Let the coconut craze continue. I was craving coconut yet again, and wanted to come up with a new coconut recipe. Naturally, it had to be quick, and not contain a bunch of ingredients.
We went camping recently, and I had my smores kit all ready. Inside, I put a Bounty bar (which is the Canadian equivalent of a Mounds bar), with plans to make a smore out of it. As predicted, it was delicious! Plus, while I was eating it, of course I’m thinking….I wonder if I could make a copycat Bounty bar but make it sugar-free?
I gotta say, its pretty darn close. But there are some pretty big differences. You can see what’s in my version below, but here’s what’s in a store bought Bounty bar:
Ingredients: Sugar, Desiccated Coconut, Glucose Syrup (Sources Include Wheat), Milk Solids, Cocoa Butter, Cocoa Mass, Invert Sugar, Vegetable Fat, Emulsifiers (471, Soy Lecithin), Humectant (Glycerol), Salt, Natural, Flavour (Vanilla Extract), Peanut. Milk Chocolate contains a minimum of 25% Cocoa Solids and 22% Milk Solids. Allergens: Contains Soy, May Be Present Tree Nuts, May Be Present Barley, Contains Milk, May Be Present Egg, Contains Wheat
Not something I want to eat on a regular basis…that’s for sure.
Plus, once you make these, you’ll realize they are so much better and so easy to make…bonus is you get 13 bars out of the batch!
This recipe is also very flexible. I chose to use ingredients that make it sugar free, but if a bit of sugar isn’t a concern for you, feel free to use honey/agave/brown rice syrup, and regular chocolate chips vs. the stevia chocolate chips I use. Delicious either way.
But be warned…these will go fast, especially if there are multiple coconut lovers in your house!
- 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut (or unsweetened coconut). I liked the contrast of both the sweetened and unsweetened
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- ½ cup whey protein, vanilla (or ¼ cup or ½ cup vegan vanilla protein for non-dairy)
- ¼ cup honey (I used Nature's Hollow sugar-free honey (xylitol), could also use agave, or brown rice syrup)
- 2 Tbsp butter (or for dairy free use Earth Balance, margarine or coconut oil)
- ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used Krisda stevia chocolate chips, could also use Lily's for sugar-free)
- 2 tsp coconut oil
- pinch of salt (optional)
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, add together the sweetened and unsweetened coconut and whey protein. Stir until combined.
- Meanwhile, melt together the butter and honey (I put mine in the microwave for about a minute until it was hot and melted together).
- Pour the warmed honey/butter mixture in the shredded coconut mixture and stir until combine. It should form a ball easily when you press it together. If it doesn't, add a touch more honey.
- Take a palm full of the coconut mixture and squeeze into a small bar or log shape.
- Place all the bars on a cookie sheet lined with parchment. Once completed, place in the fridge and start the chocolate coating.
- Melt together the chocolate chips and coconut oil until warm and melted (took me about 1½ minutes in the microwave. If using the microwave, put in at 30 secon increments, and stir after each 30 seconds.
- Once the chocolate and coconut oil is melted together, stir in the pinch of salt if using.
- Remove the coconut bars from the fridge, and using a fork, dip each in chocolate, roll it around and lift up with a fork letting the excess chocolate drip off.
- Place back on the cookie sheet. Repeat this process with each until complete.
- To set them fast, place in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- I find they are chewy right out of the freezer, so I store mine in there in a sealed container. They can also be stored in the fridge in a sealed container. They'd also be fine a room temp for a few hours, but given that its summer, they may not hold up that well in the heat.