Chocolate Coconut Balls

These Chocolate Coconut Balls are melt-in-your-mouth coconut truffles coated with a thin layer of crunch chocolate.

They are the perfect coconut candy for your Christmas dessert platter or delicious bite-size dessert for coconut lovers.

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Ingredients and Substitutions

All you need to make these coconut balls are a few simple ingredients.

In this recipe, I will also share how I use wholesome ingredients to mimic sweetened condensed milk and avoid the added refined sugar in this treat

• Unsweetened Shredded Coconut – I use ultra-fine unsweetened coconut flakes, also called unsweetened desiccated coconut, for best results.
• Canned Coconut Cream – Use the top of the can. Depending on the brand, it’s hard and thick, or liquid and very creamy. What you don’t want is the clear liquid at the bottom of the can.
• Maple Syrup or any liquid sweetener you love, like agave syrup, brown rice syrup, or coconut nectar.
• Coconut Oil – melted
• Dark Chocolate for coating. Feel free to use any dark chocolate bars dairy-free milk or dark chocolate chips you love. I recommend chocolate chips with 70% to 85% for a less sweet treat.
• Optional – add a teaspoon of vanilla extract or coconut extract.

How To Make Chocolate Coconut Balls

It’s very easy to make coconut chocolate balls as a quick dessert for the holiday season. They taste like bounty candy bars with their sweet, moist coconut filling coated with crunchy chocolate.

1. First, in a food processor add the unsweetened desiccated coconut, maple syrup, and coconut cream (photo 1).
2. Blend on medium-high speed until it forms a thick wet coconut mixture that holds together if packed and pressed in your hand (photo 1).
3. Line a large baking sheet, or plate that fits the size of your freezer with parchment paper. Lightly oil paper with cooking spray and set aside.

4. Using a small cookie scoop, grab some of the mixture and press with your hand palm to pack the coconut mixture firmly in the scoop (photo 3).
5. You should make small 1-inch balls if too big, they are fragile and fall apart. Release on your hand and gently roll between your palm to form a ball (photo 4).

6. Place the coconut balls on the prepared baking sheet, leaving a thumb space between them.
7. Freeze the coconut balls for 15 minutes to let them firm up. At this stage they look like no bake coconut macaroons and they are soft.
8. They will harden in the freezer and be easy to dip in the melted chocolate in the next step.
9. Now select your favorite chocolate, from dark chocolate to dairy-free milk chocolate, and place the piece in a microwave-safe bowl with coconut oil.
10. Microwave in 30-second bursts, stirring between each, until the chocolate mixture is melted and shiny.

11. Remove the plate with the coconut balls on it from the freezer. Using two forks, dip one ball at a time into the melted chocolate (photo 5) and wait a few seconds above the bowl so the extra melted chocolate runs down to the bowl (photo 6).
12. Place each dipped coconut ball back on the plate and repeat the step above until all the chocolate coconut balls are coated.

13. Freeze again the plate with the coated balls until the chocolate shell hardens completely (photo 7).
14. Remove the plate from the freezer and using a fork, drizzle some extra melted chocolate on top of the coconut truffles and add a sprinkle of desiccated coconut or sea salt flakes to decorate (photo 8).

Alternatives

Of course, you can add a little twist to this recipe to create a range of flavors. For example, try making:

• Almond Joy Candy Bar Flavor – Use the same recipe, but add an almond in the center of the coconut balls.
• Peanut Coconut Balls – Add 1/4 cup of peanut butter to the food processor.
• Cocoa Coconut Balls – Add 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder to the mixture.
• Pecan Coconut Balls – Add 1/3 cup of pecans to the food processor.

Allergy Swaps

If you have some food allergies, try the options below.

• Coconut Oil Free – You can use melted cocoa butter. Avoid other oils that remain liquid at room temperature because they won’t help firm up the balls.
• Sugar-Free – Use a sugar-free liquid sweetener like Monk fruit syrup.
• Chocolate Chips – Feel free to use any dairy-free chocolate chips you like, including white chocolate chips, oat milk chocolate chips, or dark chocolate chips.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are my answers to your common questions about this Christmas dessert.

More Snack Balls

If you like this recipe, you’ll love these:

Banana Protein Balls

Pumpkin Protein Balls

Nut-Free Energy Balls

Coconut Energy Balls

Chocolate Coconut Balls

These Chocolate Coconut Balls are melt-in-your-mouth coconut truffles coated with a thin layer of crunch chocolate. They are the perfect coconut candy for your Christmas dessert platter or delicious bite-size dessert for coconut lovers.

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Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Total Time: 20 minutes mins

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American

Servings: 20 balls

Calories: 211.2 kcal

Author: Carine Claudepierre

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Ingredients

US Customary – Metric

• ▢ 2 ½ cups Unsweetened Desiccated Coconut - fine ground, not thick
• ▢ ⅓ cup Maple Syrup
• ▢ 2 tablespoon Coconut Oil - melted
• ▢ ½ cup Canned Coconut Cream - thick top part of the can

Chocolate coating

• ▢ 1 ½ cup Dairy-Free Dark Chocolate Chips - or semi sweet dairy free chocolate chips
• ▢ 2 teaspoons Coconut Oil

Instructions

• Line a plate or baking sheet with parchment paper. Make sure it fits the size of your freezer tray because you will freeze the balls two times. Lightly spray the parchment paper with cooking oil. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a food processor, using the S blade attachment, add unsweetened desiccated coconut, maple syrup, melted coconut oil, and canned coconut milk.
• Blend on the high-speed setting for 30-45 seconds until the coconut mixture comes together. You may have to stop the food processor, scrape down the side of the bowl, and process again until the ingredients are sticking together. Overall, it takes up to 1 minute 30 seconds to form a moist batter that is easy to press and form into balls.
• Use a small cookie scoop to grab mixture, press the coconut mixture into the cookie scoop firmly to pack the mixture.
• Release on your hand and gently roll into ball.
• Palace the coconut ball onto the prepared plate and repeat the steps above until all the batter has been formed into 1-inch coconut balls.
• Freeze the plate with the coconut balls for 15 minutes to harden.
• Five minutes before removing the bars from the freezer, start melting the dark chocolate chips and coconut oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Otherwise, place the ingredients into a microwave-safe bowl microwave in 20-second bursts, stirring between each, until melted and shiny.
• Remove the coconut balls from the freezer.
• Using two forks hold the ball and dip into the melted chocolate to coat. Stay a few seconds above the bowl to let the extra melted chocolate run down the bowl.
• Place each coated ball onto the plate and repeat until all the coconut ball are coated with chocolate. Place the plate back in the freezer for 15 minutes or until the chocolate shell is hard.

Storage

• Store the balls in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or freeze for up to 3 months in zip-lock bags. Thaw at room temperature for 20 minutes before eating.

Notes

Coconut oil – It can be replaced with the same amount of melted cocoa butter.

Low-carb option – use sugar-free maple-flavored syrup to replace the maple syrup and sugar-free dark chocolate chips for the coating.

Liquid sweetener – All vegan sweeteners work in this recipe, including brown rice syrup, agave syrup, and date syrup.

Equipment

Food Processor

Mixing Bowl

Measuring Cups and Spoons

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Nutrition

Serving: 1bar | Calories: 211.2kcal | Carbohydrates: 19.2g | Protein: 1.9g | Fat: 14.8g | Saturated Fat: 13.2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 0.1mg | Sodium: 22.9mg | Potassium: 160.7mg | Fiber: 2.7g | Sugar: 13.6g | Vitamin A: 1.4IU | Vitamin B12: 0.04µg | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 49.8mg | Iron: 0.6mg | Magnesium: 16.4mg | Phosphorus: 41mg | Zinc: 0.7mg