Testimony of the Day
“This is a partial before after photo of me. I couldn’t find any photos of me at my highest weight (185 in college). On the left I was about 170 and today I am 145. But thanks to Maria, I am the healthy and happy person I am today.” Craig
To get started like Craig, click HERE. I’d be honored to help you too!
Coconut Sugar
Coconut sugar is a sweetener that has become very popular in the past few years. Man, I get a million questions about this sweetener. This sugar is derived from the coconut palm tree and is hyped as being more nutritious and lower on the glycemic index than sugar. Coconut sugar is made in a two-step process:
1. A cut is made on the flower of the coconut palm, and the liquid sap is collected into containers.
2. The sap is placed under heat until most of the water in it has evaporated.
Coconut sugar does maintain some of the nutrients found in the coconut palm. It is difficult to find exact data on this, but according to the Philippine Department of Agriculture, coconut sugar contains several nutrients.[39] Most notable of these are the minerals iron, zinc, calcium, and potassium, along with some polyphenols and antioxidants that may also provide some health benefits. The reason it is lower on the glycemic index is because it also contains a fiber called inulin, which may slow glucose absorption.[40]
Even though coconut sugar does contain some nutrients, you’d have to eat a ridiculous amount of it to really get any benefits from these nutrients. You would get a lot more from non-sweet foods. Coconut sugar has the same amount of empty calories as table sugar. So again, you may be thinking, “OK Maria, if I want to sweeten something a little, I will use coconut sugar since it seems less harmless than honey.” No! Let me surprise you with a tidbit: even though I see claims all over the web that coconut sugar is commendably fructose-free, 70 to 80% of it is made of sucrose, which is half fructose (and half glucose)![41] This essentially means that coconut sugar supplies the same amount of fructose as regular sugar, gram for gram.
As long as you understand just how detrimental fructose is not only to your waist line, but also to the overall health of your cells and liver, you see that coconut sugar should be avoided.
Read more about this in my new book Keto-Adapted.
Click HERE to get a limited edition of the Hard Cover.
Click HERE to get a soft cover.
Thank you all for your love and support!
MACAROONS:
2 cups blanched almonds
1/2 cup Swerve (or erythritol and 1 tsp stevia glycerite)
3 large egg whites
3/4 tsp Redmond Real Salt
3 TBS Swerve (or Erythritol)
3 TBS unsweetened cocoa powder
GANACHE:
3 oz unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
1/3 cup vanilla almond milk (or heavy cream)
Swerve or stevia glycerite (to taste)
1 TBS coconut oil or butter, softened
1/16 tsp raspberry extract
Place 1/2 cup Swerve or erythritol in a coffee grinder/food processor and blend until a fine powder (or use confectioners Swerve). Macaroons: Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Pulse almonds with 1/2 cup Swerve in a food processor until very finely ground, 2 to 3 minutes, then transfer to a bowl (or use blanched almond flour). In another bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer at medium speed until they just hold soft peaks. Add Swerve, cocoa powder and salt, a little at a time, beating, then increase speed to high and continue to beat until whites just hold stiff, glossy peaks. Stir almond mixture into meringue with a rubber spatula until completely incorporated. (Meringue will deflate) Spoon batter into bag, pressing out excess air, and snip off 1 corner of plastic bag to create a 1/4-inch opening. Twist bag firmly just above batter, then pipe peaked mounds of batter (the size of a chocolate kiss) onto lined sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart. Let cookies stand, uncovered, at room temperature until tops are no longer sticky and a light crust forms, 20 to 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Bake cookies for 20-30 minutes or until crisp and edges are just slightly darker. Cool completely on sheets on racks, about 30 minutes.
GANACHE: Melt chocolate with cream in a metal bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water or in top of a double boiler, stirring until smooth. (Bowl should not touch water) Remove bowl from heat, then add coconut oil or butter and raspberry extract, stirring until butter is melted. Let stand at room temperature until cooled completely and slightly thickened.Carefully peel cookies from parchment (they will be fragile). Sandwich a thin layer of ganache (about 1/2 teaspoon) between flat sides of cookies. Makes 24 sandwich cookies.
NUTRITIONAL COMPARISON (per serving)
Traditional Macaroons = 105 calories, 6.5g fat, 2.6g protein, 12 carbs, 1.6g fiber
“Healthified” Macaroons = 71 calories, 6.4g fat, 2.6g protein, 2.8 carbs, 1.6g fiber
I’m having a nervous breakdown. Making these TODAY!
Looks fabulous!! Maria, what brand of Stevia is that – or where can one purchase it on the internet? Thank you.
It is the NOW brand of stevia.
Thanks, Maria. (((HUGS)))
Haha @ Rachel. I’m having the same reaction. Gotta make these. Thanks for posting Maria! Would you might if I posted this recipe on my site http://www.vitalityadvocate.com with a link back to yours? Thanks!
Yes, please do. Thanks! 🙂
would the recipes fall-apart / not work if the 1 tsp stevia glycerite was omitted?
That should still work. 🙂
is xylitol and erythritol interchangeable? (1 for 1?)
also…what do you think about these two articles:
1) http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/xylitol-not-as-sweet-as-its-cracked-up-to-be/
2) http://www.westonaprice.org/modern-foods/sugar-free-blues?qh=YTo4OntpOjA7czo1OiJzdWdhciI7aToxO3M6ODoic3VnYXJpbmciO2k6MjtzOjY6InN1Z2FycyI7aTozO3M6Nzoic3VnYXJlZCI7aTo0O3M6Nzoic3VnYXIncyI7aTo1O3M6NToiYmx1ZXMiO2k6NjtzOjQ6ImJsdWUiO2k6NztzOjExOiJzdWdhciBibHVlcyI7fQ%253D%253D
would love to hear your thoughts.
thank you and have a really nice day <3
Hi, Erthritol isn’t as sweet as xylitol so the conversion I use is 1 cup Erythritol and 1 teaspoon stevia glycerite = 1 cup xylitol.
As for the articles, here is what I believe:
Here is what I wrote to someone on facebook that asked about the same link:
Here is the original source of that critique.
http://www.naturalnews.com/022986_xylitol_health_sugar.html
The first couple comments you see are:
“Misinformation by someone who sells a product that Xylitol competes with. Yes, Xylitol is heavily processed, because that’s cheaper than getting it directly from plants. It doesn’t matter – It’s a chemically pure product, and therefore identical regardless of source. It’s bad for rats, and also for dogs. So is chocolate. Luckily we are not rats or dogs. It is also bad for bacteria, which is why it’s effective at preventing caries. And it’s bad for yeast, so don’t use it for making bread. There are plenty of studies showing it to be safe for human consumption, and none saying otherwise. Yes, it will give you diarrhea if you eat too much, but so will cherries, plums, berries, etc – because guess what – most fruits contain xylitol. So don’t eat too much of it. It’s a fantastic sweetener, that has 1/3 less calories than sugar, prevents caries. It’s also much slower to be absorbed, so it does not cause spikes in insulin, which lead to health problems (whether you are diabetic or not).
I wonder if this comment will even be allowed to be posted?”
and:
“I agree with Alicia. Based on the data in this page, the LD50 is 16.5 gr of xylitol per kg. An adult human has an average weight of 80 kg. That means that to reach the LD50 dose, a person should eat 16.5 g x 80 kg = 1,320g or 1.32kg of xylitol in a day. That’s close to 3 lbs. By the way, the LD50 of sucrose (table sugar) is 29 g/kg. So table sugar is about 1/2 as toxic as xylitol… which means it is considered NON TOXIC… and that means IT IS SAFE.”
I tend to agree with what is said here and think it is more accurate:
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/sugar-alcohols/
Thanks!
Do 2 cups blanched almonds = 2 cups almond flour? I have flour and wasn’t sure if the measurement would be the same. Thanks! These look absolutely incredible! So excited to try them for the holidays! 😀
Yes. Blanched just has the dark outer part of the almond removed. 🙂
I’m sorry, I meant that I was confused about whether or not 2 cups of WHOLE almonds equal 2 cups of already prepared flour. I’m using Honeyville’s blanched almond flour 🙂
Whole almonds should be less once ground.
I just made these. They are not nearly as pretty as yours, but unbelievably delicious! Thanks for the incredible recipe as always, Maria.
Thanks!
Is there a way to make these egg free? Thanks!
You can try a chia seed egg replacer, but not sure if it would work. 🙂
Thanks!
I don’t know how I missed these the first time around on the blog (I just discovered them on Pinterest), but I am SUPER excited about this recipe! One question: I have almond flour handy, not whole almonds. I know two cups of whole almonds ground does not equal two cups of almond flour. Do you happen to know how much almond flour should be used in this recipe? Thanks so much! I can’t wait to try these out!
Thanks! It should be pretty close to 2 cups. You can try 1 3/4 cups and add more if the batter is too runny. 🙂
This recipe is next up for me to make. I used to LOVE macaroons in my gluten days. There were so many fabulous macaroon shops in NYC. My favorite was Laudree. Since going gluten free a year ago I haven’t had one of these treats. I can’t wait to try a gluten/sugar free option. I hope mine looks as pretty as the ones pictured above. Can I switch up the extract flavors? (Vanilla, mint, lavendar)?
Yes, that should work. 🙂
Can I sub swerve for confectionar swerve?
Yes. They are the same ingredients.
Mine do not look nearly as pretty. Do you put cocoa powder in the macaroon to make them look darker?
Oops, missed that. I fixe it above. 🙂
Thanks for posting this. You might want to fix your spelling. Your cookie is a macar-O-n, NOT macar-O-O-n (coconut cookie).
Question: if you use 1 tsp. glycerite (I know it as liquid), do you have to add extra flour or reduce eggs? I’ve tried forever to make low-carb macarons, but they always turned out soggy & chewy.
Thanks! You would lose some bulk so maybe a touch more flour. 🙂
Hi Maria,
I made this cookies last night, they are delicious! Mine doesn’t look like yours (yours look like real sugary macaron) How did you make it with a feet? (I mean the rim on the bottom of the cookie) My cookies look like little sandwich cookies. Also, they’ve been crunchy outside and soft inside, when I just finished them. The perfect texture! Then, I put them in a fridge, to make ganache a little bit harder. The texture of cookies changed. They lost their crust on the top and became some kind of soft and taste like marzipan cookies with chocolate. They are still good and I love them. How should I store them to keep them crusty?
They are tough to store and retain the crunch. You could store separate (shells and filling) and then put filling in just before eating. That should help. 🙂
Thank you, Maria. I will try this next time.
Hi Maria! What a pretty macaron. Yours look so professional. I have tried this recipe about four times and still can’t get it looking like yours. I have made successful macaroons with real sugar but low carb sweeteners seem to be lacking a bit. I end up getting a sweet, softer marzipan tasting cookie. I seem unable to get the tops to dry and form a crust so that I get the”foot” on the cookie. I see that other low carb bloggers have run into the same problem- A softer cookie with out a “foot”. I will try your recipe a few more times paying special attention to the technique. My failed attempts still taste wonderful, but it is getting frustrating. Thanks so much for all of your wonderful recipes. There hasn’t been one that I’ve tried that I haven’t liked.
Thanks! Make sure the whites are very stiff. 🙂
Which sugar would you reccomend if so can’t tolerate swerve/ erythitrol
Either stevia glycerite or monk fruit (lo han).
http://astore.amazon.com/marisnutran05-20?_encoding=UTF8&node=13
Did you use real sugar for the photographed macarons? When using any other sweeteners macarons don’t have the feet like real sugar macarons do. Kim asked how you made the feet but you chose not to answer. Perhaps a video might help.
No I didn’t. I used Swerve. It takes a bit of technique but they can work out like this. 😉
I know this is an old post, but these are macarons. A macaroon is a coconut cookie. Two very different things.
Yes, thanks for pointing that out. 🙂
2 cups of almond flour seems to be too much. How much should I have used?
I just tried making this recipe and mine did NOT turn out. I have made regular french macarons several times so I thought this would be a piece of cake. I’m not sure what happened. My dough mixture turned out to be incredibly thick, so thick that I could not even pipe it through a pastry bag. I ended up rolling the dough mixture into little balls and then flattening them out on the cookie sheet. I thought that they might even out in the oven but they kept their rough dough texture. HELP! What did I do wrong?
Did you use almond flour? If so, what brand?
Just wondering why there are two completely different photos of the macarons? the one at the bottom of the post looks like a regular macaron made with sugar. The ones just above the recipe look nothing like those. Are the pretty ones really from your recipe or are they a high carb photo?
I’ve used swerve and I also used Just Like Sugar replacement to make these.
I’m extremely confused about two drastically different photos. The top photo are macarOOns, and the bottom photo are macarOns. Which photo is the end product of this recipe? This post doesn’t make much sense and you’ve evaded answering other people with the same question.