Coconut haystacks

• 3 tbsp infused coconut oil

  Set your infusion strength above and this splits into infused and plain coconut oil to hit whatever dose you want.

• 12 ozdark chocolate — dairy-free, chopped and divided
• 3 cupsunsweetened shredded coconut
• ½ cupsliced almonds — optional
• 1 tspvanilla extract
• ½ tspfine salt

Method

1. 01

   Toast the coconut in a dry skillet over medium-low heat, stirring the whole time, until it is evenly the color of straw. It goes from pale to burnt in under a minute at the end. Spread it on a plate and let it cool completely.

   8 min

2. 02

   Line two sheet pans with parchment.

3. 03

   Melt three-quarters of the chocolate in a dry bowl over barely simmering water, take it off the heat, and stir in the remaining quarter until smooth.

4. 04

   Stir in the infused coconut oil, the vanilla and the salt once the bowl is off the pan.

5. 05

   Fold in the cooled coconut and the almonds until no dry shreds are left anywhere in the bowl. Warm coconut would thin the chocolate, and a shred that never got coated is a shred carrying nothing.

6. 06

   Drop 24 mounds with a leveled tablespoon scoop, stirring the bowl every few scoops. The chocolate drains toward the bottom as you work, so without that stir the first mounds and the last ones are not the same thing.

7. 07

   Chill until firm, about 45 minutes. They set faster than they look like they will, and moving one before it sets drags chocolate off the bottom.

   45 min

8. 08

   Store them in a covered tray and write on the lid. Haystacks look like a school-fundraiser sweet, and they need to be kept clear of children and of anyone who has not agreed to eat one.