Almond Coconut Chocolate Bites – Vegan + Gluten-Free!

The first in our October series of healthy sweet treats from Beth of Tasty Yummies. Those without a sweet tooth can check out Beth’s seasonal shopping list, for all the in-season fruit and veggies to shop for this month.

For most of October I find myself craving sweets, there is just something about Halloween looming on the calendar and all the candy and other treats staring you down everywhere that just puts it in the back of your mind, even if you don’t realize it. Since I eat a gluten-free and dairy-free (mostly vegan) diet and very little refined sugar, I am always creating healthier homemade versions of the classic treats that I always loved. This take is a healthy treat masquerading as the classic candy bar we all know and love. Not only is it gluten-free and vegan, but I also include an option to make them fully refined sugar-free. It’s not any harder than all of the other recipes floating around out there, but you can indulge in these treats totally guilt-free. No tricks! And the good news is, you won’t miss any of the sugar and other junk, promise, it still tastes like a sweet and naughty indulgence that I know you are craving. A spooky resemblance to the original but without all the yuckiness that will haunt you later. See, all treats, no tricks! What more can you ask for to kick off Halloween month?

Check back each week through October as I share different healthy sweet treats!

healthy sweet treats

Almond Coconut Chocolate Bites – Vegan + Gluten-free

makes 12 treats

Coconut Filling:
1 1/4 cups unsweetened organic coconut, finely shredded
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup (you could also use coconut nectar, agave or any other liquid sweetener or honey if you aren’t vegan)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Dark Chocolate Coating*:
10 ounces of high quality semi-sweet or bittersweet vegan chocolate chips (if you are gluten-free also make sure they are gluten-free)

Plus: approximately 1/3 cup toasted almond slices

*NOTE: if you are looking to make these refined sugar-free which is what I prefer, in place of chocolate chips you can instead melt 10 ounces of a good quality 100% unsweetened organic dark chocolate (aka bakers chocolate in bar form) with 1 tablespoon coconut oil in a double broiler whisking in 1/3 cup maple syrup (or other liquid sweetener) after it is removed from the heat. You can then add more or less sweetener to your liking.

Lightly grease a nonstick mini-muffin tin with a little coconut oil and set aside. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine all of the coconut filling ingredients and mix together until very well combined. Evenly divide up the filling between the 12 mini-muffin cups, pressing it in very tightly, making sure it is somewhat even. Don’t worry they won’t stick. Place the muffin pan in the freezer make sure it is sitting flat, and freeze until the filling is solid, about 30-45 minutes.

Take the muffin tin with the frozen coconut mixture out of the freezer, carefully remove each coconut treat out of the pan, running a thin knife around the edge to loosen and pop them out. Place them on a parchment or wax paper lined baking sheet, if you want to place the pan back in the fridge to keep them cool while you melt the chocolate, you can do that.

Once you are ready to coat the treats with the chocolate you can carefully melt the chocolate using a double boiler setup on the stove top or you can carefully melt it in small increments in the microwave, stirring often. (Definitely use the double boiler if you are making the refined sugar-free version with the bakers chocolate). Turn off the heat on the stove and keep the bowl of chocolate over the pan, remove the coconut treats from the fridge. Place one coconut treat on a fork and slowly lower it into the chocolate, spoon additional chocolate over it to fully coat it. Lift the fork out and gently shake to release any of the excess chocolate.  Scrape the bottom of the fork along the side of the bowl and place on the lined baking sheet. Sprinkle a few toasted almond slices on top into the chocolate. Repeat until all of the treats are coated in chocolate and have almonds on top.  If the chocolate gets too thick, you just turn on the flame and heat slightly to melt it again. Put the tray back in the fridge and let them harden for about 45 minutes.

After these are set, you could store them in the freezer to keep them really cold and totally solid or of course, you can just store them in the fridge or even at room temperature if it isn’t too hot out.

healthy sweet treats

For more of Beth’s recipes visit her blog Tasty Yummies.

More healthy recipes from the BLDG 25 Blog.

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11 years ago

I’m not a coconut fan, but these look delicious

aria
11 years ago

i loooove coconut ! this looks soooo yummy! on another note , when does the amazing holiday catalog come out ?? its always so inspiring and im really needing some inspiration for the upcoming holiday season! any sneak peak or hints as to what we can expect ?? cant wait :)

isabel
11 years ago

if you dont like coconut, i bet you could substitute it for something else. I’m not vegan or anything so i’ll experiment.

11 years ago

mmmm delicious!

DIY and more:
http://diyearte.blogspot.com.es/

ANNE L. Texas
11 years ago

Beth, does that say 12 tablespoons of maple syrup? just checking cuz it seems like a lot.

11 years ago

Anne – gosh thank you SO much for catching that terrible typo!! It is definitely not 12 tablespoons, no! It is actually just 2 tablespoons of maple syrup. Free People will be editing it to correct the mistake. Thanks again for catching that! :) I apologize.

ANNE L. Texas
11 years ago

Yay! I’m totally making these then. Thanks Beth

11 years ago

Perfect combination of Dark chocolate, coconut…..and the best dry fruit Almond (cherry on the cake).

Katie b
11 years ago

Can you use something else instead of coconut oil?

T
10 years ago

The coconut filling totally fell apart. I followed directions. What did I do wrong?

10 years ago

Hi there! Just wanted to let you know I’ve compiled a recipe round-up of Healthy Party Sweet Treats on my blog today and I’ve included your recipe! Come and take a look! http://www.inspiralcoaching.com/2013/12/healthy-sweet-treats-party-food-recipe.html. Thanks for a sharing great recipe!

9 years ago

Just made these and they were so delish! Perfect cure to chocolate cravings & tastes indulgent without the guilt. I didn’t have mini muffin trays so I used an ice cube tray – not quite as cute but it did the trick!