Double Dipped Coconut Treasures

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Do you have any plans for the big day tomorrow? Or do you dread it and stay home waiting for it to go away? I’d say the like/dislike factor of Valentine’s Day is about 50/50 from the people I’ve talked to.

I don’t put too much hype around certain holidays. I’d say Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter, are the biggies around here. Birthdays of course, are also very special. Valentine’s Day may or may not involve gifts, and most of the time, we’re just happy to hang out together. We’re typically easy going that way, and that’s how I like it!

I’ve never had a problem with Valentine’s Day, that I can remember. Any holiday that gives me an excuse to celebrate with food and candy can’t be all that bad. Even if you don’t have a significant other at this point in time, surely there’s always some type of love in your life to celebrate even if it’s furry love. And who needs a holiday for an excuse to eat chocolate?

These Double Dipped Coconut Treasures are a lightly adapted version of Predominantly Paleo’s ‘Paleo Almond Delights’. They are delicious. She’s right, they are better than Almond Joy Bars. I’m willing to bet they’re also better for you because they’re made with real ingredients and no chemicals.

They’re extremely simple to make with ingredients that most of us have on hand.

And if you need them quickly for a forgotten gift, a family treat, to say “I Love You”, or just because you’re having a craving, they’re ready to eat in about 30 minutes if you use your freezer to speed things up.

Had my brain not been so clouded and excited at the prospect of having something resembling a candy bar, I would have done one thing differently.

I would have wrapped the coconut mixture around the almonds, rather then stacking them when I did the double dipping.

Either way, it didn’t change the taste, I just think they maybe would have been more aesthetically pleasing and I think I would have liked the almonds dispersed a bit. Maybe even chopped throughout? But that’s really neither here nor there, you can make these a variety of different ways with almost an endless amount of add ins and ingredients. You can also make them any size or shape you like. This will be a great recipe for future experimentation.

Double Dipped Coconut Treasures

1 Cup of Shredded, Unsulphured Unsweetened Coconut (I used Bob’s Red Mill)

1 Tablespoon of Coconut Flour

3 Tablespoons of Raw Honey

1/4 Cup of Organic Unrefined Coconut Oil

Pinch of Fine Sea Salt

Whole Raw Activated Almonds (About 10)

1 Bag of Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips

1 Tablespoon of Organic Unrefined Coconut Oil

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside. Add the Tablespoon of Coconut Oil and the chocolate chips to a glass bowl and place over a small sauce pan filled halfway with water. (Or use a double broiler) Heat the water and melt the oil and chocolate slowly. Don’t over heat.

In a medium bowl combine the shredded coconut, honey, coconut oil, coconut flour and a generous pinch of sea salt. Stir thoroughly until all ingredients are wet.

Using about a Tablespoon or so at a time of the coconut mixture, form miniature candy bars on the baking sheet. Place an almond firmly on the top (or, press in to the middle of the bar and cover). Set sheet in freezer for about 10 minutes to set the filling.

Remove from the freezer and using kitchen tongs, dip the candy bar into the melted chocolate. Wiggle it around to release any excess chocolate, then place back onto the parchment paper. Add another almond to the top if you’d like. Once they’ve all been dipped and extra almonds added, set the baking sheet back in the freezer for another 5-6 minutes or until the chocolate is set. Cut a fresh piece of parchment, set aside.

Remove the candy bars from the freezer. Remove them on the parchment from the baking sheet. Cover the baking sheet with a fresh piece of parchment and dip the chocolates again. Wiggle off excess chocolate before setting on baking sheet. Place back in the freezer for another 5-6 minutes or until chocolate is set.