These 4-ingredient, fiercely fuchsia, chocolate-coated coconut macaroons are the perfect healthy vegan treat to share with your Valentine!

Macaroon. Macaron. It really is just unnecessarily confusing.

Why call two completely different cookies by almost the exact same name? I can’t think of any logical reason other than to confuse innocent cookie-craving people like me.

One is cute, coconutty, and quite simple with just a handful of ingredients. The other is fancy, multi-layered, and requires almost CIA-like code cracking precision to properly execute. Or so I’ve heard.

Since I have very little experience with either of these cookies, I thought I would start with the cute one first–double O. Although I did steal the brightly colored cookie concept from the single O kind, but that’s just because it’s almost Valentine’s Day and pink is the color of the moment.

Usually when February comes around I stock up on berries for all my Valentine’s-colored cooking needs. But there is a non-berry fruit even more perfectly pink than either of those two: pitaya!

These fiercely fuchsia bites of chocolate-coated coconut are sweet and simple to make with only 4 ingredients. Coconut is the primary ingredient of course, but there is also maple syrup for sweetness, a small amount of oat flour to help bind, and pitaya for color.

A special kind of coconut. While not fat-free, these macaroons are oil-free and lower in fat than most macaroon recipes thanks to a new-to-me ingredient–Reduced Fat Shredded Coconut from Let’s Do Organics. Now before you get skeptical wondering what sort of funky food science this must be, don’t worry it’s nothing crazy or unnatural. Almost half of the fat is removed by steam extraction, so it is still just pure, 1-ingredient, organic coconut.

I highly recommend it for my high carb low fat friends who still love the delicious taste of coconut. It is noticeably less oily that regular shredded coconut, but tastes just the same. Of course you can use regular shredded coconut in this recipe as well.

Pink! As I mentioned previously, I used pitaya (these cubes, defrosted) to turn the macaroons pink. But that is not the only natural coloring option. You could use freeze-dried pitaya powder and slightly less shredded coconut to make up for the decreased wet ingredients. Or steamed beets or beet juice. Or raspberry or strawberry puree (be sure to strain out the seeds first if using raspberries). The shade of pink will vary slightly, but be very Valentine’s Day appropriate regardless.

Instead of pureeing the pitaya first, I just let the food processor mix everything together for me before scooping or smushing the dough into balls and baking. After baking they are slightly crispy and toasty on the outside with a soft sweet center. And a dunk in dark chocolate plus extra drizzle on top only makes them more macaroon magical!

Pitaya Pink Coconut Macaroons Prep Time: Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: Total Time: 25 minutes

Yield: Yield: 10 - 12 macaroons 1 x Print Pin Description These 4-ingredient, fiercely fuchsia, chocolate-coated coconut macaroons are the perfect healthy vegan treat to share with your Valentine! Scale 1x 2x 3x Ingredients 2 cup s unsweetened shredded coconut

s unsweetened shredded coconut 1/4 cup oat flour

oat flour 1/2 cup maple syrup

maple syrup 1/4 cup frozen pitaya (see post above for other pink options, defrosted)

frozen pitaya (see post above for other pink options, defrosted) For coating: 1/2 cup chocolate chips (melted) Instructions Preheat the oven to 350F. In a food processor, combine the shredded coconut, oat flour, maple syrup, and pitaya. Process until well combined. It should hold together when squeezed, if not add a tablespoon or two more maple syrup. Shape into balls, squeezing tightly. Place on a lined baking sheet. Bake for 15-18 mins at 350F. Let them cool for at least 10-15 minutes before dipping/drizzling with chocolate. Refrigerate or freeze until the chocolate sets, then enjoy! Keep leftovers in the fridge.

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