I am totally one of those people that absolutely has to have some sort of chocolate after dinner. Or after lunch. Or just randomly when the feeling hits me. Since I do a pretty low sugar diet, I’ve developed a few sweet treats over the years to satisfy that chocolate craving without having to dump a dose of refined sugar into my body as well. The base of cocoa powder and virgin coconut oil is great because the cocoa has the benefits of iron, manganese, magnesium and zinc, and the oil is an antioxidant that contains lots of benefits for your skin and hair. It’s actually way easier to make a coconut oil chocolate bar than you would think, and you can customize it a million ways too! Here are three of my favorites right now…
Lately I like to use Xylitol as the sweetener in my bars, but you can use whatever you like! Sometimes I will sprinkle it into the mold before I pour in the chocolate to add a little crunch to the bar, and other times I make a Xylitol simple syrup and pour that in to taste to keep the bar smoother (just warm equal parts water and Xylitol over medium heat until it dissolves to create the syrup). You can use refined or unrefined coconut oil for this recipe, but the unrefined has a bit more of the coconut taste, which you may or may not want depending on your flavor combo. I like to use this chocolate bar mold since it creates dividing lines. That way I can snap off a square at a time, but you can also line the bottom of a loaf pan with wax paper and pour it into that.
Tropical Coconut Bar
4 tablespoons coconut oil
4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
dash of salt
2 tablespoons of dried bananas, chopped
2 tablespoons of coconut flakes, chopped
2 tablespoons of dried mango, chopped
sweetener of choice to taste
chocolate bar mold (or you can use a baking pan lined with wax paper)
Mix together the coconut oil, cocoa powder, and salt in a bowl. Add your sweetener of choice to taste. Pour the chocolate mixture into your mold, and then sprinkle the banana, coconut, and mango on top. Place in the refrigerator until set, and store set bars in the fridge as well.
Cherry Crunch Bar
4 tablespoons coconut oil
4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
dash of salt
2-3 tablespoons dried cherries, chopped
1-2 tablespoons of raw cacao nibs
sweetener of choice to taste
Mix together the coconut oil, cocoa powder, vanilla, and salt in a bowl. Add your sweetener of choice to taste. Pour the chocolate mixture into your mold and then sprinkle the cherries and cacao nibs on top. Place in the refrigerator until set, and store in the fridge as well.
Almond Swirl Bar
4 tablespoons coconut oil
4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
dash of salt
2 tablespoons of smooth almond butter mixed with coconut oil until smooth
2 tablespoons of chopped almonds
sweetener of choice to taste
Mix together the coconut oil, cocoa powder, and salt in a bowl. Add your sweetener of choice to taste. Mix your almond butter in a cup with a bit of coconut oil until it’s a consistency that you can drizzle. Drizzle the almond butter into the bottom of your mold and put in the refrigerator until partially set. Pour the chocolate mixture into your mold, and then sprinkle the chopped almonds on top. Place in the refrigerator until set, and store in the fridge as well.
The only downside to this type of bar is that since coconut oil has a low melting point, you have to keep it in the fridge or it will start to melt pretty quickly (even as it warms up in your fingers!). I usually just break off a few squares at a time and pop them in my mouth as I walk away from the fridge. So good!! I love things that I can customize based on what I have on hand, and since I always have coconut oil and cocoa powder around the house, I know I’ll never be more than a few minutes away from a square of chocolate ever again! Isn’t that a great feeling? What flavor combos would you be excited to try? xo. Laura
Healthy Chocolate Bars 3 Ways
Ingredients
Tropical Coconut Bar
- 4 tablespoons coconut oil
- 4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- dash of salt
- 2 tablespoons of dried bananas chopped
- 2 tablespoons of coconut flakes chopped
- 2 tablespoons of dried mango chopped
- sweetener of choice to taste
- chocolate bar mold or you can use a baking pan lined with wax paper
Cherry Crunch Bar
- 4 tablespoons coconut oil
- 4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- dash of salt
- 2-3 tablespoons dried cherries chopped
- 1-2 tablespoons of raw cacao nibs
- sweetener of choice to taste
Almond Swirl Bar
- 4 tablespoons coconut oil
- 4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- dash of salt
- 2 tablespoons of smooth almond butter mixed with coconut oil until smooth
- 2 tablespoons of chopped almonds
- sweetener of choice to taste
Instructions
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Mix together the coconut oil, cocoa powder, and salt in a bowl. Add your sweetener of choice to taste. Pour the chocolate mixture into your mold, and then sprinkle the other ingredients. Place in the refrigerator until set, and store set bars in the fridge as well.
Credits // Author and Photography: Laura Gummerman
40 Comments
Oh my, this is awesome !
I am madly in love with these <3
thanks for sharing the recipe. they all look pretty yummy. flyingkittyadventures.com
This is so easy. My flavor vote: chopped candied orange peel. Mmm mmm.
Great idea Laura and such a small ingredients list too! I’m guessing these bars are vegan or is there a kind of dairy powder in the cocoa? (I think you said you had an allergy to dairy recently?)
http://victoriaspongepeasepudding.com
I used to do this all the time, and need to again! Thanks for the reminder! I love the creative flavor combos. Sometimes I use refined coconut oil (not chemically refined – the only oil I use for cooking/baking) if I don’t want it to taste like coconut. It won’t have all the benefits of the raw oil, but it’s still a homemade dessert and pretty healthy!! I also use honey, though it doesn’t like to mix in well, and find that my preferred ratio was a LOT more cocoa than oil – it just wasn’t dark enough for me with equal parts. It’s very forgiving though, and my favorite is mock ‘reece’s’ bars.
All I have to say is YUM!
xo,
Vicky
http://www.aspiringsocialite.com/
I love the simplicity of your recipes! These look like really expensive, fancy chocolate bars!
They all look super good. http://www.hannamarielei.com
This is how I’ve made my chocolate for about 2 years as well since I also watch sugar intake! I like to add a little bit of food extracts to give it some complexity. My favorite extracts to add are toffee, almond, or orange!
I’m a huge xylitol fan too because it’s got that sugar sweetness to it, or I use Swerve which is a type of erythritol if there are doggies nearby. My trick for using sweeteners is to add the smallest pinch of fine ground salt so that it rounds out the sweet.
To everyone new to the sweetener world, please use xylitol CAREFULLY around dogs as just a small amount can cause really ill effects on them! Keep them out of the kitchen while you make this and stash it carefully. 🙂
A good deal for sweettooth 😀
Think this is the best thing I have seen today! x
http://www.flareaforte.com
Oh my gosh. I’m so excited about this!!
I’m thinking pistachios and dried cherries? I love the heavily flaked coconut. Ever since I went low carb, I’ve been missing my chocolate bars.
Hi Laura, thank you for these recipes! I was wondering if you’d ever tried agave nectar for this recipe? (Since xylitol is pretty rough on my system.)
I know we’re trying to keep it healthy here, but I can’t help but think that these would be perfect for s’mores!
I love this. I make it often, and use 1/2 coconut butter in place of the coconut oil. It makes a creamier more milk chocolate flavor. I also add a bit of cold almond milk (I make it in the KitchenAid mixer) and it whips up into an almost frosting-like consistency. I also use xylitol and sometimes stevia.
omg these look delicious!!!
That almond swirl bar looks like its so delicious, I’m so tempted to go out and buy some moulds to give it a go.
– Natalie
http://www.workovereasy.com
This is awesome, Laura! I’ve secretly wanted to make my own chocolate bars ever since seeing the movie “Chocolat” years ago! 😉 Lately I’ve been buying a specialty chocolate bar each grocery trip so I can eat a couple pieces here and there as a treat. Having my own chocolate bars on hand will be even better!
Holy Saturated Fat, Batman!
Everything in moderation though, right?
These look really good. I’ve made something similar before but that peanut butter one is just blowing my mind. And I love those chocolate moulds, I’ll have to find something like that!
Looks delicious!
http://www.petiteandhungry.com
Laura,
Wow, first off I cannot wait to try these recipes, as I am a HUGE chocolate lover!! I appreciate you and all of your blog posts, in that you promote a healthy, emotionally sustainable, and genuinely strong lifestyle! This type of motivation is necessary for so many out there, and it truly is close to my heart!
Finding healthy motivation, living for life, and practicing self care is so incredibly crucial for all individuals, especially those who live with eating disorders. I am recovered from an eating disorder, and now share my journey of recovery, and self care through my blog RecoveryLoveandCare. I would love to link your blog within my own to help spread the word on having a healthy relationship with food and life!
Please visit my blog at http://recoveryloveandcare.com/
-Jayne-
You should try substituting part of the coconut oil content with cocoa butter, it should help the chocolate be less melt-y 🙂
Thanks for the recipe share, you’ve inspired me to get a chocolate bar mold
Hi, Could you give us a link to the mold? Thanks
Congratulations, good blog, really i like it
I thought the dried mango was sweet potato chips at first… which sounds not completely terrible, right?!
Sarah
http://www.thesurznickcommonroom.com
Oh my goodness these are so stinking cute!!!
shannnoninthecity.com
I love this idea, thank you for you sharing!
Alice xx
http://www.aliceadventures.co.uk
These look delicious! I can’t just imagine having a few squares on top of pancakes or even melted and spread on toast!
Yum!
Laura 🙂
I’m pretty sure most cocoa powder is vegan, I feel like it gets used a lot in vegan recipes I’ve seen but check the label to be sure! Otherwise, yes it should be a vegan bar depending on what you put in it 🙂
Laura
Good tip for dog owners!
Laura
I haven’t but I bet it would work well!
Laura 🙂
Good tip on the coconut butter! Thanks!
Laura 🙂
Oh good for you! So glad you’ve been enjoying these posts lately!
Laura 🙂
Yep, here you go!
http://amzn.to/2cpPijT
Laura 🙂
I love chocolates…
I ordered the chocolate bar mold on Amazon and have made 3 bars so far. It has been so fun to experiment with different flavors. It really is cool to think I can make any flavor I want to try, and it only takes a few minutes. Thanks so much for this awesome idea!!!
Fantastic! I would surely enjoy this healthy snack!