I should start by saying this isn't my own recipe. I got it from a raw food
forum. It does require a dehydrator. If you don't have one, you could try
baking these at a very low temp, or simply rolling them in balls, then in
some extra coconut, putting them in the fridge and calling them truffles.
If you do this, you may also need to add some extra coconut to the batter if
they seem too runny. This recipe also calls for agave nectar or honey.
I've been using the agave nectar with no BG problems but I also put in about
1/2 of what it calls for. I like them very tart. If you are not a raw
foodist you could sub in whatever sweetener you like, but if it is not in
liquid form, you would need to add a bit of water if the mixture seems too
dry. It's a very forgiving recipe and next to impossible to screw up. I
added too much coconut the first time and it still came out fine.

Ingredients:

2 cups raw cashews
2 cups raw, unsweetened coconut, finely grated
1/2 cup agave nectar or honey, or to taste
Lemon Zest from 2-3 or more lemons
Lemon Juice, freshly squeezed, from 3-5 or more lemons. The more the
better, I say.

Soak the cashews if necessary. If you have a fairly good food processor,
the soaking is not necessary. I have one of the Big Mouth ones. Not an
overly expensive one. I've tried it with soaked and unsoaked and it works
well for me either way. The soaking will soften the nuts a bit and might be
necessary if your food processor isn't very powerful. Simply soak them in
warm water for about an hour and drain.

Process the nuts until finely powdered (unsoaked) or smooth and creamy if
soaked. Add the rest of the ingredients and keep processing until smooth.
Taste and add more sweetener if necessary. This recipe is intended to be
tart, not sweet. Add a bit of water or more lemon juice if needed. You
don't want a soupy mixture but you also don't want it to be too stiff to
shape well.

Prepare your dehydrator trays by putting down a mesh sheet then Teflex or
fruit leather sheet, depending on the type you have. You can then pipe out
the mixture into various shapes using a cookie press, or a plastic bag with
a corner cut off. Or you can simply shape by hand. I made little rings the
first time and this last batch was shaped into small bars. You can also
shape it into letters, numbers or just plain little patties, like cookies.

Dehydrate long enough for them to hold their shape and flip over. If you
are a raw foodist you'll want to keep the dehydrater at about 100-115
degrees. Otherwise you can put it a bit higher. Once they've achieved this
firmness, flip them over onto the mesh sheets and continue to dehydrate for
another 6 to 10 hours or more depending on how large you made them, the
amount of moisture in the air, etc. The finished produce will keep its
shape and be slightly chewy.

Store in refrigerator and get ready to make another batch because they're so
good they wont last long!

--
See my webpage:
http://mysite.verizon.net/juliebove/index.htm

Julie Bove wrote:
> I should start by saying this isn't my own recipe. I got it from a raw
food forum. It does require a dehydrator. If you don't have
> one, you could try baking these at a very low temp, or simply rolling
them in balls, then in some extra coconut, putting them in the fridge and
> calling them truffles.
> If you do this, you may also need to add some extra coconut to the batter
if they seem too runny. This recipe also calls for agave nectar or honey.
> I've been using the agave nectar with no BG problems but I also put in
about 1/2 of what it calls for. I like them very tart. If you are not a
raw
> foodist you could sub in whatever sweetener you like, but if it is not in
liquid form, you would need to add a bit of water if the mixture seems too
> dry. It's a very forgiving recipe and next to impossible to screw up. I
added too much coconut the first time and it still came out fine.
>
== recipe snipped and saved =====

Thanks for sharing, this looks very interesting. I'll dig out the dehydrator
and give it a try later this week. I'll have to pick up some mesh sheets
(which I've been wanting to do anyway).

I liked the idea of forming letters. Our granddaughter is 2 1/2 and starting
to learn the alphabet. These would make a fun, healthy, treat. I've already
done letters and numbers with animal cracker dough and double-strength Jello
but this looks even better.



--
Pete Romfh, Telecom Geek & Amateur Gourmet.
http://www.bigoven.com/~promfh
promfh (at) hal-pc (dot) org

"Pete Romfh" > wrote in message
...

> == recipe snipped and saved =====
>
> Thanks for sharing, this looks very interesting. I'll dig out the
dehydrator
> and give it a try later this week. I'll have to pick up some mesh sheets
> (which I've been wanting to do anyway).
>
> I liked the idea of forming letters. Our granddaughter is 2 1/2 and
starting
> to learn the alphabet. These would make a fun, healthy, treat. I've
already
> done letters and numbers with animal cracker dough and double-strength
Jello
> but this looks even better.

You *can* make it without the mesh sheets, but it will take longer to
dehydrate.

--
See my webpage:
http://mysite.verizon.net/juliebove/index.htm