Coconut Almond Candy Bars

I’m so happy to bring you a guest post from Katie of Girl Meets Nourishment. Katie’s blog is all about the basics of getting back to an old-fashioned (read: pre-industrial) way of preparing meals and nourishing our bodies. Her recipes are all easy and simple and based on whole foods, inspired by the dietary principles of the Weston A Price Foundation. In addition to her lovely photography, Katie’s blog features all kinds of information on how to get back to basics — making homemade soaps, cleaning products, and fabulously tasty recipes. Thanks, Katie, for sharing your recipe for Coconut Almond Candy Bars with us today!

Did you know that you can make real food candy bars? And that they taste just as good or (dare I say) better than the conventional candy bars found in every checkout line? Plus you only need a few ingredients, all of which I promise you will be able to pronounce.

These coconut almond candy bars are gluten-free, grain-free, refined-sugar free, and are fun to make. They are a delicious afternoon pick-me-up or dessert your family will adore!

Coconut Almond Candy Bars

Yields: 10 to 15 bars

The Players

• 4 ounces coconut butter (where to buy coconut butter)
• 2 – 1/2 tablespoons raw honey (where to buy raw honey)
• 1 – 1/2 tablespoons coconut oil (where to buy coconut oil)
• 1 – 1/2 cups raw, organic coconut flakes (where to buy coconut flakes)
• 1/4 teaspoon pure organic vanilla extract (where to buy vanilla extract)
• 1 cup raw, organic, fair-trade dairy-free chocolate chips (where to buy soy-free chocolate chips)
• Organic soaked and dehydrated almonds (where to buy almonds)

The How-To

1. In a double boiler, melt together the coconut butter, honey, coconut oil, vanilla and coconut flakes until melted and well-combined. Pour the mixture into a glass dish lined with unbleached parchment paper (either a loaf pan or 8×8 dish will work great). Press the mixture down firmly in the dish with your hands. Place in the freezer for 15 minutes to firm up.

2. While the coconut mixture is cooling and firming in the freezer, melt the chocolate on the stove in a double boiler. Once almost all the chocolate chips are melted, remove from heat and mix until all the chocolate chips melted together.

3. Remove the coconut mixture from the freezer, invert to a cutting board, and remove the parchment paper. Cut the coconut mixture into desired sizes (I went with long skinny bars).

4. Take a spoon and place a little bit of melted chocolate on top of each coconut bar, add one to two almonds on top of each bar. Let set for a few minutes.

5. Take the parchment paper used to line the glass dish, place on the counter, and then place a wire cookie rack above the paper.

6. Place a bar on top of a fork and dip into the chocolate, use a spoon to aid in covering the bar completely with the melted chocolate. With the bar still on the fork, lift it out of the chocolate, and give it a little shake to get the excess chocolate off. Place on the wire rack. Do this for all the bars.

7. Once the bars are all placed on the wire rack, put in the fridge to cool and harden completely. Once hardened, store in an airtight container in the fridge. Enjoy!

Interested in the environmental impact of coconut products?

You may want to read more about coconut sugar production.

For delicious dessert recipes created by an award-winning pastry chef similar to this one (dairy-free and grain-free), I highly recommend the Paleo Sweets Cookbook.

It’s got 73 mouthwatering recipes for healthy desserts, including:

• Grain-Free Oreos,
• Key Lime Pie,
• Grain-Free Snickerdoodles,
• Double Chocolate Hazelnut Cake, and more!

At the moment, the printed version of this cookbook is 100% free to Food Renegade readers. You just cover shipping & handling.

Yes! I want a free cookbook.

Meet Katie

Hi, my name is Katie and I blog over at Girl Meets Nourishment! I am on a real food and unprocessed living journey. I am getting back to the basics preparing food the old-fashioned way and discovering new ideas for a healthy life. I am here to share my journey with you.

This veteran vegetarian of nine years now proudly eat lots of butter, takes cod liver oil, drinks kombucha, eats grass-fed meats, and all that is nourishing. This journey has opened me up to a new world filled with the wisdom of generations before me. I want to try these out-of-the-ordinary old-fashioned recipes and make them into my modern nourishment – making real food from real things in real time. I am also getting back to the basics with what we use in our everyday life, making our home as unprocessed as possible.

It is an ongoing adventure for us and I would love it if you would join me as we discover what unprocessed living is! Visit me at www.girlmeetsnourishment.com!