Raw 'Bounty' Bars

 
Whenever I think of summer and holidays, dreams of hairy coconuts spilling deliciously sweet water and waiting to have their cream flesh scraped out immediately spring to mind.

That and copious amounts of sweat... it's a golden age for the deodorant companies!

But I digress.

I love cooking with coconut, particularly when I'm cooking raw style! Its versatility and distinct taste make it perfect for adding flavour and texture to dishes when refined oils and fats are out and it has also been shown to help with weight loss and digestion and even support immunity. Win-win right?!

Now for as long as I can remember my Mum's favourite chocolate treat have been the famous Bounty Bars (similar to a Hershey's Mounds for those of you in the US). A sweet and creamy coconut filling coated with milk chocolate, sounds pretty nice right? Well when you take a peek at the ingredients list its not quite so poetic:

Sugar, Desiccated Coconut, Glucose Syrup, Cocoa Butter, Skimmed Milk Powder, Cocoa Mass, Mono/Didiglycerides of fatty acids (E471), Soya Lecithin (E322), Lactose, Milk Fat, Whey Powder, Glycerol (E422), Salt, Natural Vanilla Extract   

Hmmmm...

So, as satisfied as I'm sure a mouthful of lactose, salt and glucose syrup may make you feel, I decided to do a 'cleaner' of the bar and I can honestly say that not only did it taste great, but afterwards I felt satisfied without the accompanying guilt and sickness I usually feel on the rare occasions I eat chocolate!



These bars (actually 'bites' might be a bit more appropriate but... whatever) are raw, dairy free, vegan, gluten free  and though they are most definitely NOT calorie free, they only contain natural fats and sugars. Winning!

Raw Bounty Bites 

Makes about 5 pieces


1/3 cup raw cashews
1 cup + 2 tbsp dried coconut**
2 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

1/4 cup each of maple syrup, cacao powder and liquid coconut oil  **
 
** I used dessicated but to make the recipe 100% raw you can use dehydrated  **




Place the cashews and 1 cup of the coconut into a food processor and blitz for 5 minutes or so or until the coconut has broken down and the mixture is the consistency of wet sand. Add the maple syrup and vanilla (if using) and blitz until combined.

  

Place the coconut mixture into a mixing bowl and stir in the remaining 2 tbsp of coconut. Use your hands to squeeze the mix into bite sized pieces and place on a tray lined with baking paper. Place in the freezer for 10 minutes.

To make the chocolate coating combine the coconut oil, cacao and maple syrup into a bowl and whisk until the smooth and shiny. Remove your bites from the freezer and use a fork to dip each one individually into the chocolate. Place them back onto the paper lined tray and place in the freezer for at least half an hour or until set firm.
 
 

 These bites will melt quite quickly due to the low melting point of the coconut oil so keep them in the fridge until your ready to much them down!


Enjoy!