It's my birthday week! *cue streamers and party hats* And I want to share these coconut fudge bars with you to celebrate.
Since it's not practical to make dozens of batches and mail you each your own personal coconut fudge bar (although how awesome would that be??), just providing the recipe will have to do. Which is probably better anyway because you'll definitely want a full tray of these hanging around after you try them.
These coconut fudge bars are the bomb.
After making and tasting the first batch of these bars, I knew they would be dangerous. I set aside a couple for myself and proudly served the rest of the tray to my CrossFit buddies. Thumbs up all around. People went back for seconds and begged to know what was in them.
Obviously, sharing the recipe is in order.
The toasted coconut and nut base make for a partly crunchy, partly chewy bar. The fudge (which is basically my "peanut butter" fudge recipe) is bursting with that brilliant peanut butter and chocolate flavor combo - but these are made with sunflower seed butter so they're totes paleo. The bars are rich, but not overly sweet.
Since they need to be chilled, these bars will make an excellent spring/summer treat. You know, on those hot days when you really want a treat but making ice cream is too much of a pain. These coconut fudge bars freeze incredibly well, too, and they taste fantastic straight out of the freezer!
I can definitely see these being a big hit at summer potlucks and BBQs, and I'll probably be making them numerous times this year...sometimes to share, and sometimes all for myself. A girl's got to live, you know.
I'm thrilled with how these pictures turned out. In fact, I had such a good time photographing these bars that I have too many pictures to share in this post alone. Bummer, right? But that's what social media is for. So if you're hankering to see the other mouthwatering shots, you'll just have to keep an eye out for them on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter.
Oh, and about my birthday. Despite my birthday being on a Saturday this year, which is an obvious invitation to party it up, I'm keeping things pretty low key. Morning workout, eating out, and generally hanging out with my phenomenal husband. A fresh batch of these coconut fudge bars. Livin' it up, for sure!
Coconut Fudge Bars
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 7 minutes
- Total Time: 17 minutes
- Yield: 16 squares 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: no bake
Description
These coconut fudge bars have a chewy & crunchy base filled with rich cacao and sunflower seed butter fudge. Gluten free, paleo, and vegetarian!
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cup unsweetened coconut shreds
- ½ cup walnuts, chopped
- ½ cup cashews, chopped
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ½ cup pure maple syrup
- ¾ cup sunflower seed butter, divided
- ½ cup coconut oil, melted
- ¼ cup raw honey
- ½ cup cacao powder
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread coconut shreds evenly on the baking sheet. Toast for about 7 minutes, until the shreds are golden brown. Remove from oven, turn oven off, and let cool.
- Line an 8X8 pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, stir together maple syrup and ¼ cup of sunflower seed butter until smooth. Stir in the coconut, walnuts, cashews, and salt. Separate out about ⅔ of this mixture and press into the bottom of the pan. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, stir together the remaining sunflower seed butter, vanilla, honey, cacao powder and melted coconut oil. Stir until smooth. Pour evenly over the crust in the pan.
- Sprinkle the remaining crust mixture overtop. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or freeze until firm enough to cut into squares. Store covered in the fridge or freezer (you can eat them right out of the freezer, if desired).
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 square
Keywords: Coconut Fudge Bars
Rachael says
Once my Whole30 is done... these are going straight into the oven!
Chelsea says
Luckily you only need the oven to toast the coconut! Good luck on your Whole30 by the way! <3
Feisty Eats says
These look positively addictive. Happy early birthday!
Chelsea says
Thanks so much! <3
Amy says
These look awesome, any tips for choosing an alternative to the maple syrup or honey to lessen the sugar load?
Chelsea says
You could try just decreasing the amount of maple syrup in the base mixture (maybe to 1/4 cup?), and increasing sunflower seed butter as needed to keep everything sticking together. As for the fudge filling, you can also decrease the honey a bit...but decreasing it too much will result in fudge that tastes like coconut oil.
As for alternatives, I'm not sure what you'd prefer with less sugar. Most alternatives I can think of would end up changing the flavor (dates, for example). I try not to make my treats too sweet...but they are, after all, a treat!
Christie says
What's an alternative to sunflower butter?
Chelsea says
You can use any nut butter (almond butter, cashew butter, walnut butter, peanut butter if you eat it, etc.), but the flavor will be different for each one. I like sunflower seed butter because it reminds me of peanut butter and that flavor combo in these bars is bomb!
Ashton says
I'm also low FODMAP which means no honey for me. Any replacement tips for that??
Chelsea says
Ashton, you can sub the honey for maple syrup. The taste isn't the same, but I've tried this sub myself and it's still great!
Wendy says
Thanks for sharing this recipe! I made it twice and it's delicious, everybody likes it! Is there any chance you can tell me how many calories there would be in a slice and how much protein?
Chelsea says
Hey Wendy! I'm glad you like them - they're a hit wherever I bring them, too! I plugged the recipe into MyFitnessPal, and assuming you cut it into 16 bars, each bar is about 333 calories and has 4g of protein.
Wendy says
Thank you! ?
Linda says
Can you tell how many carbs. I'm a newbie! Thanks. I really need these. ?
★★★★★
Chelsea says
Hi, Linda! At this time, I don’t post nutritional information for my recipes. I’m a one-woman show over here and I simply don’t have the time for it! There are awesome websites like myfitnesspal that allow you to plug in a recipe to find that stuff out for yourself, though!
Asha says
I make these regularly, they are addictive! I use all honey (GAPS) and I have no complaints. I also soak and dehydrate the sunflower seeds to make the sunbutter (GAPS crispy nuts). It's a nice change from almond butter. Thanks for the great recipe!
Chelsea says
Hi Asha! I'm glad to know that you're enjoying the recipe - way to make it work for you! 🙂
Create/Enjoy says
Omigosh what a treat!! Great idea, love the ingredient list--all real food of course, and not tons of almond flour! =/ Pinned!
Chelsea says
Thank you! This is definitely a favorite around here!
Shirley says
These are dangerously good! I used chopped almonds instead of cashews and almond butter, because I was craving an almond joy-like flavor. I just ate 2 squares and had to stop myself from eating more (or the whole thing)! Thank you for the fantastic recipe...it was easy to make, too, which is always a plus.
Chelsea says
Shirley, I'm so glad you made it your own! The almond joy variation sounds amazing. I know the struggle well - whenever I make these I have to either put them away in the freezer (they're great right out of the freezer, btw!) or give them away...or I'll eat the whole batch!
Meaghan says
These were amazing!!!! I modified by using pecans instead of walnuts since I am allergic to walnuts and subbed peanut butter for the sunbutter. It will be difficult not to eat the entire pan in one sitting haha
★★★★★
Chelsea says
So glad to hear that, Meaghan! I am 100% in favor of your substitutions. I don't often eat peanut butter, but it would be AMAZING in these bars!