No Bake Coconut Snowball Cookies

 

Shared with permission from Diana Bauman’s Nourishing Cookies for a Healthy Holiday.

• 1-3/4 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
• 3 teaspoons coconut oil
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
• organic dark chocolate

Makes 15 cookies.
1. Place 1 cup shredded coconut and 3 tsp coconut oil into the bowl of a food processor. Process on high speed, scraping down the sides every once in a while, until it reaches a butter consistency. (We used the Vitamix as our food processor wasn’t yielding a smooth coconut butter. If you already have coconut butter, use 1/2 cup.)
2. Add the maple syrup, coconut milk, vanilla extract, and salt and process on high speed until all of the ingredients have combined.
3. Add 3/4 cup of additional shredded coconut and process on high speed until all of the ingredients have combined and formed a batter.
4. Shape the coconut mixture into 1” balls and coat with the additional shredded coconut. Refrigerate for at last an hour or up to a week.
5. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Variation: Chocolate Snowballs

1. If you’d like to make these extra special, omit the final coating of shredded coconut in step 4 above. Allow the shaped coconut balls to firm up in the refrigerator, preferably overnight.
2. Once the coconut balls have firmed up, melt the dark chocolate in a small saucepan over medium heat. This should only take a minute or two.
3. Once the chocolate is melted, dip the coconut balls into the melted chocolate and sprinkle them with the shredded coconut. Allow the chocolate to harden by placing the coconut balls back into the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes.