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Crazy Good Chocolate Bark [Vegan] [Paleo]

By March 20, 2015Featured, Recipes

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

  1. Preheat oven to 300F. Line a 9″ square pan or a small baking sheet with two pieces of parchment paper, one going each way.
  2. Set aside.
  3. Add hazelnuts and almonds on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 10 minutes.
  4. Remove baking sheet and add the coconut flakes and spread out.
  5. 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!
  6. Place hazelnuts on several sheets of damp paper towel.
  7. 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.
  8. Discard the skins and roughly chop the hazelnuts and almonds.
  9. In a medium saucepan, melt the coconut oil over low heat.
  10. Remove from heat and whisk in the cocoa (or cacao) powder, maple syrup, and almond butter (if using) until smooth.
  11. Add a pinch of sea salt to taste. Stir in half of the almonds and hazelnuts.
  12. 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.
  13. Sprinkle on the remaining nuts and all of the coconut flakes.
  14. Place into freezer on a flat surface for about 15 minutes, until frozen solid.
  15. 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.

 

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