AIP raspberry coconut candies - three-ingredient molded coconut-fat treats colored with freeze-dried raspberry powder

Freeze-dried raspberries are an odd thing to keep in the pantry, and this recipe is the reason to buy a bag. It takes 3 ingredients and 10 minutes of real work, and the candy that comes out tastes like fruit because it is fruit. On a long elimination phase, the wins that ask less of you than steeping a cup of tea are the ones that actually hold.

That pink color comes straight from the raspberries. Vitamin C in them is one of the nutrients the body calls on to build collagen, part of what the gut lining depends on as it keeps repairing itself. The coconut oil and coconut butter carry that fruit inside a fat the body burns evenly, without the swing a sugar-based candy would cause. This is a fat treat with real fruit running through it, closer to a truffle than to candy from a box.

Grind the raspberries only right before you use them. The powder pulls moisture from the air fast and clumps if it sits around, which is worth knowing before you start rather than after you have a mess. Pour the mixture into the molds, let the fridge do the slow work, and when you unmold them, hold one to the light for a second before it disappears. That color took no effort to earn. It deserves the look.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 cup coconut butter
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened freeze-dried raspberries, ground to a powder

Method

Warm the coconut oil and coconut butter together in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring, until just melted and smooth. Do not let it get hot.

Grind the freeze-dried raspberries to a fine powder only when you are ready to use them, because the powder hardens fast once it meets the humidity in the air. Whisk the powder into the melted coconut mixture until there are no lumps.

Spoon into silicone candy molds. Refrigerate at least 4 hours before unmolding. Silicone molds matter here. An ice cube tray will shape them, and the candies are hard to pop out.

Keep refrigerated and use within about 1 week. Freezing is untested in the source, so treat that as unverified.

A note on the fruit: the color and flavor come only from no-sugar-added freeze-dried raspberries. Freeze-dried strawberries work too. In the source's testing, blueberry and mango powders did not. If the fruit powder settles before the candies set, they can come out two-toned, which is cosmetic only.

This is a melt-and-chill recipe with no real cooking, so it needs no air fryer or Instant Pot variation. The only heat is the gentle melt on the stovetop.

*Adapted from asquirrelinthekitchen.com*