No-Bake Chocolate Fix!

By Pam Hadder

It's hot and sticky and you are craving something sweet with your cuppa joe.  But who wants to fire up the oven? 

The answer is no-bake chocolate macaroons!  The recipe is adapted from a family favourite to be vegan-friendly.  When my Mom was in the hospital giving birth to my youngest brother, an elderly neighbour came and cooked, cleaned and mothered.  She made these no-bake drop cookies called Cocoa Quickies (I know, sounds pervy...but perhaps a bit fun too!), which we kids promptly re-named Chocolate Haystacks!

True confessions... In high school, I'd make a quarter recipe of these and just eat the stuff from a mug - the full recipe makes 2 or 2-1/2 dozen, so you do the math re: the caloric destruction of that teenage craving!

Hope you will have fun making these - the vegan version uses soy milk and margarine versus the good ole butter and milk in the original recipe.  If you eat dairy, just sub the milk and butter.  The vegan macaroons are softer and shinier than the original, but they hold together nicely and taste amazing xox

Chocolate Macaroons

Ingredients:
1/2 cup margarine
1 - 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup plain soy milk
6 Tbsp. cocoa powder
a tiny pinch of salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup long shred dried coconut, unsweetened
3 cups quick oats/plain quick cooking oatmeal
Waxed paper

Method:
Measure out the oatmeal and coconut in a medium bowl, stir to combine and set aside. Melt margarine in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Combine the sugar, salt and cocoa, and whisk them into the margarine along with the soy milk.  Bring the ingredients to a gentle boil, stirring continuously - boil for 5 minutes. Immediately stir in the vanilla and the coconut/oatmeal mixture.  Spoon the warm mixture onto sheets of waxed paper - about 2 tsp. of mixture per macaroon.  Allow to cool at room temp. 

I usually place the wax paper on cookie sheets - then if you need to set these quickly, it is easy to pop them in the fridge.  Store in wax paper lined container with wax paper between the layers of cookies in the fridge - these freeze well too.