What with Valentine’s Day around the corner, I thought you might like to try a treat that has totally helathy ingredients. This treat doesn’t have any of those nasty additives like high fructose corn syrup and it is not sickeningly sweet.
Made with coconut spread (concentrate), shredded coconut, nuts and a little honey, this treat puts commercial candy to shame. You CAN have a healthy candy. Just don’t eat too many! That will be hard — I guarantee it!
You may use any nut you have on hand already prepared, but using the roasted hazelnuts makes this really special.
Raw Double Chocolate Hazelnut Squares
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup coconut spread (where to buy)
- 1 cup shredded coconut (where to buy)
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 cup honey (where to buy sweeteners and spices)
- 1 cup ground soaked roasted and skinned hazelnuts (see below for instructions)
- 2 heaping Tbsp raw cacao powder (where to buy)
- 2 – 3 ounces dark chocolate (where to buy)
Equipment
- Bowl
- Mini processor (where to buy a mini food processor)
- cookie sheet (where to buy)
- Parchment paper (where to buy parchment paper)
Topping
Melt 3 – 4 ounces of your favorite chocolate on low (I like this one)
Instruction for roasting and skinning hazelnuts
Instructions for soaking and dehydrating nuts
Instructions
- Warm the jar of coconut spread in a pot of hot water until it is runny
- Grind the hazelnuts to a chunky meal consistency
- In a bowl, add all the ingredients except the dark chocolate and mix
- On a piece of parchment paper take the base “dough” and roll it out until it is about 1/2 inch thick and smooth — you can use a rolling pin or your hands to do this
- Try to keep the sides even and square – note that the dough will crumble and crack easily so handle it carefully
- Place in the freezer for 10 minutes to get it firm then remove to cut
- With a pizza wheel or a knife (I think a large knife works better) cut bite sized squares and pull them slightly apart
- If you are serving these, now is the time to put them on a serving plate
- Melt the dark chocolate on low and with a spoon drizzle it over the squares
- Freeze or refrigerate before serving for about one hour
- Keep in the freezer in a container for those moments when you need a quick fix!
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Frig Time: one hour
Yield: Approximately 24 pieces
Get the recipe for Raw CocoNutty Bites which is similarly made with hazelnuts!