This easy coconut butter glaze is made with just 3 ingredients and takes only 5 minutes to whip together. Paleo friendly, dairy free, and refined sugar free. This glaze is perfect for topping cookies, drizzling over quick breads, and more.

Say good-bye to refined sugar filled icing and hello to this creamy coconut butter glaze. Unlike traditional glaze that is made with powdered sugar, this glaze uses coconut butter and maple syrup. It's a cleaner (and less sugar filled) way to enjoy a sweet topping on your favorite snacks and baked goods.
You'll find me using this glaze on my carrot cake balls, these carrot cake oatmeal cookies and pumpkin scones.
What is Coconut Butter?
Coconut butter (also called coconut manna) is made from the whole flesh of the coconut, blended into a rich consistency. It is solid at room temperature, but once slightly heated it becomes spreadable and drizzle-able - perfect for making an irresistible glaze!
Coconut butter retains the fiber and natural sweetness of the coconut, giving it a creamy texture, deep flavor, and touch of natural sweetener.
It can easily be mixed with a few simple ingredients to create a healthy glaze; the perfect alternative to traditional refined-sugar filled glazes and frostings.
Ingredients Needed
Specific amounts can be found in the recipe card below. Here are a few specific callouts regarding the ingredients.
- Coconut butter - I use Artisana coconut butter. It can be found online or at most health foods stores. Just make sure to use coconut butter (not coconut oil).
- Maple Syrup - Must be pure maple syrup.
- Milk - To keep this Paleo, use an unsweetened/plain almond milk. If you are not dairy free, you can use regular cow's milk.
How To Make Coconut Butter Glaze
Step 1: Scoop coconut butter into a small microwave safe bowl.
Step 2: Warm coconut butter in the microwave for 15-30 seconds, or until warm and just melted.
Step 3: Add maple syrup and stir to combine (this will thicken the coconut butter).
Step 4: Add dairy-free milk 1 tsp. at a time, until you reach a drizzle-able consistency.
Step 5: Use immediately as the glaze thickens/hardens as it sets. Drizzle, or spread, on your recipe of choice. My carrot cake balls are seen here.
⭐Top Tip!
For a more drizzle-able glaze (for quick breads and muffins) use slightly more milk to thin it out. For a more spreadable frosting (for cookies) use less milk for a thicker consistency.
Flavor Variations
You can customize this glaze to compliment whatever recipe you are making. Below are some recommended add-ins to boost the flavor.
Fresh lemon juice - For a sweet citrus flavor, add in the juice of ½ lemon - try adding some of the lemon zest, too.
Spices, like cinnamon - A pinch or two of cinnamon will create a warm, cozy, & sweet glaze.
Vanilla extract or almond extract - For added depth and flavor, try vanilla or almond. Start with ½ tsp. pure vanilla extract or ¼ tsp. almond extract (almond is much stronger than vanilla, so start small) - taste and adjust as needed.
How to Use This Glaze
This coconut butter glaze can be used for anything a traditional glaze would be used for. The most common uses are for muffins, pastries, and cookies.
My favorite ways to enjoy this healthy glaze is over pancakes or waffles, along with some fresh fruit. Or drizzled on baked goods, like banana muffins, blackberry muffins, or almond flour blueberry bread.
FAQs
Absolutely! As always, I recommend using natural food-dye.
No, they are different things and have different uses. Coconut oil is just the oil that has been extracted from the coconut meat. Coconut butter is made by blending the coconut meat into thick butter.
Clean Eating Dessert Recipes
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Eat Clean.Be Well!
-Sara
Coconut Butter Glaze (Paleo)
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Equipment
- 1 small microwave safe bowl
Ingredients
- ½ cup coconut butter
- 3 tbsp. pure maple syrup
- 1-3 tsp. plain almond milk (to thin) (or other non-dairy milk)
Instructions
- In a microwave safe dish, microwave the coconut butter for 15-30 seconds, or until slightly melted and creamy.
- Stir the softened coconut butter until smooth and then mix in the maple syrup (this will thicken the glaze). Add almond milk, 1 tsp at a time, until you reach a drizzle-able glaze consistency.
- Use immediately, as it will thicken as it cools.
Notes
- Measuring coconut butter can be tricky since it's solid at room temperature. To measure, scoop out chunks of butter and place in measuring cup. Lightly pack to reach ½ cup.
- For a more drizzle-able consistency, add more milk. Use less milk for a more spreadable consistency.
- Any plain/unsweetened non-dairy milk works. If not needing this to be Paleo, you can use cow's milk.
- I have used this to pipe over cookies, but I don't recommend using this to frost an entire cake or cupcakes.
- This recipe makes enough to drizzle over roughly 18 cookies.
- I use Artisana coconut butter in this recipe.
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