Bariatric Foodie Play with your food
There’s a lot to be learned from non-op cooking, Foodies. In the midst of my non-op holiday baking I came across a completely flourless coconut macaroon recipe. It took me a week or two after what I call “cookie-palooza” (prep for my big Christmas party when I make hundreds and hundreds of cookies) to want to even think about a cookie again but this afternoon I got a hankering.
You all might know I already have a coconut macaroon recipe that uses Carbquik. But I am excited and fascinated by flourless cookies so I wanted to give this a whirl. The results were pretty damn yummy!
Just as a reminder here are my personal rules about cookies:
- I do not make cookies unless I have others around to share them with
- I do not make large batches of cookies (this recipe yields about six of them, more if you make them smaller)
- I stay accountable with cookies (hence posting here and being brutally honest about what I ate)
Now you can choose to add protein to your cookies. I don’t. I believe there’s room in my meal plan for the occasional indulgence, so long as it’s a responsible one. But you do what makes YOU most comfortable, k?
Nik’s Flourless Coconut Macaroons
(Makes six-ish)
Ingredients:
- 1 large egg white
- 3/4 c. no-calorie sweetener (I use Splenda. If you don’t make sure to use the amount that measures against 3/4 c. sugar)
- 1.5 c. unsweetened coconut (I get mine from the Amish but you can also order it online)
- 1 tsp coconut extract (or for this one I actually used a tablespoon of sugar-free toasted coconut syrup)
- 1/4 c. sugar-free chocolate chips (I get mine at Wal-Mart. Hershey makes them.)
Directions
(Sorry…it didn’t occur to me that this should be a blog post until after I saw how well they turned out so no process pics!)
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
In a bowl, whip your egg white until it is good and frothy, about 3 minutes.
Add in a quarter cup of sweetener at a time, whipping them into the egg whites after each addition. The egg white mixture should get stiffer as you add more sweetener. Add extract and whip again.
Gently fold in your coconuts using a baking spatula. I always end up getting asked what gently folding is. Basically it is just as it sounds. You are ever-so-gently folding the mixture into itself so that you don’t deflate the egg whites. GENTLY!
Once the coconut is completely incorporated into the egg white mixture, add chocolate chips and stir in.
On a parchment paper lined baking sheet, drop heaping tablespoons-full of the mixture. It will not hold together. That’s fine. Just drop it in a little heap and make sure the heap is all touching each other It’ll work out. Trust me!
Bake about 10 minutes or until cookie is set and edges are browned. Remove from oven and cool on a rack before eating!
How many calories are these? I’m not telling! Most of you know why. Like I said, cookies will never be diet food, but we improve where we can, right?
Oh! Super yum! I speak from experience that Nikki's macaroons are seriously delicious.
You’re helping me understand how I can make my surgery plan work for me without letting go of everything. Thank you so very much. I’m still pre-op and I’m trying some of the recipes you post to get ready for my post-op days. I was expecting some bland, nasty food, but you have some great and tasty ideas. Thanks so very much.