Saturday, February 5, 2011

Chocolate Coconut Bars



This morning I took these bars to a friend's house for a time of coffee and crafting.  It was such a nice way to spend the morning.  Ann, this one is for you!

This is Joe's new favorite bar.  He loves white chocolate chips so I decided to use lots of cocoa for contrast. I love coconut and use it in every form in much of my cooking and baking.  There are so many health benefits and it just tastes wonderful.  A more informative coconut post is in the works but I would encourage you to research and see if coconut oil or other coconut products would be a good addition to your diet.  This gluten free bar is chewy and moist.  Hope you enjoy it.

1 lb. Almond Meal – Trader Joe’s
6 T Finely Milled Golden Flax
1 Cup plus 2 T filtered warm  water
1 Cup Coconut Oil, melted
¾ Cup Cocoa – Hershey’s
2/3 Cup Organic Cane Sugar
½ Cup Coconut Flakes
1 T Gluten Free Vanilla
1 t Baking Powder
½ t sea salt
1 cup Ghirardelli all natural White Chocolate Chips


Mix all ingredients except chocolate chips until well incorporated; add white chocolate chips.

Spread into ungreased 9 x 13 pan and bake at 375 for 40 minutes.

In this recipe I use Tropical Traditions virgin coconut oil which has a strong but sweet coconut flavor.  I also use their coconut flakes which are not sweetened. 


6 comments:

Unknown said...

I made these a little while back and really liked them. They were light and fluffy which was unexpected but really filling at the same time!
I cut out the chips and cut the sugar in half but added a dash of agave nectar.
It was a much needed change from my favorite vegan chocolate muffins which are half flax seed half whole wheat...up the protein and the plant fats!
Thanks,
Kitty

chacha said...

Hi Kitty, I'm so glad to hear from you. Light and fluffy isn't a bad thing but I wonder why? My coconut is dehydrated and very dry. Perhaps it absorbs more of the moisture from the batter than yours did? Anyway, glad you like them and got creative with them!

Anonymous said...

Question re: the white chocolate chips....I've been unable to find white chocolate chips without dairy. Are these dairy-free?

chacha said...

Hi Anonymous, I responded to you this morning but my comment didn't post. Sorry about that. You are right about the white chocolate chips - neither brand I have on hand is dairy free. I removed the vegan tag. If made with dark chocolate chips they will be vegan. Thanks for catching that!

Cakes said...

Made these for the guys yesterday. Rave reviews and they will be our after swim bars for a while I'm sure.
I was surprised at how well the almond meal worked, given how much the recipe calls for. Thanks Cherda

chacha said...

Yay! I'm so glad.

I've grown to love both almond meal and coconut flour - both have a lot of protein and seem to work best with a lot of eggs (or flax) and that just boosts the protein even further.

xoxo