I love the convenience of energy bars, but I don’t love the ingredients in most of them! I’ve made date and nut based energy bars and chia seed energy bars ( a favorite at our house), but I’ve been experimenting with a recipe that would be largely coconut based, nut free, and a healthy alternative to sugary snacks when my kids are around other kids.
The kids also requested that I include chocolate in these energy bars, and this recipe was born. To make it chocolatey I use cocoa butter and powder. If you aren’t familiar with cocoa butter, don’t be intimidated! Both cocoa butter and powder come from cacao seeds and are used to make chocolate. Cocoa butter is the fat of the cacao seeds and comes in a block or sometimes thin wafers, for easier use. I buy mine on Amazon here. Cocoa powder is made from the solids left when the fat is removed.
These yummy energy bars have been a big hit! The only downside is that they have to be refrigerated to keep their firmness, but taste-wise, they are wonderful! Do you ever make snack bars at home? What’s your favorite recipe?
Chocolate Coconut Energy Bars Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup coconut oil
- ½ cup cocoa butter (or additional coconut oil)
- ¼ cup honey (or to taste)
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 1½ cups shredded coconut (unsweetened)
- ½ cup chia seeds (or additional coconut)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
- stevia tincture (for extra sweetness, optional)
Instructions
- Line a 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper.
- Melt the coconut oil and cocoa butter in a small pan over low heat.
- Add the honey and stir well.
- Whisk in the cocoa powder, shredded coconunt, and chia seeds.
- Add the vanilla and stevia tincture, if using.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and refrigerate for 1 hour or until hardened (you can also freeze it to speed up the process).
- Cut into bars and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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Ever made your own energy bars? What flavor do you prefer? Share below!
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I make a similar bar starting with base of 1 and 1-2 cups dates and one cup of nuts in food processor and then add coconut, coconut oil, chia seeds, hemp seeds, collagen powder, cocoa nibs, cocoa, nut butters, etc. process until gets like a dough ball adjusting butters or oils as needed. I line a loaf pan with parchment paper and cut them into bite sized squares and freeze them. Then I pop them out of pan and keep in freezer for quick treat that is packed with staying power!!!
Awsome recipe, I should give it a try, but I need to make the butter first 🙂
How long can I store them for?
Can I feed this to my 1 year old?
Thanks
After adding the cocao powder, the solids and the oils stay separate. What is wrong? The solid portion (i guess the shredded coconut and cocoa powder) tastes really yummy like dark chocolate, but I don’t want to waste a bunch of cocoa butter and coconut oil that will end up just staying separate.