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
