Christmas

Dark Chocolate & Coconut Bites

by:
February 28, 2013
4
1 Ratings
Dark Chocolate & Coconut Bites
Photo by James Ransom
  • Makes 16-18 truffles
Author Notes

These sweet treats are a mix between a no bake cookie and a truffle. They are wicked. They are also incredibly simple and you probably already have the ingredients on hand. I kind of just threw some stuff in a pot & it ended up being a new favorite. —we eat. happy.

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup good quality semi-sweet chocolate chips or 4oz dark chocolate, chopped
  • 1/2 cup natural peanut butter (I used chunky, but smooth would be fine too)
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup
  • 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla
  • a pinch of sea salt (if your peanut butter is not salted)
  • 1 1/4 cup of unsweetened shredded coconut (desiccated), + more rolling, but this is optional
Directions
  1. In a medium sized pot, over medium low heat, melt chocolate, pb, syrup, cocoa, vanilla & sea salt. Once the everything is melted and combined (about 3-4 minutes), take off the heat & stir in the coconut.
  2. It will be a bit thick. Let it cool for a minute. Then, using your hands form TBL sized balls. If you want, you can roll in extra coconut. I like it either way, Jediah prefers it without...so you decide.
  3. Cool in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes. Keep stored in the refrigerator in an air tight container.
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See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • RLiza
    RLiza
  • Margie
    Margie
  • Adelucchi
    Adelucchi
  • Sarah Brentley
    Sarah Brentley
  • TheWimpyVegetarian
    TheWimpyVegetarian

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35 Reviews

RLiza
RLiza August 9, 2016
Made this today using my homemade pumpkin-nut butter which was sweetened with maple syrup. Used honey in these bites instead of maple syrup. Delish.
 
Margie
Margie December 16, 2013
These are delicious! I used bittersweet chocolate and sweetened coconut ( did not roll in coconut) and they are spectacular. A keeper!
 
Adelucchi
Adelucchi October 28, 2013
Made this today. They are in refrigerator cooling. The pot scrapings were delish.
Thanks for sharing. Followed the recipe. Soooo easy!

 
Rachel L.
Rachel L. October 9, 2013
Love it, can't wait to try it....and it's Gluten Free too!!!
 
Angela
Angela July 26, 2013
what is "dark" cocoa powder? does regular Hershey's cocoa work or should I pick up the "Special Dark"?
 
we E.
we E. August 2, 2013
Hershey's works fine.
 
ShirleyMarie
ShirleyMarie June 3, 2013
How many calories in these yummy bites I just made? Super easy and good!
 
AndreaMS
AndreaMS June 3, 2013
Could the PB be replaced with some other ingredient that doesn't contain nuts? I was considering replacing that with more chocolate (so 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate in total) but I imagine some of the flavor and bulkiness would be lost in that case. Any suggestions?
 
we E.
we E. June 6, 2013
If you have a nut allergy, you could use sunbutter which is made from sunflower seeds (unless you have an allergy to seeds as well). There is even nut-free pb, made from soy. Hopefully this helps.
 
AndreaMS
AndreaMS June 9, 2013
Sunbutter sounds like a great replacement for pb. Thank you for the tip!
 
JamieK
JamieK June 3, 2013
I found there was too much coconut for the balls to roll easily. I would reduce the coconut by at least 1/3.
 
alpaulthomp
alpaulthomp June 1, 2013
Super easy and delicous. My 5 year daughter and I made these. Coconut, coconut, cocoNUT. We didn't have cocoa, so we use Ovaltine. Bring it.
 
Sarah B.
Sarah B. June 1, 2013
Ovaltine... of course! I gotta try that
 
Suz
Suz October 27, 2019
Where the heck did you find Ovaltine?!?
 
fearlessem
fearlessem May 31, 2013
I made these last night and they are really tasty -- kind of deceptively addictive. Not too sweet, and everyone who tried them loved them!
 
Sarah B.
Sarah B. May 30, 2013
So easy and super delicious! Thanks!
 
Bkpesch
Bkpesch May 29, 2013
Maybe graham crackers as well could be ground up if you didn't want to use coconut?
 
enbell
enbell May 29, 2013
I want to use milk chocolate, would that work?
 
we E.
we E. June 6, 2013
I don't see why not. I was just trying a dairy-free option with dark chocolate.
 
TheWimpyVegetarian
TheWimpyVegetarian May 29, 2013
I have a very similar recipe I posted here last week from my blog, but it uses all cocoa powder so no melting of chocolate involved. And it uses coconut oil instead of the shredded version. The flavor is to die for. But my biggest complaint is it becomes really soft once it's out of the refrigerator for awhile. I never thought to use it as truffle centers, but it's obviously the genius way to go! Next time I make them, I'm going to go that direction with them and dip them in melted chocolate!! Thanks for the idea!!! Genius, Jenny!
 
Sally B.
Sally B. May 29, 2013
I have the same question about quantity of chocolate -- 1/2 c = how much weight? Or is it 1/2 c of chocolate chip?
 
ellencf
ellencf May 29, 2013
OMG - these look divine!
 
Chelsea S.
Chelsea S. May 29, 2013
I'm not big on maple syrup and generally don't keep it on hand. Would honey work as well?
 
Jordan H.
Jordan H. May 29, 2013
in place of maple syrup...agave works best for the flavor and texture; if you use honey just be careful of the kind you use some have more powerful flavors than others
 
Chelsea S.
Chelsea S. May 29, 2013
Thanks!
 
we E.
we E. June 6, 2013
I agree with Jordan. I think agave, or even brown rice syrup, would work better in these treats than honey.
 
Terry K.
Terry K. October 5, 2013
I used Agava sweetner and Almond butter.. great too
 
Ilana H.
Ilana H. May 29, 2013
Any suggestions for something to add the bulk that the coconut does? I'm not a fan of coconut, but want to try these badly!
 
Jordan H.
Jordan H. May 29, 2013
grind vanilla wafers in a blender/coffee grinder and roll the balls in that...I've done something similar for another no bake truffle recipe; they're not too sweet and it adds a bit of bulk!
 
Ilana H.
Ilana H. May 29, 2013
Of course! I used to make truffles using vanilla wafers. Thanks for the reminder!!
 
Boil O.
Boil O. May 29, 2013
Finely chopped walnuts?
 
fearlessem
fearlessem May 30, 2013
What about cacao nibs (maybe ground a little to make them closer to desiccated coconut size...)?
 
Mandina80
Mandina80 May 29, 2013
This looks fab - I'm loving your 'no bake' recipes at the moment. I tried the no-bake granola bites last week - everyone loved them!Anyhoo, when you write 'shredded coconut' is that the same a 'desiccated coconut'...I think of shreds as long and thin, but the photo looks like the plain old desiccated stuff to me (which I have in abundance so, I hope it Is the same thing) Is it an English/American distinction?
Many thanks in advance,
Mandy
 
fearlessem
fearlessem May 30, 2013
Mandy - She means desiccated coconut... In the US, the distinction between the two is captured by whether you specify sweetened (long thin shreds) or unsweetened (what you call desiccated).
 
Sharon K.
Sharon K. May 27, 2013
Regarding the 1/2 cup of chocolate...would that be pieces, shredded, or ? Would it translate to 4 ounces? Thanks!