Mounds Bars/Almond Joys

(May blessings be heaped upon your head, Ms. Katie at chocolatecoveredkatie.com, whose recipe I have here adapted!)

These healthy mounds/almond joy balls will blow you away!  My family adores them, and I usually end up tripling the batch, as they never seem to last long!  

Mounds Bars/Almond Joys

Makes 12-15 Chocolates
Prep Time: 25 Minutes plus chilling

Ingredients:

1 C. shredded unsweetened coconut (you can buy this at any health food store)

3 T. agave nectar or pure maple syrup

2 T. coconut oil

½ t. vanilla

1/8 t. salt

¼ c. dark chocolate (or other chocolate of choice)

¼ c. coconut oil

¼ cup almonds (for the Almond Joy option)—omit if you simply want Mounds balls

Directions:

Combine first five ingredients in a food processor.  (and the almonds, if you are making the Almond Joy version.) If you don’t have a food processor, you can simply pulse the coconut in a high powered blender.  Don’t make it quite into a powder, though—you still want a little texture!  Roll the dough into small, truffle sized balls and freeze for about an hour (if you can keep from eating it all first!).  Meanwhile, melt your coconut oil and dark chocolate over low heat in a saucepan.  Pour into a small bowl or cup.  Once the coconut balls are very cold (or frozen), dip each ball in the melted chocolate/coconut oil mixture and then lay out on wax paper until the chocolate coating hardens.  This process will go more quickly if you put them in the fridge to harden.  Store in the fridge for up to a week. (If they last that long before being eaten, which is not likely!)