Chocolate Coconut Bars

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Chocolate Coconut Bars – packed with coconut, oats, & raisins topped with a dark chocolate coconut ganache. Made with coconut oil & naturally sweetened.

Last year I first delved into baking using coconut oil with my chocolate peanut butter bake, a recipe which included refined sugar. This year you may have noticed some of my recipes have included a few bakes made with natural sugars – nothing wrong with a “everything in moderation” refined sugar treat but I’m enjoying exploring healthier alternatives.

Which leads me to Vita Coco and Foodies 100, who are running a competition looking for recipes using Vita Coco coconut oil. Since I’m always up for a challenge, I’ve enjoyed baking with coconut oil and I’m still researching natural sweetness in bakes, this competition is right up my street. I’ve gone with a naturally sweetened bake, packed it with coconut, oats and raisins and topped it with my chocolate coconut ganache as this worked so well with my peanut butter bake. The finished Chocolate Coconut Bars have been a huge hit with the family (it seems you’d never know they were a healthier bake) and I can’t make enough of them to keep everyone supplied !

You’ll love these seriously good Chocolate Coconut Bars packed full of coconut deliciousness, the dark chocolate ganache topping perfectly compliments the oat and raisin sweetness to blend all the flavours into a tempting treat.

The health benefits of coconut oil have been very well documented for quite some time and it really is a versatile product way beyond a baking ingredient. I use coconut oil in stir fries because its mild flavour doesn’t overpower a dish and its higher smoking point means there is less burn at higher temperatures. Also, coconut oil isn’t limited to being a foodstuff – it works wonders on my rough gardening hands and apparently doubles up as a hair conditioner, although I haven’t tried it on my hair yet 🙂

Chocolate Coconut Bars are so easy to make, simply add all the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl.

Whisk together the maple syrup, melted coconut oil and beaten egg, add to the dry mix and mix together.

Spread the mix into your prepared baking tin and pop in the the oven.

Pour over the melted chocolate coconut ganache and spread to cover your bake.

Sprinkle with shredded coconut and leave to set completely before cutting into bars.

Here’s the recipe in quick printable format so you can have it to hand while you try it out.

5.0 from 3 reviews

Chocolate Coconut Bars

 

Print

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

18 mins

Total time

28 mins

 

Chocolate Coconut Bars - packed with coconut, oats, & raisins topped with a dark chocolate coconut ganache. Made with coconut oil & naturally sweetened.

Author: Tales From The Kitchen Shed

Recipe type: Baking

Cuisine: Healthy

Serves: 12 bars or 24 squares

Ingredients

• 125 g (1 cup) plain flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 75 g (1 cup) porridge oats
• 50 g ( ½ cup) unsweetened shredded coconut
• 150 g (1 cup) raisins or sultanas
• 150 g (½ cup) maple syrup or honey (I used maple syrup)
• 100 g (⅓ cup plus 2 tablespoons) coconut oil (I used Vita Coco) melted
• 1 egg beaten
• 150 g (5 oz) plain chocolate chips or plain chocolate broken into pieces
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• Optional: Extra shredded coconut or coconut flakes for sprinkling

Instructions

1. Grease and line a baking tin 18 cm x 26 cm ( 7" x 10½") and preheat oven to 180℃ / 300℉ /Gas Mark 4
2. Sieve flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl and add oats, shredded coconut and raisins. Stir together.
3. Whisk together maple syrup, coconut oil and beaten egg in a jug. Add to the dry ingredients and mix together with a spatula or wooden spoon.
4. Spread mixture evenly into your prepared tin and pop into the oven for about 20 minutes until soft but not firm. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin.
5. Melt chocolate and coconut oil in a bowl over a pan of hot water and beat together until smooth. Pour over the coconut, oat and raisin bake and spread evenly.
6. Sprinkle with extra shredded coconut or flakes. Leave to cool before removing from the tin and cutting into 12 bars or 24 squares.

Notes

It's best to melt your coconut oil before you start mixing - I did mine with a couple of 30 second bursts in the microwave.

3.5.3208

This recipe is an entry into the #Swearbyit challenge with Vita Coco. Find more great coconut oil recipes and tips on using coconut oil at www.swearbyit.com

Pin Chocolate Coconut Bars for later:
I’m also linking Chocolate Coconut Bars to: Fiesta Fridays
Bake of the Week co-hosted by Sarah at Maison Cupcake & Helen at Casa Costello (this week hosted by Sarah)