Coconut

Can candy be too sweet? Not for us! The real delight of this sweet, sweet pairing of fluffy nougat and shredded coconut is what professional taste-testers call mouthfeel. The airy nougat softens, the coconut and almonds crunch, and the hefty milk chocolate shell melts and coats your palate with feel-good chocolate.

To make this creamy shake, blitz together Medjool dates, yogurt, vanilla, and cinnamon with ice and water, then top it with toasted nuts and seeds.

The problem with Franco-American food trends, like the current one with macarons—those pastel puffs of sweet air that seem to be everywhere—is that its good ol' American predecessor, the macaroon, gets forgotten. The truth is, though, we never stopped loving the coconut macaroon. In fact, we craved its dense, moist chew. Retrofit the macaroon as a bite-size sandwich filled with a pucker-worthy tart lime curd, and you've caught a new trend headed straight for the stars. Editor's Note: This recipe is part of Gourmet's Modern Menu for Holiday Cookie Craze. Menu also includes Pistachio Cranberry Oatmeal Icebox Cookies and Salted Brown Butter Cookies .

The moist and toothsome coconut macaroon becomes a delicious (and infinitely more portable) bar cookie when built upon a dense shortbread base. The result is a surefire bake-sale winner, a kid-pleasing picnic finale, and an inviting edible gift for holidays or birthdays.

These doughnuts are insanely moist. I promise you, they melt in your mouth. My friends can never get enough of them. This cake doughnut recipe is very simple to make. I store the doughnuts glazed in the freezer for sugar-craving moments. Once the doughnuts are fried, they can be glazed with Coconut Glaze or any other glaze you like, or dusted with superfine sugar.

Chef Kris Wessel of Florida Cookery in Miami Beach, Florida, shared this recipe as part of a Palm Tree Christmas menu he created exclusively for Epicurious. It showcases Florida oranges and grapefruits, which are at their peak during December.

Editor's note: This recipe is part of a special Thanksgiving menu created by chefs Allison Vines-Rushing and Slade Rushing of MiLa restaurant in New Orleans. While traditional beignets are on the must-have list of every New Orleans tourist, we personally think flavor-wise they can be a bit one note. This version, however, is sweet and savory with a spicy dipping sauce. The addition on coconut and shrimp honor the Carribean persuasions of New Orleans cuisine.

If it's melon season, you have to make this. In Burma (Myanmar), gin thoke, meaning "ginger mix," is a blend of crispy fried garlic, sesame seeds, and ginger, and is eaten as a sweet digestive snack after meals. Although not native to the region, melons are a refreshing and delicious complement to this dressing, together making a perfect summertime side dish. The ginger is key to this salad. Ideally, the gingerroot should be so young that the skin is almost transparent and the roots are tipped with pink.

Fork up a slice of this pie on days before and after a tough workout: Anti-inflammatories in blueberries can help ease muscle pain.

This recipe is so versatile you can use any type of chocolate, nut or dried fruit. Don’t expect leftovers!

In honor of the Girl Scouts' 100th anniversary, Skinny Chef Jennifer Iserloh put a slim spin on their popular Samoa. Ours is lower in fat and calories—Scout's honor!

This coconut curry adds a tangy note to a South Indian menu. This recipe is part of our menu for Sadhya, a South Indian feast.

Erisheris are thick curries traditionally made with yams or pumpkin, toasted coconut, and whole kidney beans. They are hearty and earthy, with a tropical twist of coconut and curry leaves. My variation, made with sweet potatoes, crosses over beautifully to a fall or winter menu; I've even served it for Thanksgiving. This recipe is part of our menu for Sadhya, a South Indian feast.

I grew up on green beans thoren, and while I'll never tire of its crunchy deliciousness, I think adding corn makes it even better. And even though people don't often associate stir-fries with Indian cooking, this dish is a favorite in Kerala. It's a combination of diced vegetables and coconut, but the key is moistening the coconut so it can soak up the ground spices first. This recipe is part of our menu for Sadhya, a South Indian feast.

This quintessential Kerala vegetable curry marries many of the best ingredients of the region: coconut, curry leaves, green chiles, and a host of tropical vegetables. All the vegetables are cut into batons and poached in a spiced yogurt-coconut sauce. This recipe is part of our menu for Sadhya, a South Indian feast.

The recipe for this was a gift to me from Fred Chino, one of the members of the Chino Farm family. Fred loves to bake—and he’s really good at it. The first time I tried his coconut cookies, they were so good I couldn’t stop eating them. Now we make a slight variation at Mozza2Go to make them feel more Italian. Even though I see the cookies every day, I still have a hard time resisting them. You will need a 2-inch round cookie cutter to make these.

Dried apricots and dates are mixed with honey, shaped into balls, and rolled in coconut to make a chewy, delectable confection.

The idea for this fudge came to me while I was eating coconut on the beach in Hawaii. If you like the taste of coconut and vanilla, you will love this all-white confection.

These candy bars are loaded with the best that California has to offer. Toasted almonds, candied orange peel, and raisins are combined to make a delicious chunky candy bar.

Toasted coconut covered with chocolate makes this delicious candy. I love the contrast of texture that the crisp toasted coconut provides.

Rocher is the name of a classic French candy made with almonds that has an irregular shape. I’ve added coconut to the mix, a variation often found in French chocolate shops.

The flavors of milk chocolate, rum, and coconut in these truffles complement each other perfectly.