In kindergarten, I decided I was going to be a monkey for Halloween, and that I would need pink heart-shaped sunglasses to complete my costume (fortunately my mom loves Halloween as much as I do so she entertained my demands).
Post trick-or-treat, I remember sitting on the dining room floor with my sister, dumping out our pillowcases full of candy, and digging through to find our favorites. All the junior mints and tootsie rolls went to my dad, and the dots and almond joys to my mom. I was more of a butterfinger kinda gal.
And while I have an insatiable sweet tooth (seriously—don’t ever ask me if I want to see the dessert menu because the answer will always be yes), sugar combined with preservatives is a recipe for disaster. Processed candy has a lot of garbage in it. But that doesn’t mean you have to trade all your treats for tricks.
These little peanut butter cup coconut bites remind me of a Snickers ice cream bar, minus all the corn syrup and hydrogenated soybean oil (gross). They come together in a snap, and they’ll be waiting for you the moment your sweet tooth strikes.
Try making your own variation: add some instant coffee to the chocolate, some pumpkin pie spice to the peanut butter, drizzle extra peanut butter on top, or sprinkle with chopped pistachios. Don’t skip the sea salt though. It’s what makes them come alive. Mua-ha-ha-ha.
Food La La Recipe: Peanut Butter Cup Coconut Bites
Ingredients:
- 2 cups coconut chunks (about 1” each)*
- ½ cup smooth peanut butter (or almond or sunflower butter)
- 1 TBS coconut oil
- ¾ cup dark chocolate
- 1 TBS sea salt
Steps:
- Line a sheet pan (that’s small enough to fit in your freezer) with a sheet of parchment paper. Place a cooling rack on top and set aside.
- In a small saucepan, melt the peanut butter. If it’s stiff, add ½ TBS coconut oil.
- Remove the peanut butter from heat, and using a fork, gently dip each piece of coconut into the peanut butter. Scrape the fork along the side of the pan to remove any excess and set coconut chunk on the cooling rack.
- Repeat with all coconut chunks.
- Freeze until solid.
- In a small saucepan, melt the chocolate. If it’s stiff, add ½ TBS coconut oil.
- Repeat steps 3-4.
- Immediately (WHY? #1) top each with a generous sprinkle of sea salt and return to the freezer.
- Once frozen solid, remove each piece of candy from cooling rack and store airtight in freezer.
- Remove from freezer 5 minutes before enjoying!
Psst! A few recipe notes:
- WHY? #1: Because the candy is frozen, the chocolate will harden quickly and the sea salt won’t stick.
- Note: For a pumpkin flavor, add 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice to peanut butter mixture.
- Note: I like to use the frozen version, but you can also find coconut strips, or process your own coconut! Whatever you use, just make sure it’s unsweetened.
