Nutritious by Gabby

There‘s nothing I love more than a healthier version of a bite-size treat! If you know me, you‘ll know I love anything with coconut, so naturally, I love Almond Joys (Butterfingers too, but that‘s besides the point). However, most store bought treats won‘t be BOTH gluten free and dairy free. So, I decided to make my own version that would be gluten free, vegan, and healthier. These contain the natural sweetness of the dates, the perfection of coconut, the warm flavor of almond, and of course the deliciousness that is chocolate.

The nice thing about this treat is that they are bite-sized! Therefore, you can pop one in your mouth when you need a little sweet boost throughout the day. You can also take them on-the-go. However, I would recommend keeping them cool in some way – using a cooler or putting them in the fridge when you get to your destination so the chocolate can stay as solid as possible.

I could go on about this dessert, snack, treat, or whatever you‘d like to call it, for days, but instead I‘ll just end with – I love how quick and easy these are! They require only five ingredients and whereas I designated the prep time as taking ten minutes, that‘s probably an overestimation. Simple and quick perfection.

So what‘re you waiting for? Go make them!

Ingredients

As I mentioned, there aren‘t a lot of ingredients in this recipe, but here is a description anyways!

• Medjool Dates – I would definitely recommend sticking with medjool dates in this recipe as they are larger than others and on the sweeter side. They are the best pick for any recipe that centers around dates in my opinion.
• Creamy Almond Butter – As I would with any nut butter, I opted for a natural almond butter in this recipe, as in no salt or sugar added. If you are feeling adventurous and wanted to try crunchy instead of creamy almond butter, I‘m sure this would taste just as great.
• Coconut Shreds – I opted for unsweetened coconut shreds, because who needs the added sugar?!? I think shreds goes best in this recipe because they sit better under the chocolate.
• Dairy & Gluten Free Chocolate Chips – I used the Enjoy Life Foods brand in this recipe because it is free of all major allergens!
• Coconut Oil – Unrefined coconut oil fits best with this recipe because it has more coconut flavor than refined coconut oil which is exactly what what we want with these!

Substitutions

I wouldn‘t say there are many substitutions in this recipe if you are trying to best copycat an Almond Joy. However, if you aren‘t an almond or coconut person, you could opt for a chocolate peanut butter flavor instead. Swap out the almond butter for peanut butter and the coconut shreds for peanuts and you have yourself another delicious treat!