Vegan Coconut Bacon (Soy-free, GF, Vegan)

So here is my take on the oh so wonderful coconut bacon. There are a decent amount of recipes out there. I used coconut aminos so as to avoid the mass amount of sodium in soy sauce, and to avoid unfermented soy that is Braggs liquid aminos. Personal preference really. But coconut aminos don't have as deep of a salty profile as soy sauce does, so salt gets added to the recipe.
I used 2 different flavors of liquid smoke to give it a bit more depth. I used Colgin brand of liquid smoke, they have both hickory flavor and mesquite flavor, and are vegan. I hear that there are some liquid smokes on the market that aren't vegan.

2 1/2 cups flaked coconut, unsweetened
2 TBS liquid smoke (I used 1 TBS Hickory flavor & 1 TBS Mesquite flavor)
1 1/2 TBS coconut aminos (or braggs or soy sauce)
1 TBS maple syrup
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp smoked paprkia
1/4 tsp granulated garlic
1/4 tsp salt of choice  <--- omit if using soy sauce

In a medium bowl, mix together all ingredients, except for coconut.
Combine coconut flakes with wet mixture. Stir the coconut around to get it entirely coated. Let sit and soak in for 30 minutes or more, I did it for about an hour.
Heat the oven to 325 F.
Grease a foil lined baking sheet and pour everything from the bowl onto it. Spread the coconut out in a thin layer. Bake for about 18-20 min, pull out every 5-6 min and mix the coconut then slide together in a pile, then spread back out into a thin layer.  This will prevent burning as well as make sure all of the coconut bacon is equally cooked.
You will see the coconut start to darken considerably on the 3rd time you pull it out, make sure the darker coconut is closer to the center than the edge. Coconut bacon is done when they've all browned a medium amount.
When you take it out of the oven, the coconut will still be somewhat soft/pliable but will quickly harden up as it cools down. Shouldn't take but a few minutes until you can enjoy the crunchy goodness!

Caramel Millet

 After quite some time and many requests, I am finally posting my yummy caramel millet recipe. I'm posting the healthier version, but also the more pricey and a bit more rare ingredients recipe. But, if you go with that I put in parenthesizes, it will turn out just fine and cheaper. Coconut oil acts like vegan butter, and coconut sugar acts like brown sugar in this recipe. So, easily switched. Also, it doesn't have to be puffed millet, it can be puffed rice, puffed kamut, puffed wheat, or even a rice krispie type cereal.

 Caramel Puffed Millet Treats

1/4 c coconut oil (can use vegan butter sub)
1/2 c coconut sugar (can use brown sugar)
1/2 c brown rice syrup
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract

5 cups puffed millet (or any other puffed 'cereal')

In a small pot over med-low heat add the oil and sugar. Mix well, and add in brown rice syrup. Keep stirring, it will come to a boil, turn heat to low as you are still stirring. Let it boil for 4 min, stirring randomly so it doesn't stick to the bottom or burn.
Cut the heat & mix in the soda. There will be a chemical reaction when it mixes, so it will bubble up and become a lighter brown. Then mix in the vanilla.

In a brownie pan, pour the puffed millet. Follow up with the caramel sauce and mix it all together. Once the caramel has coated the millet, press it into the pan.

**Sometimes I mix other things into it, like nuts, coconut and or dried fruit. I have mixed in chocolate chips a few times as well, but you have to know they won't really stay chips, it will turn into more of chocolate streaks, the caramel melts the chocolate. It goes very well being melted on top though, like chocolate frosting!