No-Bake Chai Coconut “Macaroons” with Cacao Cream
Warmly spiced coconut cookies with cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and clove, cut into shapes and sandwiched with (or topped with) a silky cacao cream. No oven needed, and lovely for holiday cookie plates and gifts.
Yield: About 24 macaroons · Active: 30 min · Total: 2 hours, including chilling · Best in North America in fall and winter, and for holiday gifts · Best eaten: early afternoon
Prefer a classic baked macaroon? Try my Coconut Macaroons. And for more chai, see my Golden Chai Pecan Granola and Chai-Spiced Pear Cake.
Ingredients
Chai spice blend (or 2–3 tsp store-bought chai spice)
1 tsp ground Ceylon cinnamon
½ tsp ground cardamom
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground cloves
A pinch of black pepper
Macaroons
4 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
5 Medjool dates, pitted
½ cup maple syrup
4 tbsp coconut butter, softened
4 tbsp filtered water
½ tsp pure vanilla extract
Pinch of Baja Gold sea salt
Cacao cream
1½ cups cashews, soaked at least 4 hours and drained
¾ cup coconut butter, softened
3–4 tbsp maple syrup
¼ cup raw cacao powder
½ tsp pure vanilla extract
Pinch of ground Ceylon cinnamon
Pinch of Baja Gold sea salt
3–6 tbsp full-fat coconut milk or water, as needed to blend
Method
Make the dough. Process the chai spices and all the macaroon ingredients in a food processor until the mixture holds together, then knead it briefly into a soft dough.
Roll and cut. Roll the dough between two sheets of parchment to about ½ inch thick, and cut out shapes with a small cookie cutter. Re-roll the scraps, and cut more.
Chill the cut-outs on a parchment-lined tray at least 1 hour, until firm.
Make the cacao cream. Blend all the cream ingredients in a high-speed blender, adding coconut milk a tablespoon at a time, until completely smooth and thick enough to pipe.
Fill. Sandwich a teaspoon of cream between two macaroons, or pipe a swirl on top of each.
Chill until set before serving.
A note on “raw”: Every cashew sold has been heat-treated to remove the caustic oil in its shell, so “raw” here means no-bake.
Storage
Refrigerated up to 1 week, or frozen up to 1 month.
Nourishment Notes
The spices in chai, like cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves, and black pepper, have been used in Ayurveda for thousands of years as warming, digestion-supporting spices, especially in the cold seasons. Spiced milk tea (masala chai) as we know it became popular across India mainly in the 1900s, and it’s still a beloved winter ritual.
Coconut brings fiber, manganese, and lauric acid, a fat the body uses partly like a quick-burning medium-chain fat. Dried coconut keeps well and gives steady energy, which makes it a lovely base for treats that last in the fridge.
Chai and cacao are a natural pairing: warm, sweet spices like cinnamon and cardamom bring out chocolate’s deep, slightly bitter richness, the way they do in Mexican hot chocolate.
Medjool dates — potassium, magnesium, and fiber.
Cashews — magnesium, copper, and zinc.
Raw cacao — magnesium, iron, flavanols, and theobromine.
Chai spices — Ceylon cinnamon helps moderate blood sugar, ginger and cardamom are traditionally used to support digestion, and black pepper adds warmth.
For your cycle: The warming spices and cacao’s magnesium make these especially comforting in the luteal and menstrual phases, and ginger is well studied for easing menstrual cramps.
Sourcing
Shredded coconut and coconut butter — organic, unsweetened, and sulfite-free; coconut butter like Nutiva or Artisana
Medjool dates — organic, soft, and plump
Cashews — organic (every cashew sold has been heat-treated, even “raw” ones)
Raw cacao powder — organic, and ideally tested for heavy metals
Maple syrup — organic Grade A dark
Coconut milk — organic and full-fat, with no guar gum
Spices — organic and non-irradiated (Ceylon cinnamon from Sri Lanka)
Vanilla — organic pure vanilla extract
Salt — Baja Gold sea salt
— Anna aka Food Marshall
