The combination of chocolate and coconut is one of the most magnificent in the world, in my humble little opinion. There’s just something about it that shouts decadence and entices you to indulge. As a kid, I would savor every little bite of a Mounds bar, nibbling it like a rabbit to make it last as long as possible and invariably feeling sad when it would finally be gone. It was always my favorite candy bar.

It’s been a long time since I’ve had that delightful concoction but with Easter rolling around and with thoughts and visions of candies gone by, I found myself craving my favorite combination. It may have stayed a wistful thought too except for two things that happened last week. First, I was at Aldi’s and found these super cute Easter egg silicone molds (for $2.99!) and immediately decided a chocolate molded candy was in my future. Then, I finally got around to checking out what The Recipe Redux theme was for this month, and they are throwing out a really challenging theme this time: 7 ingredients or less. Oh my.

But candy, candy doesn’t take many ingredients and so the coconut filled chocolate plotting and scheming commenced full tilt until these were born. Most coconut candy type things use egg whites as a binder, so of course I had to use my new favorite go to, must use it in everything, egg replacer, aquafaba. And of course, it works like a charm. Of course!

I’ve made the coconut filling with cane sugar and agave nectar with equally good results. The agave nectar, as you can see from the pictures, makes the filling a much darker color. I’m pretty sure you could substitute maple syrup as well, although I haven’t tried it yet.

It looks like the instructions are super long, but really, these are easy to make, I’m just long winded! They only take a bit of time with some chilling needed to harden the chocolate but it is absolutely a project you could do with your kids. Make your own Easter Candy this year! It’ll be way better than the store-bought stuff, I promise :-).

You can make this with any silicone molds you like; I made these into eggs since Easter is around the corner, but I also made some little apple ones OR you can skip the molds altogether and make candy balls. OR, for those few of you out there who don’t like chocolate, you can just skip the whole chocolate part and eat the coconut filling right out of the bowl :-). Not that I did that or anything …

Chocolate Coconut "Mounds" Candy Bars Save Print Prep time 60 mins Cook time 10 mins Total time 1 hour 10 mins Chocolate Coconut "Mounds" Candy Bars Jenny Dunklee | The Lazy Vegan Baker: Jenny Dunklee Recipe type: Dessert Serves: 6 Ingredients 6 tablespoons aquafaba, preferably from a lighter flavored bean like cannelloni or butter beans

6 tablespoons cane sugar or 6 tablespoons agave nectar

1½ cups unsweetened shredded coconut

¾ teaspoon vanilla extract (I've also used orange extract which was divine. Almond would be great too I believe)

1 cup vegan chocolate chips

1 teaspoon coconut oil Instructions In a medium saucepan, combine the aquafaba, sugar and coconut. Heat it on medium low, stirring often, until most of the liquid is evaporated and the coconut becomes translucent, 5-8 minutes. Transfer the coconut mixture to a bowl, stir in the vanilla extract, cover with plastic wrap and chill for a minimum of 30 minutes. While the filling is chilling, melt the chocolate and coconut oil in the microwave (or over a bain marie) in 15 second increments, stirring well after each time, until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Let the chocolate cool slightly. It should not be hot to the touch, but just slightly warm or the same temperature as your hand. Using a spoon, spread the chocolate in the bottom of your molds. It shouldn't be so thin that it will crack when you remove it from the mold, but not so thick that it overwhelms the filling. Use your best judgement; the first time you do this it may not be quite right but you'll get a good feeling as to how much chocolate is needed to keep the molded shape. Spread the chocolate evenly and make sure you cover the entire mold. Put in the refrigerator and chill for 30 minutes to harden the chocolate. Take your molds out of the refrigerator and very gently press the filling into each one, making sure it stays flush with the edge of the mold. Spoon some more chocolate on top and smooth it over the filling carefully with a knife. (You can definitely do a prettier job than I did with this! I overfilled them a bit and then spreading the chocolate was not as smooth as it should have been.) Put molds back in the refrigerator and chill for another 30 minutes. Very carefully, patiently, gently, press the chocolates out of the molds. Make sure you share these with friends so they know cruelty-free candy bars are not only possible but also absolutely delicious. And plus, if you don't share them you'll probably end up eating them all yourself. Not that that's a bad thing :-P. TO MAKE THESE WITHOUT A MOLD: Follow the instructions for the filling. After the filling has chilled for at least 30 minutes, roll it into 1 or 2 inch balls. It will be very sticky so dip your hands in cool water before starting and then whenever you need to again to keep the filling from sticking all over your hands and not forming into balls. Chill the balls for 30 minutes in the fridge. Make the chocolate coating as per the instructions above and then gently dip the coconut balls into the chocolate, making sure they are entirely coated before removing. Place balls on parchment or wax paper covered plate or something that is easily moved and when they are done, move them to the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes so the chocolate can harden. STORAGE: These are best stored in the refrigerator as the chocolate can and will melt. You can store them in an airtight container or individually wrapped in plastic. Like most chocolate candies, their longevity outside of the refrigerator is entirely dependent on the temperature. I had them in plastic bags in my car for an entire day without an issue, but then I'm in Vermont and it's just the beginning of spring so it was definitely not hot enough out to melt them. Use your best judgement. Wordpress Recipe Plugin by EasyRecipe 3.5.3208

See what other awesome 7 ingredient or less recipes my fellow redux-ers came up with by clicking the blue froggy below 🙂

