I remember these treats from my childhood days and I think my mother was more into them than I. They were chocolatey, coconutty and chewy with a kind of fresh taste. Called Almond Joy in the USA, here in Australia the closest equivalent is Bounty Chocolate Bars. So I thought it might be fun to create homemade Almond Joy bars.
Off I went to the net and found a few recipes already. All fantastic ingredients and when there are so few ingredients, there is not much tweaking that can be done – or so I thought.
Hold that thought!
A bit more research and about six other websites had versions as well, all very similar with maybe the addition of cashews or dates. So who made it first? Who knows but as long we can all enjoy it and give credit where it’s due then all is well.
Taste test of another recipe
So I made them to one of the recipes as written and the filling tasted divine going in. Leaving it to chill overnight, I did the big taste test and… was disappointed!
My issue was the texture; it was far too wet and mushy. With all my cooking experimentation lately I have discovered I really care about texture for some reason. Not sure why. However if the taste is there but it doesn’t crunch like it is supposed to or be smooth like I expect, then all hell breaks loose in my satisfaction levels. Here I was after something far more chewy and so I had an idea!
So one magic ingredient that I love and feature often is macadamia nuts. They have a neutral taste, are rich in good fats and add that chewy texture to all my slices and pie bases. So I was thinking they would work their magic here. And so they did!
The result was a much firmer, chewy filling, just as I remembered it to be. Simply divine.
Making it easier
A couple of other tweaks too were in the method. The whole coating the whole bar with chocolate procedure is far too fiddly for me. I already know it would drive me batty, so I tried some other things instead…
I tried two ways – one was in my paper cupcake papers, with a layer of chocolate on the bottom, chill until firm, then the coconut filling, chill again and then the chocolate on top. Chill Again! Even that annoyed me a bit. Ha ha. Way too many steps.
Second way was in a slab – paper lined flat tray, once again pour chocolate on the bottom, chill and wait. Filling, chill and wait. Top – CHILL AND WAIT!! Arrrrggghhhh!!
I know I am impatient but why do things the long way, if there is a shorter way?
So in future if I make this again, I am just going to spoon a teaspoon full of the filling into cupcake papers and pour the chocolate on top. It all sets in the fridge anyway and eliminates the need for the annoying extra steps. It all tastes amazing anyway and in a busy household, they will love you making it any way you present it.
So if coconutty bounty is your thing, let’s get cooking…
Homemade Almond Joy
Coconut filling…
½ cup coconut cream
2 TBS coconut oil – melted
2 TBS honey
1 cup desiccated coconut
1 cup macadamia nuts
1/4 cup almonds
pinch of sea salt
Whiz the macadamia nuts in a food processor until it becomes a paste. Add all other ingredients except the almonds and combine thoroughly.
Spoon teaspoons full into separate cup cake papers.
Roast the almonds in an oven on 180C (350F) for a few minutes until just brown. Leave to cool a little while you’re making the chocolate then place two almonds in each cupcake paper on top of the coconut mix.
Homemade Chocolate
¼ cup coconut oil
1/4 cup cacao butter
1 TBS cacao powder
2 TBS honey
2 TBS PB2* (see what this is below)
pinch of Himalayan rock salt
Melt cacao butter and coconut oil on very low heat or in a double boiler if you have a gas stove. Take off heat and mix in the rest of the ingredients.
Spoon into cup cake papers over the coconut filling.
Chill and devour!!!
See, now wasn’t that easier than layer and chill, layer and chill etc?? Phew!
More time to enjoy.
Let me know which way you made your homemade Almond Joy.
Kristy x
*Note: PB2 is peanut butter powder. It’s had most of the polyunsaturated fats removed which is why I prefer to use it compared to normal peanut butter. If you don’t know why I’m avoiding polyunsaturated fats then read this.
