Coconut haystacks are a dessert made by bundling coconut with meringue or another sticky substance, baking it, and dipping it in chocolate or leaving it plain. They can be made easily at home and make great gifts. The center stays soft, while the outer layers become crispy. They can be left plain or soaked in chocolate, and can also be made with shredded coconut and chocolate alone. The combination of coconut and chocolate is popular and they are a welcome treat at community events.
A coconut haystack is a dessert made by bundling coconut together with meringue or another sticky substance, baking it, and dipping it in chocolate or leaving it plain, depending on personal taste. This treatment can also be done without the use of a binding agent, making it more candy-like. Many candy shops that make their own products make coconut sheaves, as they are very easy to make, and it is also possible to buy coconut sheaves in packaged form at various markets. This sweet treat isn’t too difficult to make at home, and when allowed to cool completely before packing in boxes or bags, coconut haystacks can make great gifts.
As you might guess from the name, the base of a coconut haystack is dried, shredded coconut that can be sweetened or left unsweetened, depending on personal taste. Recipes for coconut haystacks vary; haystacks made with meringue tend to be lighter, sweeter, and fluffier, while haystacks made with things like condensed milk will be thicker and richer. Either way, the center of the coconut haystack tends to stay soft, moist, and chewy, while the outer layers become crispy during the cooking process.
After cooking, the coconut haystacks can either be left plain, in which case they are usually light golden to dark brown in color, or they can be soaked. Dark chocolate is a classic choice of dipping substance for coconut haystacks, although cooks can also use milk chocolate, white chocolate, or candy coatings. Some cooks like to add sprinkles, dried fruit or other inclusions to the dip to make their coconut sheaves more festive.
It’s also possible to make a coconut haystack with shredded coconut and chocolate on its own, for a very rich dessert. In this case, the coconut is toasted until golden brown before being mixed with melted chocolate and deposited on waxed paper by the spoon to cool. Once cooled, the coconut haystacks will have hardened, with a chocolate crust surrounding the crunchy shredded coconut. This dessert is very easy to make, as all it takes is a short toast in the oven, a plate of melted chocolate, and a sheet of wax paper.
Since the coconut is an extremely rich fruit, a coconut haystack tends to be quite filling and dense. Usually one or two is enough, especially when the coconut sheaves are made of pure coconut and chocolate. The combination of coconut and chocolate is quite popular in many regions of the world, so coconut haystacks are a welcome treat at potlucks and other community events.
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