Homemade Dark Chocolate Almond Joy

Dark Chocolate Almond Joy Bites

-Kaliste Kimball

If you know me, you know I am a chocoholic. Almond joy is one of my favorite candies, so I decided to make a much healthier version with probably a tenth of the sugar that's in the actual candy itself, and used dark chocolate so I can say it's good for the heart! Almonds - yum. Dark chocolate - yum. Coconut - yum. 

Makes 24 servings (24 almond joy candies)

130 calories each

Ingredients

12 oz bittersweet chocolate baking squares (2- 6 oz boxes bittersweet baking squares)

1/4 + 2 tbsp coconut manna

3/4 cup shredded coconut

*Coconut manna is coconut meat without any added ingredients. It is powdered, but the fat content is high so it has the texture of  nut butter when at room temperature. If you heat it up it become creamy. You can purchase it at Whole Foods or at select other locations, or online. If you don't have a Whole Foods or health food store near you, it is definitely worth ordering online. It has so many different uses and is delicious in itself. It is a must-have for my pantry!*

Instructions

Put mini cupcake wrappers inside a mini muffin pan. Put 6 oz of bittersweet chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high in 30 second increments until chocolate is completely melter, stirring in between. Spoon a small amount of chocolate into the bottom  of each wrapper until chocolate is evenly distributed in all 24 wrappers. Gently shake your muffin pan from side to side so the chocolate settles evenly. Place into freezer for 5-10 minutes so the chocolate hardens.

While chocolate is hardening, put coconut manna in microwave for 30 seconds until soft and melted. Add coconut manna, shredded coconut, and any remaining chocolate from your melted bowl and stir until shredded coconut is covered with chocolatey manna mixture. 

Take chocolate filled wrappers out of the freezer and pinch small amounts of coconut mixture into cups, pressing down and flattening with finger tips. When coconut mixture is evenly distributed and pressed down, put remaining 6 oz of chocolate into microwave safe bowl and microwave until fully melted, stirring every 30 seconds. Spoon remaining chocolate onto coconut mixture until evenly distributed. Again, gently shake muffin pan from side to side until the chocolate evens out and the tops of the candies are smooth. Gently press one almond into the top of each chocolate candy. Place into freezer for 10-15 minutes until candies are fully hardened.

Take candy out of freezer and unwrap. Enjoy!