Koko Crunches
19 June 2014
This healthy recipe has proven to be super popular in my household, not only with my kids but also with – erm – me! Let’s face it, we all want to keep fit and healthy with our pregnancy exercise, post natal exercise and busy mum fitness (that’s me!) but that doesn’t mean that we want to stop eating CHOCOLATE, does it?! Of course not! So this recipe is designed to be a good for you alternative to the classic Bounty Bar. I mean I love coconut and I also love chocolate but the problem with Bounty Bars is – well, where shall I start? Refined sugar (lots of), chocolate that’s barely got any cocoa in it, over-processed, masses of weird ingredients… shall I carry on?
This alternative is so simple to make and it only has 3 ingredients in it. How perfect is that? Three wholesome ingredients that will do you good! OK, four ingredients if you want the crunchy bit on the top!
Ingredients
- Unsweetened desiccated coconut
- Pitted dates
- Cacao paste or very dark chocolate eg 85% cocoa solids
- Cacao nibs for the “crunch”
Step 1
Heat up some water in a kettle until hot but not boiling and pour over the pitted dates until they are fully covered. I use a narrow, tall container to do this.
Step 2
Once the dates are really soft, drain the water completely and whizz them up using a hand held blender. You will have a perfectly smooth purée
Step 3
Put the purée into a large bowl and add lots of unsweetened desiccated coconut. Mix it in with a spoon initially. Keep adding coconut until it gets to the point where you have to knead the mixture into a ball of dough. Aim for a Bounty Bar consistency i.e. it should all stick together but you don’t want it to be too dry.
Step 4
In the meantime melt your cacao paste or chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a bain marie.
Step 5
Form pieces of the date-coconut dough into little bar shapes and then dip each one into chocolate, coating fully. Place onto a baking tray lines with non-stick paper.
Step 6
Once you have used up all your “dough” (filling) and all your chocolate covering, sprinkle your little bars with coconut and with cacao nibs for the crunch! Now place in the fridge to set.
They last perfectly in an airtight container for 2 weeks… if you can resist them for that long! I love them with a cup of coffee (tut tut) or as a sweet treat after a meal. They’re also great in kids’ lunchboxes.