Running Girl Health and Fitness: Lemony Caraway Macaroons

I came across a little baggie of caraway seeds in the cupboard several days ago, and was reminded of a short story I read where the main character chewed on caraway seeds as she worked long days in an Indian restaurant to curb her hunger. I remembered that rye bread has caraway seeds (and I used to LOVE rye bread), so I bought some on a whim to see if the whole subsiding-your-hunger trick worked. Yesterday I ate a raw apple sprinkled with caraway seeds, and then a couple small lemony caraway macaroons and in fact wasn't super hungry although this was hardly scientific; I'm the first to admit maybe I felt like it works simply because I wanted it to.

Anyways, lemon and caraway compliment each other nicely, and these are very light, delicate and fragrant cookies to snack on. If you hate the flavor or caraway (or rye bread I suppose) then probably stay away from these nuggets. I've been told caraway is one of those flavors you either love or hate.

Side note: I ended up cleaning the floors with fresh-squeezed lemon juice yesterday, as I was carefully juicing the last of my two large lemons with a little handheld tool, when my wrist caught the edge of a saucer my lemon juice bowl was balanced on. So frustrating...but the house sure smelled good. The two golden-doodles at my feet also got a nice dousing of lemon fresh, and I was still pulling lemon seeds out of Zeke's wild hair later in the day.

lemon juice FAIL

Lemony Caraway Macaroons

Yields about 20

Ingredients:

2 cups air-puffed shredded coconut
2 tablespoons caraway seeds (I used almost 2.5 tablespoons for a stronger flavor; 2 is milder)
2 tablespoons coconut flour
juice of 2 large lemons (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup agave syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
optional: 1/8 tsp paprika
additional water if needed

tastes better than it looks...tart, herby yet sweet

Directions:

1. Lightly grind caraway seeds with a mortar and pestle. Not gonna lie, I got lazy and barely crushed them at all.
2. Mix all ingredients in a bowl. (add additional water or agave if "dough" is too crumbly). Scoop out about 1 heaping tablespoon sized balls and place on food dehydrator sheets. Dehydrate at 115 for 3-4 hours.