Paleo Coconut Chocolate Layer Bars

Crumbly and chocolate buttery crust layered with coconut cream, coconut flakes, and soft melty chocolate chips..how heavenly? Only sweetened with honey and pure maple syrup. You are going to want to make these paleo coconut chocolate layer bars as soon as possible!

Have you ever had a hello dolly bar? These are very similar. Who doesn’t love the sweet and salty combo, and with a little bit of coconut.. You can’t go wrong here!

You simply make these layer by layer, and when they come out of the oven with the sweet coconut base bubbling you are going to have trouble waiting for these to cool down! These are best completely cooled, and I would even say chilling them overnight yields the best results! So with that, make sure you make these ahead of time, these are not a good last minute dessert, or else they are going to make quite the mess!

There are quite a few steps involved, I did include the nutrition, however, I estimated a bit based on the amount of coconut cream I used, this recipe utilizes a full cup, but there is some remaining!

What do you need to make paleo coconut chocolate layer bars?

• 1 13.5 ounces can light coconut milk, at room temperature: I used light here to lower the calorie count per serving, you can use full fat if you find that is what you prefer! A carton of coconut milk will not work here, you must get the canned coconut milk!
• 1/3 cup honey + 1 tablespoon, divided: A large portion of this will go into the coconut cream, reserving the 1 tablespoon to be added into the crust! If you want to use maple syrup instead you can!
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup: I love love love pure maple syrup! There is just nothing like it, this is the second natural sweetener used in this dish. As I noted above if you want to swap honey for maple syrup or vice versa you can, it will not affect the end result of this dish other than the nutrition information.
• 1/3 cup coconut oil, at room temperature: Make sure you allow this to sit out so it is softened, otherwise it will be quite hard to mix together with the other ingredients!
• 1 1/4 cups almond flour: Almond flour is the perfect flour to make a crumbly, nutty crust, it is so good. If you want to try to use regular flour you can but please note, this will no longer be a paleo recipe!
• ¼ Primal Kitchen coconut chocolate collagen peptides: This stuff is really good, like two good! To add a little spunk, and some protein into this recipe this is a fun twist, you add this into the crust ! 
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt: Remember what I said, salty.. Sweet!! Just a touch of salt is needed in this recipe.
• 1/2 cup almonds, chopped: The almonds serve as the first layer following the crust, they set the foundation and add a delicious crunch to the recipe. So when you chop them make sure you do not chop them too finely!
• 3/4 cup Lily’s dark chocolate chips: These are great to bake with and they are only sweetened with stevia! I have to say I am a milk chocolate person, but dark chocolate is definitely the move for this recipe!
• 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes: Make sure to get the unsweetened coconut flakes, the coconut cream mixture adds enough sweetness to this recipe! 
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Here’s how to make the paleo coconut chocolate layer bar recipe!

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, spray and line a 8×9 pan with parchment paper.
2. In a medium pot, whisk together the can of coconut milk and 1/3 cup of honey, over high heat.
3. Bring the mixture to boil and boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
4. Turn the heat down to medium and simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring intermittently.
5. Continue to do this until the sauce reduces by about half, this will take about 8 minutes!
6. Remove the mixture from the heat and allow it to cool slightly while you make the crust. 
7. In a separate bowl, mix 1 tablespoon of honey and 1 tablespoon of maple syrup with the coconut oil. **Make sure the coconut oil is at room temperature or this will be difficult.
8. Add the almond flour and the collagen peptides to create a sticky, crumbly crust mixture. 
9. Press the dough evenly into the bottom of the pan.
10. Now, bake only the crust for 10-12 minutes.
11. Once the crust is done baking, add the chopped almonds over top and lightly press them into the crust.
12. Now add a layer of the dark chocolate chips, and the unsweetened coconut flakes.
13. Pour 1 cup of the slightly cooled coconut milk mixture over the top, you may have some remaining. You can toss this.
14. Place into the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes.
15. Once it is done baking, and the liquid has set you can remove from the oven, and cool completely.
16. Once it is cooled, place in the fridge and allow for at least 4-6 hours!
17. When ready to eat, slice into 12 squares and enjoy.

Do you think you can handle it? It does seem like a lot of steps, but they are all fairly simple! As I noted above it is super important that you allow the bars to cool completely before slicing and sharing!

 

Frequently Asked Questions 

Are these 7 layer bars?

The paleo coconut chocolate layer bars are very similar to 7 layer bars but with a few less layers, and a lot less sugar! These bars are grain free, and are sweetened with maple syrup and honey only! They are perfect if you are following a paleo or even whole30 diet.

Do you need condensed milk?

So the classic 7 layer bar recipe includes condensed milk. Since this is a healthier version we use canned coconut milk instead! You need to make sure you purchase the canned coconut milk and not the carton. Canned coconut milk is a lot more dense than the carton, it settles at the bottom and is almost like a thick whipping cream!

What makes these chocolate coconut layer bars paleo?

The paleo coconut chocolate layer bars are grain, dairy and sugar free. The crust is made with almond flour, they are sweetened with maple syrup, honey, and the dairy free coconut milk holds them together.

Are the paleo coconut chocolate layer bars vegan?

Unfortunately they are not vegan because they have collagen in them! If you want to sub the ¼ cup of collagen for more almond flour they would be vegan.

Are there other variations you can make with this recipe?

Oh totally! Let’s have some fun..

So you do not like coconut? You can add more chopped nuts, or even sprinkles!

Another fun addition would be broken up pretzel twists, or potato chips, this would create an everything but the kitchen sink vibe, sounds delicious to me! 

Can you make these without coconut?

Yes, read the question above.

What if I do not have the collagen peptides?

If you do not have collagen peptides, replace the ¼ cup of collagen with a ¼ cup of almond flour. That will make this recipe vegan.

How far in advance do I have to make these?

I recommend making these bars a day in advance, the longer they have to set the better! Allowing them to chill overnight will yield the best results.

How do you track these bars?

You can search HNFit Paleo Coconut Chocolate Layer Bars in My Fitness Pal for easy logging.