You won't miss this candy bar favorite any longer. With my healthy version of the classic Almond Joy candies, you can indulge without guilt. This easy recipe is low carb, keto, gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, and Trim Healthy Mama friendly.
I love Almond Joys. They are one of the candies I can't have in the house or I eat them. Unless it's this version. These are definitely allowed.
With Easter coming I need some special treats in the house so I don't raid the kids' baskets. Even though I don't buy them much candy they always get some from grandparents, friends, school, and daddy.
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Even if I've said I'm done shopping for a holiday daddy has been known to pick them up a few treats to go along with the rest. My favorite is when he pops into the mall and gets me one of my favorite truffles from Godiva. Those are definitely not on my diet but I like to indulge in a Chocolate Lava Cake Truffle every once in a while.
Some of our other homemade candy favorites:
How to Make Almond Joy Candies?
Making these are easy. Just mix together the coconut, sweetener, coconut milk, and coconut oil. Form balls, logs, or eggs (your choice of shape!) and coat with chocolate.
What type of coconut for almond joy candies?
Make sure you are using finely grated coconut for these. Larger flakes will not hold together. If you have to you could just pulse larger flakes in a food processor to chop them more.
What type of chocolate should I use?
You can use any sugar-free or very dark chocolate that you like. I don't might the slight bitterness of 85% dark chocolate and it tends to be cheaper than the specialty sugar-free chocolates.
How to coat the almond joys
I love eating chocolate. I do not love coating things in chocolate. It tends to get everywhere.
I did a pretty good job this morning of not wearing the chocolate. I drizzled chocolate on the candies, gently spread it, let that harden, and then dunked them in more melted chocolate. This helped get a smooth outer shell.
Doesn't the way the light is hitting the chocolate make you want to just lick the screen? I wish I could share one of these with you. They are that good.
After you make these try more homemade keto candies:
Toasted Coconut Toffee Pecan Turtles Candy
Keto Bark aka Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bark
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📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup Joy Filled Eats Sweetener (or see alternatives in recipe notes)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup finely shredded coconut
- 2 tablespoon coconut oil
- 3 tablespoon canned coconut milk
- Pinch salt
- 3.5 oz 85% dark chocolate or sugar free chocolate
- 24 whole almonds or more if you make smaller bars
Instructions
- Melt coconut oil and coconut milk (if its solid) in the microwave. It takes about 30 seconds. Stir in the sweetener, coconut, vanilla, and salt.
- Shape into 12 bars and press almonds into the tops.
- Melt the chocolate. I do this by breaking the chocolate bar into chunks and microwaving on high for 30 seconds. Stir. Microwave 30 more seconds. Stir. Repeat. Once it is 80% melted stop microwaving and just stir until it completely melted.
- Drizzle chocolate on the top and sides of the bars. I used an offset spatula to get the bottom part of the sides. Refrigerate or freeze until the chocolate is hard.
- Flip bars over and coat the bottoms. They look prettier if you can manage to cover all the coconut but they are delicious either way. If you want them to look professional do two coats of chocolate and move them to new wax paper before refrigerating.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published April 28, 2016. Updated and republished March 8, 2018.
CAROLYN says
These are delish and so easy. My family always looks forward to these..
M says
Followed recipe, but could not make the mixture come together. Would not hold shape and liquid would seep out if squeezed.
Taryn says
Hi, did you use finely shredded coconut? It needs to be finely shredded to absorb the liquid.
Bev says
Should you use unsweetened coconut ?
Taryn says
Yes
Julie says
amazing =) thank you. I've got them tucked in the vegetable drawer... no one ever looks in there but me... 😁
Anna says
Do you think, I could.make them now, individually wrap them and keep them in the fridge until Easter? Because now, I have a whole can of coconut milk open !
Taryn says
Yes, they do last for weeks. The only problem might be is chocolate can discolor with time. They'd taste fine though.
Mary Manello says
Could I use Heavy Whipping Cream, instead of coconut milk? Thanks so much!
Taryn says
Yes
JANELL YOUNG says
My daughter made these into "Mounds" bars...no almonds, and used Aldi's 85% chocolate. The sweetness of the filling nicely balanced the bitterness of the very dark chocolate. Yum!!!
Kathleen says
I followed the recipe using Swerve confectioners sugar. The consistency of the mixture was too thin to mold into any sort of shape. I tried adding more coconut but to no avail. Any suggestions on what could have gone wrong?
Taryn says
If you chill the filling it will firm up. 5 tablespoons of liquid to 1 cup of finely shredded coconut shouldn't be that runny. Did your coconut say 'fine' on it? That does make a difference too. The fine coconut will absorb some liquid whereas the large flakes do not.
Ciara says
When doing the carbohydrates, 4 would be total carbs , not net carbs, since there are 2 grams of fiber... correct? Just want to make sure since it did not say if it was total or net carbs .
Taryn says
Yes, that is correct.
Tabitha Pyper says
Just made these with the Swerve granular sugar substitute and they were delicious! Have you ever tried using the Swerve confectioners sugar with this recipe? The granular kind was a little too “grainy” for my taste if that makes sense. Thank you again for your yummy recipes, you’re my go to blogger! 🙂
Taryn says
Yes, a powdered sweetener works well! And thank you 🙂
Ann says
What do you think if I sub hwc for the coconut cream?
Taryn says
Sure!
Donna says
I have coconut cream. Can I substitute that for the coconut milk?
Taryn says
Yes, just warm it up if it's solid.
Magdalena says
Awesome thanks
Natalie says
I made these with monk fruit and they were delish. I entered the recipe into carb manager after I made and they were calculated at 8 net carbs per piece of candy, yikes!
Taryn says
Most calorie calculators don't subtract the sugar alcohols. You need to do that manually.
Sobi says
these were absolutely delicious! thanks for the receipe. Also I only used 1 almond per candy, how does that change the macros? Thanks!
Taryn says
It would change them very minimally. I don't have the exact numbers, sorry. Glad you liked them!
Ruth Turner says
My husband made these for me as a sweet surprise. He used Lily's dark chocolate chips and had to use more of the chocolate. It was delicious. This is a hit in our family.
Beth says
That's what I use. Works perfectly! Sugar free only tho..lol