There’s nothing like waking up in a foreign country and knowing that there’s a little something hidden away in your hotel room that will make the world of difference to your stay.
I’m not talking about extra sunblock, a fancy sundress, or the tens of tiny bottles of rum from the mini bar.
I’m talkin’ food. Because; let’s face it, when am I not talking about food?
For the trip, I brought along a weeks’ worth of paleo kits, probiotics, and enough coconut butter to make it look like I was going to set up shop right outside the hotel. But all in all, the best thing I decided to pack was 10 coconut morsels of goodness.
I knew that my fiber + fat intake was going to decrease while we were away; that and I’ve have very limited access to sweet snacks. After all, asking for a bowl of berries with coconut cream (my usual high fiber, high fat snack) in the Caribbean is like asking for a gluten-free + vegan meal in Portugal – it just aint’ going to happen. So I had to come up with creative ways to make sure I would be getting enough fiber and fats while I was away.
Sure, I’ve been guilty of dipping my bacon in coconut oil, pouring olive oil on my plate of veggies, drenching fresh pineapple slices in ground flax, and eating a plateful of endive + avocado, but that’s not nearly as fun as warming up to a sweet + chewy coconut cookie on the beach.
5 Ingredient Chewy Vanilla Coconut Cookies
Gluten free, Dairy free, Refined sugar-free, Yeast free, Corn free, Grain free
Coconut packed cookies, perfect for traveling, lunches, or topped with ice-cream.
Yield: 8 cookies
Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 2 cup finely shredded medium shredded coconut
- 1/2 cup almond flour *see note
- 1/2 cup unpasteurized honey
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicon baking mat.
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix until combined.
- Grab about 1/4 cup of mixture with hands and press together, flattening out like the mud pies you may have made as a kid with the mud in your backyard (I swear these cookies will taste better!)
- Place on prepared baking sheet and bake for 15-20minute, or until golden. Mine were perfect at 17 minutes.
note: If you are sensitive to almonds, you could replace the almond flour with other ground nuts or seeds. Loosely ground flax seed may also be used – I would reduce by 30%. Alternatively, you could try oat flour, or just add additional shredded coconut. I have not tried any of these variations, so I can’t be 100% sure of the outcome.
Not only does this snack give me the fats and fiber I need to keep on movin’… if you know what I mean, they also taste delicious!
I even had a lady at the pool ask me where she could get one. Because I’m already down to my last four, I gave her my business card and told her I’d be posting the recipe in the coming days 
Do you take food with you on vacation? If so, what’s your favorite thing to bring?
Also, for more tips on healthy travel, check out 101: packing for success and 102: staying on track away from home
Hello, welcome to my healthy gluten-free 
{ 40 comments… read them below or add one }
These look amazing. And only 5 ingredients – count me in. I always bring a few snacks with me when I travel. You never know what you are going to find or not when you are on the road. Better safe than sorry when it comes to food.
these totally look amazing. I have a nut allergy so I was wondering what I could sub the almond flour out for?
Thanks Brittany! You could use any other nut or seed ground finely. Or you could use flax seed, but I would try about 30% less. I hope that helps!
Food on vacation? To a point, yes. Raisins, granola bars, stevia…lol…but in general I have tried to wing in. Food weighs a ton and 50 lb weight limits w/ the airlines are ridic low. Empty suitcases themselves weigh 10, add shampoo and conditioner, toothpaste…seriously there’s no room for food when you’ve got Barbie toys to bring
You’re so right about that! I couldn’t imagine adding children’s things to the mix and still trying to be under weight. I had one of the Air Canada check-in agents ask to weigh my carryon. First time EVER. So silly, but I guess there’s a reason!
That looks great! I always try to bring snacks with me when I travel but part of the fun of traveling is trying the local foods-even if you come back with your jeans a little tighter!
Coconut cookies are one of my favorite Christmas treats! The one I make only have coconut, egg whites, and sugar in them. I’d love to try these with the almond flour!
This is definitely my kinda cookie…simple ingredient list & chewy…mmm!
Those look awesome!! And I absolutely LOVE the lime greens in your photos – beautiful! To answer your question, yes I always bring food on holiday with me! I’m actually whipping up a batch of protein bars tonight to take with me on Friday, and I’ve got some rice cakes, nut butter, and a few other things to bring too. Hopefully there’s still room for clothes in my suitcase!
Mmm nut butter, another essential! Your bag sounds awesome!
Leanne these look amazing!!! These make me so excited I really want to make them for the holiday! I’m happy to see that you mentioned “paleokits” as just the other day I ordered some paleostix to try! Those kits definitely seem like the best thing to bring on a vacation and I will definitely be doing that next time I leave home, because I have a hard enough time just eating out! Do you think you could substitute the almond flour with coconut flour? Or I’m assuming the almond flour would give it a more cookie like consistency.
Those kits are great. I keep them with me at all times, and have a bunch sitting in the basement waiting for my India trip! I haven’t tried the stix yet, but everything Steve produces is awesome. I wouldn’t sub with coconut flour. It may make the cookies too dry. You could try other ground nuts or seeds or flax seed, but I would reduce by 30%. Enjoy
Those look great and five ingredients, that is for me right now in my life
I definitely pack foods on vacation! Especially when I drive somewhere. I never go far without my raw milk and baggie of oatmeal/flax/walnuts ready for hot water!
Have fun on your trip!!
Alyssa I was wondering the same thing! My daughter cannot have almond flour but can do coconut. Just wondering if anyone knows before I try. That flour is expensive!!!
Hi Dustee – I wouldn’t sub with coconut flour. It may make the cookies too dry. You could try other ground nuts or seeds or flax seed, but I would reduce by 30%. Alternatively, you could try oat flour, or just add additional shredded coconut. I hope that helps.
Ohmygoodnesssss! So few ingredients, but they look amazing!
I always bring food on vacation. Always Back-up snacks, but I know tat I can usually find more at grocery stores. I’ll bring nuts and unsweetened chocolate, and then buy some fresh fruit at the destination.
Wow these look awesome – and 5 ingredients? Even more awesome
Unfortunately I don’t get to travel too often but when I do, I ALWAYS bring food with me. I usually even take a cooler (don’t fly much, usually drive) and stock it with the cold stuff and usually only have to buy one or two extra bags of ice during the trip
Not only do I know that I’m eating balanced meals, but it’s way cheaper!
I love that cake stand in the pictures! I just made a few myself and painted them today!
These look awesome! In fact I think I’m going to go see how much coconut I have in the cupboard right now. I love how simple they are! The only kind of vacation we really do at the moment is camping so of course we bring our own food or day trips which we also usually bring food, mostly for the kids who are hungry constantly and not just at breakfast, lunch and dinner. It’s not worth it to say you’ll find food when you get there and then realize that the only options are not very pleasant.
I have just taken these out of my toaster oven and they look at taste amazing! My husband calls them Coco(health)nut Cookies!
But he said that with his mouth full, so I guess he loves them, too…:-)
I realized that what makes and breaks a healthy diet for me are the snacks! I invariably fall into the trap of grabbing whatever is available, when I’m out and about. And it’s the worst when we’re traveling, so I have to get better about that!
haha love the new name! Glad you two like them, Danielle
Any idea if an egg substitute would work in this recipe? It looks amazing, but I am allergic to eggs. This is a problem I keep running into, with paleo recipes… most call for a lot of eggs!
Hi Robin – you could try to replace with a flax egg, although I’ve never tried it! To make 1 flax egg – combine 1 tbsp freshly ground flax with 2 tbsp of water and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Good luck
Yum! These look fantastic. So simple, but usually that lets the natural flavors of the ingredients shine. I ALWAYS take food with me when I travel, and since I’m headed on a nine hour road trip over New Year’s, I might have to whip up a batch of these!
These sound amazing! I always take food where ever I go. I don’t have a go to item anymore to take, but I definitely look for the closest store when I get to where ever I’m going to get some travel snacks.
Thank you for this recipe! They are truly delicious. We are going to make them for Christmas served with coffee and brandy. We had made just one today to try out the recipe. 17 minutes was just right for out oven too. I am already excited to make a whole bunch of them for others to taste. I hope you have a great holiday!
I made these to bring along to my family’s Christmas Eve get-together. I sampled one to make sure they’re aright for public consumption and they are delicious! I made a double batch and didn’t have 1 c of honey, so I used 3/4 c of palm sugar. It could have done with only a half cup, but they’re still very tasty. The coconut flakes give it a wonderful texture. I hope my family likes these, but a part of me hopes they don’t care for them so I can bring them home and finish them off myself!
I’m so happy to hear you liked them, Courtney! And that palm sugar worked just as well
Enjoy the holidays with your family!
Hey Leanne–I made these and they are simply yummy! Seriously, I never bake; but, these were so easy and my husband and I both LOVE them! Thank you for the recipe! I was wondering whether you refrigerate and/or freeze them, and if it changes the taste? If not, how long do you think they can last, safely? I’m thinking that these are going to be my new “go-to” snack; they might just take the place of Larabars for me…
I’m so happy to hear you and your hubby liked them! I have a bunch in the freezer – wrapped in plastic wrap. I snack on them every couple of days. They’ve been in there for 2 weeks and still taste great!
these were fantastic – thank you so much for the wonderful recipe!
Great recipe! The whole family loved it. I used instead of honey some agave nectar.
I just made these tonight and they are fabulous! I have sadly already eaten half of them haha
I reduced the amount of honey in them to almost half and they turned out great still! As well I’m in Ontario so with the altitude change mine only took about 10 minutes in the oven.
Thanks for the great recipe!
I’m so happy to hear you liked them, and that they worked with half of the honey! I’ll have to try that next time.
I tried these with a little variation. I used oat flour since I am eliminating nuts for the time being (difficult to do!), and I am out of honey, so I subbed brown rice syrup. I think I should have used less syrup since I had to add a little more oat flour, but regardless, they were yummy. I also halfed the recipe but still got 6 cookies out of it and could have gone smaller and made more. Love the simplicity of this recipe!
I made these for the first time today, and they are amazing! They satisfied my sweet tooth, and they are so yummy! 1/2 c of honey was a little to sweet for me, but I’ve never had a better cookie in my life! No joke! I am absolutely thrilled! Next time I want to try your maple cookies, and I’m excited to see how those will turn out! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Oh yum, I love the idea of making a maple version. Please do share if they work out!
thank you so much for this recipe! it’s my go-to for biscuits. sometimes i add some dark chocolate to the food processor and today i tried with adding some fresh pineapple (but no vanilla)! oh so good! my daughter isn’t a fan of any baked goods (funny girl would rather have an extra bowl of stew than a biscuit
) but my son is devouring one as i type 
(he’d rather have the extra bowl of stew AND a biscuit 
)
thanks again
I will make them as soonest possible. Does anyone know if regular organic flour would be ok to use in place of almond flour? Should I use the same amount? Also, when substituting honey for brown sugar, what’s the perfect equivalent?
I’ve heard some readers using protein powder with great success! The honey is what’s holding everything together so not sure on whether or not they’d come out the same. Sorry I can’t be of more help.
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