Raw bounty bars, made with honey and coconut butter, are a much healthier replacement to run of the mill chocolate bars. In the mini version, these are a nice little treat and fun to make, with simple, wholesome ingredients.
Mix all of the ingredients except for the water in a large bowl until thoroughly combined (use your hands). Once everything has been mixed, it should stick together easily. If it's a touch too dry, add a tablespoon of water and mix again. If it's still not sticking you can add one more tablespoon.
Take about two tablespoons of the filling and squeeze it into a rough bar shape. Place the bar onto a board or baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat until all of the filling has been shaped into bars, and then place the board in the freezer for at least 30 minutes before coating in chocolate. Wet your hands slightly after every 3-4 bars to keep it from sticking to your hands too much.
Once the bars have been frozen, coat them in chocolate. Use a fork to turn the bars over so that they're completely covered and then gently tap the fork against the bowl to help remove any excess. If you want to top the bars with extra coconut or bee pollen, do it before the chocolate has time to harden. Place the coated bars on a cooling rack or back onto the parchment covered board and let the chocolate solidify before placing them in a sealed container and storing in the fridge. You can put the bars back in the freezer for a few minutes first to speed the process up.
Raw Chocolate
In a glass bowl set over a pot of simmering water, gently melt the cacao butter. Once it's melted, remove it from the heat and whisk in the honey until fully incorporated (see above photo) and becomes a smooth golden colour and the consistency of soft butter. If you don't whisk it for long enough you risk separation.
Add the cacao powder, vanilla, and salt and whisk again until combined. Coat the bars before the chocolate hardens - you should have plenty of time if you freeze the bars before you start making the chocolate. If for some reason it becomes too solid to dip the bars into, just gently melt it again over the water. Don't get any water into the mix or the chocolate will seize.
You can also use a bar melted dark chocolate with a teaspoon of coconut oil in place of making your own chocolate if you're looking for a faster option, or one that doesn't melt as easily at room temperature.
Notes
• To make homemade coconut butter, blend unsweetened coconut (shredded or flaked) in a food processor for 7-10 minutes, or until you have butter. Scrape down the sides of the food processor as needed. For this recipe, 100 grams of coconut will give you the required amount, but depending on the size of your blender you might want to make a larger batch and keep the extra to eat on toast. • You can use a small saucepan to make the chocolate, but only as a last resort. You can see that I did not use a double boiler here, but that's only because I didn't have a glass bowl. If you do make it in a pot watch it very carefully as cacao butter burns easily and remove it as soon as it's almost melted, stirring to melt any small pieces of the cacao that remain. • You may need to soften your coconut oil and butter over low heat so that they can be mixed in, depending on how cold your house is. If your honey is solid you can heat it slightly as well. * Honey can be replaced by a sticky sweetener like brown rice syrup if you don't eat honey. I'm not a big fan of agave or coconut blossom nectar because they're both very unsustainable, and maple syrup probably isn't sticky enough to work here. ** Virgin coconut oil will help to bring out a more pronounced coconut flavour than refined oil will. *** You can use maple syrup instead of honey for the chocolate recipe, especially if you've never made raw chocolate before as it is a little bit easier to mix with the cacao butter.