Happy Monday and new week dear people! To make the Monday morning a bit sweeter I’m sharing this simple but delicious recipe for coconut chocolate ‘bounty’ bars! I’ve always loved combination of coconut and chocolate and Bounty bars were always one of my favourite but since I changed my diet and stopped (or you could say drastically reduced) consuming refined sugar, I don’t eat those kind of sweets anymore. Internet is full of recipes for healthier version of this popular candy bar and this is my version, hope you like it as much as I do! It’s such a great little treat to keep in the fridge and it’s made with only few basic ingredients so couldn’t be easier really and we love those kind of recipes, don’t we?!. 😉
By the way, how do you feel about Christmas being less than 4 weeks away? Excited or kind of terrified haha? This year has been very very strange and challenging for me and so I feel like I’m not ready for Christmas just yet. But I see some bloggers are already in full swing and total Christmas mood and posting photos of their perfectly decorated homes, Christmas trees with lights on and trays full of cookies. I’m so not there at the moment but will do my best to post as much as possible this December and share with you some of that festive, warm and cozy atmosphere…
But it was nice to walk through the streets of Zagreb this weekend and see all the decorations up and lights on, smell of mulled wine and sausages filling the air. It got me a bit excited about the festive season and I’m really looking forward to buying the presents for my loved ones, that is probably my favourite part of this time of the year! I will definitely be buying from small businesses and not huge shopping centres, there is so much charm and warmth in buying those little handmade gifts and we must remember that by supporting small businesses we also support the families, real people, so that’s another reason to do it.
These homemade ‘bounty’ bars are not as ‘perfect’ as those original ones but they taste amazing, they are refined sugar-free. easy to make and I’m sure all of you who love that coconut + chocolate combination will love these too! I used maple syrup as sweetener and used about 4 tbsp of it (like noted in the recipe) what makes for a mildly sweet bars. Feel free to try a bit of coconut mixture when making and add more sweetener to adjust to your taste. I like them just like this, mildly sweet with a lovely creamy coconut flavour and dark chocolate crunch.
- For coconut filling
- 2 cups desiccated coconut
- 1 tbsp coconut flour (optional)
- ½ cup coconut oil, melted
- 2 tbsp full-fat coconut milk, canned (coconut cream)
- 4-5 tbsp maple or agave syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- For chocolate coating
- 1 cup (250 g) dark chocolate, chopped
- Note: 1 cup = 250 ml
- You can also make chocolate coating by melting 4 tbsp coconut oil, 4 tbsp agave or maple syrup and 3 tbsp cacao powder.
- In a mixing bowl combine desiccated coconut and coconut flour (optional) with melted coconut oil, add coconut cream, agave syrup and vanilla. Mix until it's well combined.
- Prepare smaller baking pan or container (I used 20x20 cm / 8x8 inch) and press the mixture into it using your fingers. Put in the freezer for 30 min to firm up.
- Remove from freezer and cut into small bars using a sharp knife. Use your fingers to shape them.
- Put back in the freezer until you make the chocolate coating.
- Melt the chocolate over the steam (bain-marie) or melt coconut oil, agave or maple and cacao in a small saucepan.
- Leave the chocolate to cool.
- Remove 'bounty' bars from the freezer and dip them into chocolate to coat the entirely.
- Sprinkle them with coconut and leave for chocolate to harden before storing in the fridge in airtight container.
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This is just amazing! I wanted to make something similar to Bounty but haven’t had the time to think it through! I’m definitely trying your recipe! 🙂
Thank you so much for stopping by and hope you’ll give this recipe a try! It’s yummy! 🙂
These do look nice! 🙂
Thank you Miriam! They are great little treats! 🙂