Tropical Traditions Coconut Cream Review-And a Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
Erin | Sep 15, 2010 | Comments 12
Have you noticed I’ve done a few chocolate chip cookie recipes?
Well, even if you haven’t noticed, I have. I seem to have a bit of an obsession with chocolate chip cookies.
Chocolate chip cookies are just such a soothing, all-American treat. When I was a kid pre-celiac diagnosis, I had a chocolate chip cookie obsession then too. Soft Batch cookies, remember them? Oh, yeah. Heated up for just a few seconds until the chips were all mice and melty…heaven in a bite.
Mmm...gluten free coconut cream chocolate chip cookies
Now that I’m a bit older, gluten free, and aware of nutrition, I try to have some redeeming qualities in my treats for the most part. Every now and then there’s a place and a time for an all out, worth it splurge, but not all the time.
As a part of designing my diet to provide maximal quality and nutrients, I try to use coconut products on a regular basis. Coconut is not a miracle cure for anything, and please run screaming from anyone who tries to tell you so. However, it is a food that has some very interesting and unique properties. And, it tastes pretty darn yummy. (Funny random fact about me: I like coconut milk, coconut cream, coconut flour, and coconut flavor in general. However, I don’t like actual coconut. Like, the shredded kind. I hate macaroons. I think it’s a texture thing. But I digress.) Coconut oil is also not the devil as opponents to saturated fat may try to state. Actually, saturated fat itself is not the devil. Saturated fat in combination with refined carbohydrate may in fact, be the devil. But again, I digress.
I feel compelled to say that coconut products contain calories. This seems obvious, but I have heard stories of people adding large amounts of calorie dense coconut products to their diet and expecting the laws of thermodynamics to no longer apply. As much as that would be fabulous, it is in fact false. If you add calories in, you have to take some out from somewhere, or you will gain weight.
I mentioned in my last post using coconut flour for chocolate chip cookies a resource for more information on coconut. Here is Fuel As Rx on coconut, and Stephan at Whole Health Source on coconut.
Tropical Traditions is where I get my coconut flour and coconut oil. I saw they had a product called coconut cream concentrate, which I had never heard of/tried before. They very kindly supplied me with a complimentary sample to try.
Coconut Cream Concentrate is pretty cool stuff.
Tropical Traditions Coconut Cream Concentrate
From the Tropical Traditions website:”Coconut Cream Concentrate is certified organic whole coconut meat in concentrated form. It contains no additives* (not even water). The dried coconut meat is ground very finely, giving it a creamy consistency due to its high fat content. Since it is 70% fat, it is a rich source of pure coconut oil. Note: this is a food, not a cooking oil.”
It reminded me a lot of natural nut butter, how the oil separates and comes to the top? Same gig. I highly recommend watching the video provided by Tropical Traditions on how to prepare your concentrate to use. Me being me, I skipped that part thinking I could stir it like nut butter. No, you can’t. Warm it first. What’s really cool about this product in my opinion, is that you could theoretically pour off the top coconut oil and use that, and then use the meat part to make coconut milk (they recommend a couple teaspoons per 16 ounces of water, and it will be “grainy” due to the fiber in the coconut.) It’s pretty darn versatile. I mixed up a couple tablespoons in a quart jar with water and use it in my coffee.
Wow, this is taking forever to get to the cookies, eh?!?
So-the Tropical Traditions website has tons and tons of recipes for coconut products. I found a recipe for chocolate chip cookies using coconut cream concentrate and of course that’s the one I chose!
The idea of this recipe is the same as using a nut butter to make a cookie. I decided I wanted to cut down on the fat content per cookie (even though it’s a healthy fat, again-calories matter) and substituted coconut flour for some of the coconut cream.
This is what my recipe ended up as :
- 2 TBSP egg whites, or 2 egg whites
- 2 whole eggs
- 3/4 cup Stevia in the Raw granular (measures like sugar)
- 4 oz unsweetened applesauce
- 3/4 cup Tropical Traditions Coconut Cream Concentrate
- 2/3 cup coconut flour
- 1 TBSP vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips (plus a handful)
Preheat oven to 350.
- Beat Stevia and egg whites together, then add eggs until mixed well
- Add coconut cream concentrate, vanilla, and baking soda, mix well
- Slowly add in coconut flour until incorporated
- add chocolate chips and fold in
Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes until golden brown. Don’t forget to use parchment paper on your cookie sheets.
These. Were. Yum.
The photo at the top shows the inside, and this is what they looked like.
You could flatten them out a bit, I use a teaspoon ice cream scooper for the batter and like the little rounded-ness of them.
These also freeze well. This recipe makes quite a bit, and I froze about half the batch. I took them out yesterday, left them thaw and they were perfect.
Tropical Traditions also is offering a free copy of their Coconut Oil book to GFF readers with your first order from them. When checking out of their store, when you fill in your account information, there is a place to choose “How did you hear of us?” In the drop down menu, choose “Referred by a friend.” Underneath this, where it says “Referred by :” type in 6503612. Your free book will be included with your order.
Want more chocolate chip cookie recipes?
Check these out:
Almond and Coconut Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
Secret Ingredient Chocolate Chip Cookies
Shirley@ Gluten Free Easily Flourless Oatmeal Cookies (I added chocolate chips-Shocker!)
Amy @ Simply Sugar and Gluten Free Gluten and Sugar Free Chocolate Chip Cookies (adapted from Karina’s Kitchen)
Karina the Gluten Free Goddess Herself :Quinoa Chocolate Chip Cookies
Once you eat all those cookies, you may need to take a look at the rest of your diet and see how you can fit those in without getting fat.
Check out:
And if you want more, Gluten Free and Fit 101 has a lot more in store!
If you STILL don’t have enough, get my free nutrition guide.
And that should give you enough reading for a while.
If you STILL want more, or you just want a step by step, simple, checklist approach to cleaning up your diet, check out 7 Quick Start Tips to Living a Healthy Gluten Free Fit Life.
Have you used coconut cream concentrate? What’s your favorite way to use coconut? Hit it up in the comments!
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Filed Under: Gluten Free • nutrition • product reviews • recipes
Good stuff Erin as always. Will have to order some of their concentrate to try out. Currently using their oil. I’m a big choc chip cookie fan too
Cheers for the recipe.
Thanks Anna!
I was really pleasantly surprised with the coconut cream concentrate. I’d no idea what to do with before this! I recently learned (from someone smarter than me, and I would love to give them credit but cannot remember where I saw this) that if you put liquified coconut oil with just a smidge of EVOO in a Misto it stays liquid, and you can spray from there. Good stuff!
Hi Erin, thanks for your recent comment at my blog. I have to say that you’ve done a great job with Gluten Free Fitness, both in terms of the terrific content and design.
Those cookies look awfully tempting, I might have to try out your recipe when I get a chance.
Hey Jarret!
Thanks for stopping by and for your kind words.
You should try them. They’re very, very tasty, and not too bad in the big scheme of nutrition. Unless you eat them all at once. Which is why I froze some
Hi Erin, I’m planning on learning more about gluten-free eating and your blog is an excellent resource.
Though I don’t have celiac disease myself, I do have a common skin condition called hyperkeratosis pilaris. It sounds awful, but it’s a very common, benign, yet annoying skin condition. Apparently, it affects around 40% of adults.
I was previously unaware of the potential connection between this skin condition and gluten in my diet. I’m going to read more about it today.
Oh, I did drop you an email in through your contact form with a question, so I look forward to hearing back from you.
cheers!
Hi Jarret,
That’s news to me as well, but very interesting. Dermatitis herpetiformis is the skin condition most commonly associated with celiac disease. Please let me know what you find out!
The Tropical Traditions site now has a video on how to mix up the coconut cream concentrate. You put it in a bowl or pot with plenty of hot water, and change out the water when you can insert a knife part way in, and then repeat with more hot water. When the knife goes to the bottom easily you then use it to stir it all together well.
Hey Amanda!
Yes, I saw that..after my attempt
Unfortunately I have found it doesn’t stay mixed, at least at my home’s ambient temp, but that’s OK. I don’t mind working a little for some coconutty goodness.
So far mine has stayed mixed. It must be just cool enough here right now to have it stay hard. In the summer though I’m sure it will be just like my coconut oil is,…a big jar of liquid coconut.
I’m going to try to make these today, despite not having all of the ingredients needed. I don’t have enough eggs, so I think I’ll use flaxseed to replace the whole eggs. I don’t have applesauce, so maybe I’ll use coconut oil (I’m guessing here the applesauce is replacing the oil/butter). No stevia, but I have rapadura (it will impart a darker color). Here’s hoping! And, I’ll let you know!
Hey Amanda!
I’m sure your substitutions worked fine. How’d they turn out?
I just realized you missed putting in the applesauce in the recipe. I am going to put it in with the coconut cream, but it’s in the ingredients but not the directions.
Hey Amanda! You are so right! I think that is perfect, just add it in with the coconut cream.