Chocolate Coconut Candy is a great "no-bake" way to add coconut oil to your diet! With the spicy option, you can make it to put a little zing in your step. It's a delicious way to enjoy the great taste of chocolate made from coconut oil while still being healthy. Plus, this chocolate coconut recipe is GAPS diet legal, Paleo and has no refined sugar.
I have been adding coconut oil before each meal - I try to remember before each meal but often forget except at breakfast!
I started taking coconut oil to increase my metabolism and help balance hormones. There's lots of ways to consume coconut oil, but honestly, I had some trouble. I don't use it for oil pulling, though a lot of my friends do.
But, since finding that I can make Chocolate Coconut Candy and also coconut coffee, I don't seem to have that problem anymore!
Plus, there's more and more evidence emerging that eating chocolate in moderation can actually boost people's health.
Chocolate Coconut Candy Makes Great Gifts!
A friend gave me a wonderful homemade gift - coconut chocolate made with coconut oil. She had used a candy mold and they were so cute. Not only did they look good, they were delicious!
And, the surprise was, there was a hint of spiciness to it! And, no, I did not share them with the children! ;)
Savoring them, I left them on the counter in the jar wrapped with a ribbon, just as they were given to me - it just made me feel special to look at them.
What I forgot though, was that coconut oil turns to liquid at around 75F.
Guess what? The next day, I went to get a treat and they were all melted!
Yes, it was a let down but it was short lived - it still tasted great. Only, now I ate it with a spoon!
I guess I should have shared! ;)
If using Chocolate Coconut Candy as a gift, don't forget gift tags: Inspirational Printable Gift Tags, All Occasion Printable Gift Tags, Free Christmas Gift Tags to Color.
Health Benefits of Coconut Oil:
Did I mention Chocolate Coconut Candy is Healthy?
Coconut oil is a very healthy oil that and is made from the fatty part of the coconut!
Here are a few of the health benefits of coconut: (Sources:1, 2, 3)
- improves the body's immune system and helps fight off viruses and bacteria
- helps stabilize blood sugar
- it helps stabilize hormone levels
- thyroid levels are boosted to increase metabolism, energy, and stamina
- improves digestion and helps absorb fat-soluble vitamins
- decreases cholesterol levels. Coconut oil has a saturated fat called lauric acid which has been shown to increases the good HDL cholesterol in the blood to help improve cholesterol ratio levels.
Tips for Using Coconut Oil in Candy
Coconut oil is different from other oils in that is gets hard when the temps get cool. By cool I mean 75F and lower. Normally, coconut oil is liquid in temps above 75F and hardens below 75F.
What does that mean for your candy?
Speaking from experience, keep these candies refrigerated if your home is warm. Otherwise, they will become a gooey, delicious puddle of goodness!
If that happens, don't worry, just eat it with a spoon ;)
What if My Coconut Oil is Hard?
Since coconut oil becomes solid in temperatures below about 75F, all you need to do is melt it. This can be done in the microwave starting with one minute and then 30 second intervals until the coconut oil is liquid.
What Can I Use Instead of Candy Molds?
I love making the cute shapes that can be made using silicone molds but you can make them without molds.
Don't have any candy molds?
Don't worry, you can still make wonderful no-bake chocolate candy!
Simply line a baking dish with parchment paper and pour the chocolate into it. Refrigerate or place in freezer until hardened, then break (or cut) into pieces.
Chocolate Coconut Candy Step by Step
Mix the coconut oil, honey and vanilla together. Photo 1
Add remaining ingredients. Photo 2
Beat until light and fluffy. Photo 3
Pour into molds (I use these silicone molds) or parchment lined baking dish. Photo 4
Refrigerate (or place in freezer) until firm.
Tweak Spiciness to Your Taste
I confess I am a wimp when it comes to hot spicy foods. It is a shame really, because my husband loves hot foods, in fact, the hotter the better for him.
But these chocolates had just a hint of spice, not too much, just a slight zing.
Feel free to have fun and play with the spice levels of this chocolate. It's fairly easy to tweak by the batch. Or you can make a few smaller batches and test out the different levels of spice.
Now that we have a reason to indulge in such a delicious treat for our health's sake, on to the coconut oil chocolate recipe!
Chocolate Coconut Candy with Spicy Option
Ingredients
- 2 cups coconut oil at room temperature
- 4 tablespoons raw honey
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup cocoa powder
- 3 pinches cayenne pepper - optional use if spicy treats are desired.
Instructions
- Mix the coconut oil, honey and vanilla together.
- Blend in the remaining ingredients - sea salt. cinnamon, cocoa powder and cayenne if making the spicy option.
- Blend until light and fluffy.
- Pour into candy mold or parchment lined baking dish.
- Refrigerate until firm.
- Store in the refrigerator to prevent melting.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Here are other coconut recipes you will enjoy:
- Healthy Chocolate Covered Strawberries
- Chocolate Covered Bananas
- Coconut Flour Biscuits
- Healthy Coconut Coffee
- Coconut Flour Brownies
- Cracking Coconuts
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Suburban Farm Girl says
Sounds really yummy! Thanks for sharing.
Lynn
Cindy (Vegetarian Mamma) says
Thanks for posting! I love the ease of this!!
Thanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays party! I have tweeted and pinned your entry to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest! :)
Thanks for linking back to the Gluten Free Fridays post!
Cindy from vegetarianmamma.com
nicolette @ momnivore's dilemma says
I have everything for this now in my pantry...I know the boys would love this! I think a treat is in order.
I'm featuring you tonight at Creative Juice and sharing over at Pinterest.
Thanks for linking up last week!
Nicolette
Beth says
When you say room temperature, do you mean solid or melted or very soft? In the winter time here in Wisconsin, room temp is well below 78 but in the summer, it might be close to 78 or warmer. Thanks!
Dina-Marie says
Beth, I do it when it is very soft and easy to mix.
Lori @ Our Heritage of Health says
These sound delicious! I have a hard time with eating coconut oil just by itself, but when it's mixed with chocolate, I love it. (Of course, everything is better with chocolate!) :)
Thanks for sharing this with Old-Fashioned Friday!
jamie says
My Mom made some of this for me and I have eaten almost all of it in one sitting! Haha! It is very good! I have pinned it so I can make some more! Thanks so much for posting!
Kim says
I would love to make this today; however, I only have local honey, not raw honey. Do you think it will turn out okay? Thanks for the delish recipe!!
Dina-Marie says
Kim, local honey would be fine!
Jessica says
This looks really great! I wonder if I could modify it to use the bricks of 100% cacao I have instead of cocoa powder...
Dina-Marie says
Jessica, I am not familiar with substituting bricks of cacao - sorry - but you could try it and see!
Sara says
Jessica, try using 100g of your cacao brick. I live in Turkey and we buy ground cacao. I made half the recipe and used 50g of my ground and it was delicious.
Joyce says
Hi Dina-Marie,
Do you use the coconut oil that is flavored like Coconut... or do you use the non-flavored kind? I am sure either works... but was just curious. Thanks for the post, and all that you share!
Dina-Marie says
Hi Joyce, mine does taste like coconut.
Bebe says
This is a popular treat at our house. I like to add variety sometimes and have been known to toss in coconut, crispy nuts, dried fruit, cinnamon, cayenne, etc... I always add salt! You can also add coconut butter and it makes a more chewy treat. Recently I added peanut butter and it was SO good. Alas, I would have to make my own peanut butter (by sprouting first, then roasting and grinding) to be able to eat it without digestive distress but I did take a few small tastes while it lasted and the kids scarfed it down. I'm going to try it with macadamia nut butter next time!