Sacred Maple Mounds

It all started with a hankering for something sweet. Then, the loose talk on Facebook about coconut haystacks started up. That directed my mission: to create a natural, high raw and improved version of the old familiar Mounds Bar experience. You know what I mean? That thing that happens inside your mouth after you’ve given your bite of Mounds a few good chews and all the flavors and textures start to meld together on your tongue for a fleeting moment of crunchy-chewy-smooth-chocolatey-coconutty bliss... before you have to start swallowing?!

Well, working off of Matt Amsden’s Carob Coconut Haystacks recipe (from his Rawvolution cookbook) I got what I was looking for. Mounds…but better. WAY better.

The chocolate in my Sacred Maple Mounds is provided in the form of raw cacao powder. The sweetener is pure maple syrup. The main ingredient is organic shredded coconut, macaroon cut. (I get mine from Ultimate Superfoods - sold conveniently at my Community Superfoods discount store!) And the secret ingredient is…. Coconut Butter. Not coconut oil (which sometimes mistakenly is referred to as coconut butter) but REAL, stone ground, raw coconut butter, made from hunks of whole mature coconut. (If you’re not sure what coconut butter is compared to coconut oil, think of the difference between almond butter vs almond oil. Almond butter has all the bits of the original nut, just ground into a paste; almond oil is simply the fatty oil, extracted out. Same thing with coconut, except that coconut oil, rich in healthy saturated fats, is solid at room temperature, like dairy butter.)

My Maple Mounds are Sacred because I make them with Sacred Foods Coconut Butter, an awesome product you can read more about here. Raw, organic, stone ground Sacred Coconut Butter is one of my favorite food indulgences – it’s seriously SO yummy you can’t believe it! And more good news is this: as a nutrient dense whole food, a little Sacred Coconut Butter goes a long way. In other words, yes, I’ll enjoy a teaspoon of this tasty treat plain, on the spoon, as a snack or dessert, but I never feel drawn to eat spoonfull after spoonfull, if you catch my drift ;-).

As for feeling drawn to eat Sacred Maple Mound after mound…well, that’s why we make them bite-sized. Enjoy!


Sacred Maple Mounds

1 ½ cups organic raw shredded coconut, macaroon cut
¼ cup raw cacao powder
1/3 cup Sacred Coconut Butter, softened
¼ cup real maple syrup
pinch Himalayan crystal salt

Ideally in an electric mixing bowl (but use a fork in a pinch!), combine shredded coconut, cacao powder and salt. Add Sacred Coconut Butter and beat on low until well combined - no chunks. Add maple syrup and blend in.

Using clean hands, make tablespoon sized balls and press into your palms to form mounded discs. Place each Mound directly on mesh dehydrator tray. Dry at 105 degrees for six hours and store in an airtight container at room temperature.

If you don’t have a dehydrator, enjoy Sacred Maple Mounds wet. Simply freeze or chill molded mounds and eat cold. “Wet” Maple Mounds – a slightly cruder, fudgier and still one hundred percent delectable – version of the elegant dried Sacred Maple Mound must be stored in your fridge or freezer.