The Aussie answer to rice krispie treats

I recently invested in a five gallon bucket of high-quality, non-hydrogenated, expeller-pressed coconut oil from Tropical Traditions. It is non-organic, although the well-reputed manufacturer claims that organic farming practices were used in its production. 

Knowing of my habitual frugality, my friends would be astounded at the price I paid. 

Coconut oil has gotten a bad rap over the years. During the Second World War, the Philippines was occupied by Japanese forces and America lost its supply of tropical oils. Companies rushed to develop alternate sources of cooking oil and that's when Crisco came into being. Hooray for Crisco! Yes folks, that's when we got those lovely trans-fats that were supposed to be so good for us. Since then, mostly due to  the marketing tactics of those same companies,  "tropical oils" has become synonymous with "bad for you". 

There are a lot of claims made concerning the healthful benefits of coconut oil. The molecular makeup of the saturated fat causes it to interact differently with our cells than other saturated fats and, although some scientists disagree, does not appear to contribute to heart disease. Something to do with long-chain fatty acids, about which I had a very long discussion with Jon tonight and, trust me, you do not want to get into it. It contains nine different fatty acids, including lauric acid, many of which have beneficial properties. This article was presented at a lauric oils symposium in 1996 by Dr. Mary Enig, who has since headed up a number of studies on the adverse effects of trans-fatty acids. She calls coconut oil an important functional food and her findings seem to be plausible, although we shall see after Jon the Scientist has reviewed it.

So, while all of those things attract me to coconut oil, I use it because it is very heat stable and is excellent for frying and cooking, producing minimal harmful byproducts. At room temperature it is a solid and is slow to oxidize, thus excellent for storage. 

Have I bored you yet?

Sometimes I get in a little over my head!

What got me going on all of this is that I discovered a new gluten-and-dairy-free recipe.

Chocolate Crackles.

Coconut oil serves very well in some recipes as a substitute for butter. This favourite recipe of Australians actually calls for coconut oil, although I suspect of the hydrogenated variety, which is probably pretty unhealthy.

So....(breathe Susan).....here it is.

Chocolate Crackles

4c crispy rice cereal

2/3c cocoa powder

1c powdered sugar

1c coconut (optional)

2/3c coconut oil.

Mix dry ingredients. Warm oil in the microwave just till melted and stir into the dry ingredients. Press the mixture into greased muffin pans or paper cups. Refrigerate till ready to eat.

The original recipe calls for 1 1/4c of coconut oil, but I think being hydrogenated makes a difference, because the amount I used was plenty.

Chocolate twice in a row.

I must broaden my horizons.