Instructions

1. Put the macadamias in the processor bowl and freeze the whole thing for a quarter of an hour. Macadamias are the oiliest nut in common use and at room temperature they go from ground to butter in a couple of seconds.
2. Process the frozen nuts in short pulses and stop while they are still a coarse meal. Once they release their oil there is no going back — the mixture will be a paste and the balls will spread rather than hold.
3. Set a cup of the shredded coconut aside for rolling, then add the rest with the agave, coconut butter, vanilla and salt and pulse until it holds together in a clump when squeezed.
4. Scoop the mixture with a tablespoon and roll each one firmly between your palms. Firm is the operative word: a loosely packed ball cracks open as it dries and the coconut coating falls off.
5. Roll the balls in the reserved coconut and press it on gently. Flatten them slightly if you would rather have a shorter run, since a flattened ball dries hours faster than a round one.
6. Dehydrate at 115 °F for 24 hours, which is a full day at a low setting. Nothing here is being cooked; the coconut butter simply needs that long to firm up.
7. They are ready when the outside is dry and slightly crisp and the middle still yields under gentle pressure. Cut one in half — a thin dry shell over a soft centre is right, and dry all the way to the middle means it has gone too long.
8. Cool them fully, then keep them in a sealed container in the fridge for three weeks or the freezer for three months. The coconut butter softens at room temperature and the macadamia oil turns quickly, so the fridge is not optional here.