Pink Coconut Balls with Beet and Orange. Vegan glutenfree

Fresh Coconut easy balls for the sweet tooth! And these balls are picking up some pink for Valentines day, else why would I think of adding Beet in them:). These pink balls are just that.. beety balls of coconut and sugar, and a hidden hint of citrus. No other nut or Oil. You cant blame me for adding fresh citrus zest to everything.. it is so refreshing and reminds me of summer, though its cloudy and super cold out. I used raw sugar which makes a light brown syrup, hence causing the pink to be a bit warmer and darker.



Freshly grated coconut yields the best results. But where will you find a coconut, who will break it open, scrape it out and then who will grate it! Well, I might find one in an Indian store, get hubbs to break it and then we both will look at each other about the grating.. And since hubbs is uber busy.. I used frozen shredded coconut..:)

You can find frozen fresh coconut in indian stores and a whole coconut in any asian supermarket.
Want some more coconut.. check out Coconut Almonds Rum Balls, ready in 5 minutes! made with dried shredded coconut flakes. They taste heavenly after a few hours of Rum getting absorbed in each small flake!

These pink balls are heading to Cara's Valentines Day Bake off!
3 Winners will be chosen, with 75$ giftcard to any store of choice! So if you have some fun Vegan and Glutenfree Valentiny ideas.. drop them off at Cara's before Feb 6th. Feel free to grab the below badge for your posts.



Ingredients: 8-10 balls
7.5 Tablespoons raw sugar or jaggery
3.5 Tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
1 Tablespoon grated red beet
1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder or spice of choice
1+ cup shredded fresh coconut, not dried (depends on whether you are using freshly grated or frozen)
2 Tablespoons dried coconut flakes for rolling
Directions:
In a pan, mix the sugar and water and bring to a boil, Add zest, beet and spice and keep boiling on low till the syrup reaches soft ball consistency (a drop of syrup in cold water will form a soft ball and not mix in the water).
Add shredded coconut and mix. Add enough coconut so the mixture is a slightly stiff batter instead of liquid. If using frozen coconut, there will be some moisture and you might need to add more coconut after a minute of cooking.
Keep cooking the mix on low heat, stirring occasionally, till it comes together as a ball(15-20 minutes).
Pat this mix on parchment lined tray(6 by 3), let cool for 10 minutes and then cut into squares, or use a heart shaped cookie cutter, or roll into balls. Roll balls into dried shredded coconut. You can also dip the balls or heart shapes in some melted vegan chocolate! Dip and let set on parchment.
Put in pink tissue lined boxes and gift.


These pinkies are also headed to Ricki's wellness Weekend, Amee's Fit and Fab fridays, Slighlty indulgent Tuesdays, Ella's Valentine party.