This is a frozen coconut “candy” – but a candy that I eat before every meal! (At the time of this update 10/29/2009.) In the book Eat Fat, Lose Fat, by Sally Fallon Morell and Mary Enig, the authors note that unrefined, virgin coconut oil provides “vital nourishment to every cell in your body…” but it also helps one feel satisfied, decreasing cravings and persistent hunger.
This is a recipe modified from Vickilynn Haycraft’s Coconut Bark – Almond Joy. She’s got a bit of a different method for making it – melting the coconut oil and whisking it together with all the ingredients. She gets it to work; something must be wrong with me that when I do it, the oil separates out. 
So I use the food processor to emulsify everything. This does result in a thicker mixture. If you don’t have a food processor and you’ve got a stronger whisking arm, you might want to try it Vickilynn’s way!
This makes a double batch of the original recipe.
- 1 cup coconut oil, organic, virgin, unrefined
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons peppermint extract
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup raw honey
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
Line a 9″ by 13″ baking pan with unbleached parchment paper. Set aside.
Using a food processor, mix the coconut oil, extracts, cocoa powder and honey until smooth and warm, and it exhibits some fluidity. Add the coconut, and pulse to incorporate. Don’t overmix or you risk chopping up the coconut.
Using spatula, spread the mixture out thinly (1/4-inch to 1/8-inch thick) on the parchment paper. Transfer to a level spot in the freezer. Let freeze for 10 to 15 minutes. Eat frozen; break off pieces the size you desire. Will melt at room temperature — keep frozen.
Almond Joy version: Omit half of the coconut, substituting chopped crispy almonds. Omit the peppermint extract and double the vanilla extract.
This post is part of the Healthy Fat Recipes carnival at Kitchen Stewardship.
Original recipe © Copyright 2008 by Vickilynn Haycraft.
Modified recipe © Copyright 2008-2009 by Wardeh Harmon.
I’m definitely going to try it. Soon.
Hi, Wardeh,
I love your new website! It is easy to use and much more clear than the other blog you had.
Just a quick question: where do you find the best deal for purchasing coconut oil?
Thanks!
Hi, Julieanne! Thanks for letting me know that you are enjoying my new site. I was hoping for easier navigation and it really helps to be able to customize it myself, which I couldn’t do before.
The coconut oil I get is from that natural food warehouse where you took me to pick up an order once. They have the best deal. They’re out until the end of the month, though. I need some more myself! So I’d say Azure is the next best choice.
Wardeh,
As always, thanks for sharing your wonderful recipes! I was excited because I actually had all the ingredients on hand to make these delicious treats. I did have to make a few adaptions however because I only had coconut butter and sweetened shredded coconut. I melted the coco butter as much as I could before mixing. I don’t have a food processer (I need to get one!) so I tried my blender but the mix was too dry. I ended up mixing by hand and adding the coconut flakes at the end and it wasn’t too hard at all. I think the texture and taste might be a bit different because of the butter instead of oil, but it is still delicious. I’ll plan to pick up coconut oil to use next time. Keep the recipes coming!
Rachel
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Rachel! When you do get the coconut oil, you can melt it and whisk in the other ingredients. Whisk well to fully incorporate them, otherwise they tend to separate in the freezer. That’s actually the way the original recipe is done, but I prefer to use the food processor. It might be the lazy way, but I have yet to figure out how to whisk well enough to avoid separation.
[...] lining a cookie sheet. Harden in refrigerator. Break into chips. Refrigerate. These are very like Coconut Bark, only the proportions are different, so they turned out more crunchy and chip-like. I used them in [...]
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Hi Wardeh,
thanks for digging this one up – I’m trying it as soon as I get thing 2 in bed! I bought 5# of cocoa from Wilderness Family Naturals and a ton of coconut meat and oil so this is perfect!
Sustainable Eats´s last blog post… I (wo)Man, You Chicken
Wardeh, I love you and hate you in the same breath. They were stupendous. My brain would not tell my hand to stop. I feel like an 8 year old who just ate the entire Halloween bag! Needless to say I’ll be making them again but maybe only when my dh is around to watch me…
Sustainable Eats´s last blog post… I (wo)Man, You Chicken
Annette –
I know! It really is hard to stop. I’m glad you liked them and hope you don’t hate me for long.
This recipe looks great! My MIL is crazy for coconut, so I will suggest this one when we are baking for the holidays. Thanks
Greta @ Mom Living Healthy´s last blog post… Healthy Fat Recipe: Fresh Herb Spaetzle
looking forward to trying this – when my freezer has space to keep a 9×13 pan level. (LOL!)
All week, I’ve been really pushing the coconut oil. The first week I really make such a concentrated effort – hoping for some help in the weight loss department. We’ll see when I get on the scale. I’ve wanted to do this for a while, but haven’t because I’m so brainwashed to think “lots of oil – you’ll gain weight.” I am fighting against the brainwashing!!
One thing I’ve noticed is that my feet which are ALWAYS COLD – haven’t been. Improved thyroid function? Just maybe. (it’s been a bit warmer this week, but I think it’s cold enough I would’ve been affected).
Thanks for your website & all your great encouragement.
Jessie – I can’t wait to hear more about what has improved for you with doing this. You can split up the recipe into smaller square or circle cake pans. Also, after it is frozen, you can break up the pieces and store them in a smaller container (in the freezer of course). I do know what you mean about space for a 9 x 13 – that’s why I usually use my 8″ square cake pans.
I’m feeling a healthy holiday dessert tradition coming on. I hope my family loves these! Thanks for linking into the October Fest carnival,
Katie
This looks so good! I was thinking of making it as gifts for people, but I’m guessing that might be a problem as it needs to be kept in the freezer… what happens if left at room temp? Does it melt? Thanks!
Amy – unfortunately, it does need to be kept in the freezer, else it will melt at room temperature.
hmm…I’ve been wondering why I haven’t gained much weight this pregnancy… maybe the coconut oil for cooking pretty much everything is what’s doing it…
rosebud – That’s great! Hopefully you’re not underweight though.
I only had that problem once, and wish I had it again. 
[...] Peppermint Pattie Coconut Bark or Almond Joy Bark – I just tried this for the first time last week, but it’s my new favorite. Super easy, and NOTHING in it is bad for you…but you’d never guess it. http://gnowfglins.com/2008/03/18/peppermint-pattie-coconut-bark/ [...]
I love it! I need this. We were out of town last weekend with a non-traditional-eating family and ALL the treats had high fructose corn syrup and dairy in them! I don’t do either! (Dairy due to allergies). I NEED some candy I can eat too, and whole food candy is even better!
Oh yeah — and I do have a fudge recipe on my blog that uses whole foods. Coconut milk, turbinado sugar, coconut oil, raw cacao. It’s yummy too! Gotta have real food candy!
Kate´s last blog post… God Working in My Life
Kate – Enjoy! I’d love to see your fudge recipe. What’s the URL?
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Wardeh, I just finally got around to making this recipe yesterday. I wanted to tell you how much I enjoy it! And it is *so* much handier than boiling water, steeping tea, etc. when I want that extra bit of CO. Thanks so much for sharing it!
Hey, Wardeh!
Just wanted to let you know I made this and am waiting, not-so-patiently, for the 15 minute timer to beep so I can go try some.
I think my husband will be pleasantly surprised to come home to some good-for-him treats! Plus, I made the Almond Joy version, and he LOVES those.
Have a blessed weekend!
Okay, the timer beeped just as my 5yo son was coming downstairs. The bark passed not only my taste-test, but his, with flying colors!
Oh, I also sprinkled a little bit of sea salt on top before freezing, as I really like salty & sweet, and it balanced out and enhanced the flavors very well.
Thanks for another nutritious culinary success!!
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I love these! I decided to make the Almond Joy version. I put a large handful of untoasted almonds in my Vitamix and chopped them up finely. Then I added all the rest of the ingredients and then a few more almonds because I wanted the bigger chunks afterall. I poured, scraped the mixture into mini muffin pans and stuck them in the freezer. YUM! I can’t wait to see if the kids like them or not. I am the biggest coconut fan in the house so we’ll see.
[...] and also for keeping you more full. One tasty way to eat a bit of coconut oil before a meal is this Peppermint Pattie Coconut Bark. Mmmm… one of my [...]
I love that people are still commenting on these 2 years after your original post. I love the idea of healthy chocolate bark. I add pistacios and sunflower seeds and I can’t keep them in the house; have to hide them.
Say yes to coconut oil and raw choicolate! Thanks.
Deb, I love that too.
I am so blessed by people who stop by day to day. Great idea to add the nuts and seeds!
This is the first time I’ve been here – someone on my facebook linked to this recipe. It looks wonderful, and I’m going to try it asap. I wish coconut oil weren’t so expensive, but that’s the *only* reservation I have about this one. It looks sooooo yummy!
I just made these (although I didn’t have any peppermint extract so I just made the basic version with only vanilla) and attempted to do it without the food processor (as I only have a “mini” processor). I melted the coconut oil and added a small amount to the cocoa, whisking so that it was ultra smooth. However, I then added the honey, wanting to whisk it in before slowly adding the remaining coconut oil, and it got really weird, sort of “seizing up” and getting really clumpy, and no matter how much I whisked or how slowly I added more coconut oil, it wouldn’t mix in.
So, I started over with a new batch, this time NOT melting the coconut oil. Instead, I used it right from the container (room temp, solid but soft) and added to the bowl. I then whisked in the cocoa and honey, then the vanilla and shredded coconut. This worked perfectly! I spread it on the pan, stuck in the freezer, and it froze up in no time. No problems with separation, before or after freezing. So the key seems to be using SOLID coconut oil. You may not get quite as smooth a mixture, but you really can’t even tell once you’ve mixed in the shredded coconut. Actually, my first batch was kind of a mess-pooling oil with a big clump of honey/cocoa in the middle, and I stuck that bowl in the fridge a few minutes, long enough for the oil to solidify, then took it back out and started mixing again, and it worked like a charm-everything mixed right in and I was able to spread that out and freeze as well!
Robin — I’m glad you got it to work! Yay! Your method is great in the summer, but not so great in the winter, though. It is hard to even scoop coconut oil with lower temperatures, it gets so solid.