Nutrition
| Per 100 g | Per 1 oz (28 g) | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 581 kcal | 165 kcal |
| Protein | 20.5 g | 5.8 g |
| Fat | 50.8 g | 14.4 g |
| saturated | 15.7 g | 4.4 g |
| Carbohydrate | 10.9 g | 3.1 g |
| sugars | 8.2 g | 2.3 g |
| Fibre | 9 g | 2.6 g |
| Sodium | 16 mg | 5 mg |
Estimated from the ingredients, for the finished dried product. Actual values vary with the produce you use and how far you dry it.
Ingredients
- 5 cups salted almond butter
- 5 cups pitted dates (soaked in water for 1/2 hour)
- 740 g dried cherries (soaked in water for 1/2 hour)
- 5 cups crushed almonds
- 5/8 to 1 1/4 cups water
- 5 cups shredded coconut
Instructions
- Drain the soaked dates and cherries and save the soaking water. That liquid is where the sweetness went, and it is what should go back in later instead of plain water.
- Pulse the drained fruit alone until it forms a coarse paste. Dates and cherries are the only binder here — almond butter by itself will not hold a disc together.
- Add the almond butter and crushed almonds and pulse again in short bursts. Long processing turns the crushed almonds into more butter and you lose the crunch the recipe is built on.
- Add the reserved liquid a spoonful at a time, stopping at the point the dough just rolls without cracking. A runny dough spreads on the tray into flat wafers.
- Flatten each ball into an even disc before it is dipped, not after. Pressing a coconut-covered disc pushes the coconut straight back off.
- Press both faces into the shredded coconut and pat off whatever is loose. Loose coconut scorches on the tray and tastes bitter.
- Dehydrate at 63 °C for 6 hours. This runs warmer than most cookies here because there is nothing raw to protect and almond butter firms up better with some heat behind it.
- They are done when the coconut has gone from white to pale gold and a cookie lifts without leaving anything behind. The centre stays soft, which is intended — these were never meant to be a dry biscuit.
- Store them in a sealed tin for a week or the fridge for a month. The cherries keep a little moisture in the middle of each one, so a warm cupboard in summer is asking for trouble.
