Yeah, I admit that I did some serious damage over the holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas. Actually I think it was the two months of sweet baking and confectionary cooking leading up to the holidays. I resugared myself up but good. So along with my hubby I will be doing a month of low carb "resetting" of the system. (Give my poor, sugared out pancreas a rest!) Then another month of timed and specific carb counts for retraining the body. Fortunately I picked up some fabulous recipes for low carb treats last time I took this plunge. (And lost 40 pounds.) This little gem is one of them. And the great part is, it still fits into this relatively strict first phase. They taste great; everyone who tried them (that likes coconut), liked them. Mom said they were dangerous little things. And with the lauric acid in the coconut oil to boost the immune system, and the thermogenic effects of the medium chain fatty acids in the oil as well, this is one healthful little bite of candy. Especially for low carbers. And the high quality fat makes them much more satisfying than their grocery store counterparts. Once again, I'll mention that I pay the highest price for the only organic brand of erythritol because it is made from cane sugar, not corn (that darned corn allergy). Corn based is much cheaper, but you also run the risk of it coming from GMO crops if that matters to you. Depending on how dark a chocolate you choose to coat them, the net carb count runs about 4g per candy. A good 70% cacao chocolate bar will get you there. Really, the only meaningful sugar in the recipe comes from the chocolate. I can live with that. ☺
Guilt Free Almond Joy Bars
Makes about 20 bars
1½ cups unsweetened finely shredded coconut
5-6 tbsp virgin coconut oil
1/3 cup coconut milk (not lite)
a few drops to taste of liquid stevia
pinch of fine sea salt
Crispy or raw almonds (crispy nuts have been soaked and dehydrated for a delightful crunch)
2 3.5oz 70% cacao chocolate bars
Melt erythritol in a saucepan over medium heat - it melts quite easily. In a bowl, stir together the coconut oil, milk, shredded coconut, salt and stevia. Pour in the hot, melted erythritol and mix well until the oil melts and the mixture is paste like. Scoop spoonfuls of the mixture onto parchment or waxed paper and shape into flattened logs with your fingers. Top with the almonds, pressing down lightly. Freeze or refrigerate until the filling is cold and quite firm. Gently melt chocolate, adding a drop or two of Stevia if desired. Dip centers into chocolate and return to paper to harden. (I drop mine in, flip with a fork to coat and then transfer to the paper after tapping off the excess chocolate.) Can be eaten cold or room temp, though I would say refrigerate for longer term storage. Enjoy!
Adapted from Healthy Indulgences
Those look fabulous! And so much better than the grocery store ones. I'm not familiar with erythritol, so will have to look into it.
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