terri, I didn't try it with beaten egg whites but I'd guess it would make the cookies a bit lighter (and increase the volume so you can eat a few more.) Love to hear how that works if you try it.
I on the other hand am a TOTAL sweets person. These still look delicious. I love the addition of greek yogurt!
Kelley I think I am in the minority in my indifference to sweets. I thought the Greek yogurt really was perfect in this.
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for these cookies!!! I made them last night and they were so good- even my 10 year old nephew loved them! Such a happy girl right now!
These cookies sound delicious! I've been off sugar completely, but I would love to try these in the future. Almond flour and coconut are a killer combo.
i am dying to try these! hubby and i are in phase one for the first time, and i'm missing cookies!!! i can't seem to find unsweetened coconut at my local grocery store. i was going to try Trader Joes, but where do you get yours?
thanks so much for the fantastic blog and all the amazing recipes! i love that you give a side dish suggestion and the printer friendly version. i print out the recipe on one side and then the side dish on the other and my meals are set! you made phase one doable <3
Cheri, so glad the blog is helping you with phase one. I found the unsweetened coconut at Whole Foods, in the section where they had Bob's Red Mill products. (You could also order it online from Bob's Red Mill if you can't find it where you live.)
Oh, Kalyn, these look yummy! And thanks a bunch for mentioning me & my blog.
Anna, my pleasure. I loved seeing how they turned out for you when you made them as balls!
look great! would love to know how to do it without the yogurt as a dairy free cookie though; maybe the tofu idea? and definitely not messing with Splenda, with the research I've done on that....
I have no idea how you would make these without yogurt; let us know if you come up with something.
Hey Kalyn! New South-Beacher and new reader here. Any thoughts or experience baking with Stevia?
Laura, I just started experimenting with the new Stevia In the Raw Granular sweetener. I've baked several things with it and am very happy with the results. You could use it in any of my recipes that specify Splenda.
I just made these and they're delicious! Like macaroons!
Melissa, so glad you liked them!
Just made these and they are fantastic! Instead of sugar/splenda, I ended up using Agave nectar. The batter was a little runnier than yours, but it still turned out awesome, with the same amount of time! Thanks for a good one!
Bellows, thanks for sharing that. Good to know that they will work with agave nectar!
I would love to know where to get that cute little egg separator. Carol
Carol, I bought it at Williams-Sonoma, but it was more than ten years ago.
Thanks for the wonderful recipe. Do you know the approximate carb count at the 16 cookie count? I made these over the weekend and the whole family loved them. I used the Pampered Chef "Magic Chopper" to crush the almonds. So I had a thought... Girl Scout Samoas. I'd like to add some sugar-free caramel & chocolate to these as well!
I chose South Beach to manage my weight because I didn't want to count calories, carbs, etc., but if you want that information you can calculate it here:
http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php
Did you use the same amount of Avage Nectar as the amount of Splenda?
For those using Agave Nectar and Stevia (I have Truvia, but it seems those are interchangeable) - did you use the same amount of each as indicated for Spenda? Kalyn - I love your blog and recipes. Thank you so much for all your efforts!
Audra, thanks; glad you are enjoying the recipes. I don't know how Agave would work in this recipe because of the wetness, but I think you could use granulated Stevia in the same amount as Splenda. (Stevia in the Raw Granulated is good.)
I tried these with ground hazelnut flour (I am allergic to almonds), 1/2 tsp pure stevia powder for sweetener, and baked on aluminum foil. There was some sticking to foil. Stevia comments: the sweetness was the right amount with some aftertaste. I think that the decreased bulk made the dough stick together better. Thank you Kalyn for making phase 1 better!
Susan, I agree that using the powder Stevia probably makes the dough more sticky. You might like the granulated Stevia in the Raw for baking; I like it a lot.
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