Anchal’s been trying out a gluten free diet recently on the recommendation of her doctor which means that there’s an abundance of er, interesting foods in our cupboards – gluten free cornflakes made with quinoa, corn and amaranth (big thumbs up), gluten-free bread (tastes like soft potatoey cardboard), gluten free digestive biscuits (again, CARDBOARD) and Japanese rice crackers (super yummy). We therefore figure that instead of finding substitutes for favourite foods, focusing on items that are naturally gluten free – or naturally free of whatever your dietary restriction happens to be – is a better route to take.
Enter coconut macaroons – or polar bear truffles as we like to call them! If polar bears ate dessert, we imagine these snowy, chewy yummy truffles are the sorts of things they’d eat. (Don’t judge us. Our minds work in mysterious ways.)
If you’re scared of baking, these are perfect because they’re so easy to make – just four ingredients and the whole process is about 20 minutes long! We also tipped in a bag of chocolate chips into the mixture at the last moment because….well, why ever not?!
We also need to mention that these are perfect for using up leftover egg white (from one of our upcoming blog projects!)
Makes 24 truffles
200g dessicated unsweetened coconut
100g caster sugar
5 egg whites
a pinch of salt
100g milk chocolate chips
- Preheat the oven to 180C (fan assisted) or 200C (non-fan assisted).
- In a large bowl, mix the coconut, sugar and salt.
- Add the egg whites and mix so that they are completely incorporated.
- Add in the chocolate chips and mix. (Dried cranberries, blueberries and cocoa nibs would work too.)
- With your hands, squeeze tablespoon-sized balls of the coconut mixture and place on a greaseproof-lined baking sheet. Squeezing them really helps them come together properly.
- Bake for 11 minutes or until toasted.
- Cool on the baking sheet and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Enjoy them during the interval at the ballet or in front of the new Downton Abbey episode!
So what do you think? What is your favourite gluten-free food? Feel free to share your questions and comments below! We’d love to hear what you have to say.
sugar chai honey bunch 
I made these and they were .ridiculously delicious! Even my flatmate who claims not to like coconut ate several. Plus they didn’t make us feel too guilty.
Amazing! So glad you liked them – we made them for our parents and they were addicted to them 🙂 You can also dip them in chocolate and voila – homemade Bounty bars!
Anchal