So… SXSW is currently taking over Austin. For those of you who don’t keep up with Austin culture, SXSW stands for “South by Southwest” – a seemingly endless festival full of networking, interactive tech talk, film previews, live music, secret shows, and debauchery.
… Basically my nightmare. Not really. But it stresses me out and makes me want chocolate. So chocolate we shall have.
Of course, I don’t recommend eating this entire recipe in one sitting, but if you just need a little chocolate fix, this is a pretty clean option. Enjoy!
Crazy Good Chocolate Bark [Vegan] [Paleo]
Recipe and photo courtesy of Angela from Oh She Glows
Makes 20 pieces
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup raw hazelnuts
- 1/4 cup raw almonds
- 1/3 cup large flake dried coconut
- 1/2 cup virgin coconut oil
- 1/2 cup cocoa or cacao powder, sifted if necessary
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon smooth almond butter, optional
- pinch fine sea salt
Directions
- Preheat oven to 300F. Line a 9″ square pan or a small baking sheet with two pieces of parchment paper, one going each way.
- Set aside.
- Add hazelnuts and almonds on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 10 minutes.
- Remove baking sheet and add the coconut flakes and spread out.
- Continue roasting the nuts and coconut flakes for another 3-4 minutes, or until the coconut is lightly golden. Watch closely to avoid burning – coconut burns fast!
- Place hazelnuts on several sheets of damp paper towel.
- Wrap the hazelnuts and rub them vigorously with the paper towel until the skins fall off. It’s ok if some skins don’t come off.
- Discard the skins and roughly chop the hazelnuts and almonds.
- In a medium saucepan, melt the coconut oil over low heat.
- Remove from heat and whisk in the cocoa (or cacao) powder, maple syrup, and almond butter (if using) until smooth.
- Add a pinch of sea salt to taste. Stir in half of the almonds and hazelnuts.
- With a spatula, spoon the chocolate mixture onto the prepared parchment-lined pan or sheet and smooth out until it’s about 1/4-1/2 inch thick.
- Sprinkle on the remaining nuts and all of the coconut flakes.
- Place into freezer on a flat surface for about 15 minutes, until frozen solid.
- Once frozen, break apart into bark. Store in the freezer until ready to eat. I don’t recommend keeping it out on the counter long because it melts fast.
Tip: To make this nut-free, simply omit the almond butter, hazelnuts, and almonds. It will still turn out just fine! You can try adding toasted sunflower seeds on top for a little crunch.