If you happen to find that you LOVE coconut manna...... or coconut cream, like I do, but want to cut corners on expense you can make your own coconut manna/cream very easily. You will need a powerful blender like a Vitamix or a Food Processor. Yesterday I made 2 1/2 pounds of shredded coconut into coconut manna and it was lovely creamy and sweet. MUCH sweeter than the Nutiva brand that I have in the cupboard. And it cost me less than $4 for each 15 ounce container full. I mixed 2 cups of Tropical Traditions coconut oil with my coconut cream so I actually FILLED to the brim 3 of those containers and if you've bought them you KNOW they do not come full to the top. Mine were filled to the top, plus I filled a 1/2 pint jar, plus I ate about 1/4 cup tasting it along the way..MMMM! So I think my cost if I had not added the coconut oil would be less than $4 for a 15 ounce container. If you purchase it by the 15 ounce container it runs $7-$12 depending on where you buy it. You can get a 5 pound bag from the Nutiva website for about $6 per pound. So.. if you like it, buy shredded organic coconut when you find it on sale.. it will stay fresh in a sealed container for a long time, you could even freeze it if you want to extend the shelf life even longer but I really do not think it is necessary.
Homemade Coconut Cream
1 pound shredded organic unsweetened coconut
1 cup Virgin Coconut Oil, warmed (optional)
1. Put your shredded coconut into your food processor and turn it on high. It will turn the coconut into a powder before it turns it into butter/cream.
2. If you want the added benefit of more coconut oil in your coconut cream, warm 1 cup of virgin coconut oil at a very low temperature so you do not kill any of the good stuff. I use hot tap water and put my jar in the water to warm the oil. You can add this oil to the food processor AFTER the coconut is fully creamed. PLEASE NOTE: Do NOT add the oil before the coconut is butter or it will stay kinda gritty and flaky and will lack the beautiful smooth mouth feel.
3. Pour your coconut cream into clean pint jars and store until use or make coconut cream candy.
Coconut Cream Candy
1 cup coconut cream
2 tbsp cocoa powder
stevia or the sweetener you prefer to taste
1/2 cup coconut oil melted (if you did NOT already add CO to your cream.. if you did you do NOT need to add more)
shredded coconut (optional)
chopped macadamia nuts (optional)
chopped pecans (optional)
mini muffin wrappers.
1. In a pan or bowl combine the coconut cream, cocoa powder and sweetener.
2. On a cookie sheet, place your muffin wrappers in rows. Put in the muffin wrappers any "extras" you like. I usually put a little coconut in one row, then macadamia nuts in a other, and chopped pecans in another, and I like to leave some plain too. You only need a little bit in each wrapper, do not fill it to the brim, just a little sprinkle along the bottom is all that is needed.
3. Pour 1 Tablespoon of the chocolate cream mixture into the muffin papers.
4. Cool in the fridge or freezer.
5. Stack wrappers and place in a container. Keep them in a cool room of your house OR the refrigerator. If it is warm where you live refrigeration will be needed so the candies do not melt.
There is also a Lemon Truffle recipe somewhere on youtube or a blog out there in cyberspace. It uses lemon juice, the zest of one lemon, sweetener and coconut cream. I have not tried it yet... but will eventually and will post the combination of ingredients and amounts that I like.
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