Chocolate and coconut are a match made in heaven. They come together deliciously in these soft, dense, decadent Double Chocolate Coconut Fudge Bars. These no-bake treats are easy to make and are naturally vegan & gluten-free. A perfect dessert or healthy, sweet snack! This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SweetenTheSeason#CollectiveBias Lately I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about gifts I can give my family for the holidays this year. I like doing a mix of store-bought (or really online ordered!) items and homemade or DIY treats. This way they get something practical or that they need/want with something that is just a delight in itself and probably unexpected! I know my family especially appreciates my homemade treats and holiday desserts. As I mentioned on Monday, I plan to bake a few loaves of my newest bread creation for my loved ones, but I also wanted to come up with something a little more dessert-ish‌a little more DECADENT. I know it’s pretty common to make fudge or give it as a gift this time of year, but I myself have never actually made it from scratch. Since I am new to fudge making business I decided to forgo the whole carefully calculated boiling, heating, cooling, and temperature reading process in favor of an old-favorite method of treat making‌a simple, no-bake recipe! I love making raw bites and truffles healthy, nutrient dense snacks, so why couldn’t the same be applied to fudge?! I headed to my local Walmart to the Kraft Holiday Baking Center for some ingredient inspiration and picked up some Baker’s Angel Flake Coconut and Baker’s Semi-Sweet & Unsweetened Chocolate Bars. Coconut and chocolate are one of my favorite food combos (aside from chocolate and peanut butter, of course), so I thought they’d pair perfectly in terms of taste and texture in my fudge bars! It’s so nice that Walmart has a special By combining the ingredients I picked up from the store with some other things I had on hand, I was able to create a rich tasting fudge that’s actually a lot more wholesome than you typical fudge would be. Without any added cream or butter like traditional fudge, these bars are naturally vegan and gluten-free. The no-bake ease of them makes them perfect to whip up in big batches for food gifts and extremely budget friendly too! The three, star ingredients came to less than $6 in total.Kraft Holiday Baking Center this time of year. It’s easy to find in the store and has everything you could need for holiday baking/treat making all in one place. Very convenient! Keywords: snack dessert gluten-free low-carb sugar-free vegan vegetarian low-sodium Christmas In a mixing bowl, place flaked coconut and almond flour and set aside. In a small pot, heat the almond butter with the banana puree, stir until combined. Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and mix until fully combined. Transfer into the lined baking dish (it will take up half the dish instead of the entire thing) and press firmly so that an even rectangle is created on one side. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before slicing up. Meanwhile, in a small pot heat chocolate and coconut oil over medium-low heat until melted. Remove from stove, let cool almost completely, and stir in cornstarch to thicken. Wait for the chocolate to thicken a bit more until it is a spreadable consistency. Pour over refrigerated fudge and spread evenly. Sprinkle with flaked coconut. Freeze for at least an hour before slicing and serving. To make these paleo & absolutely (refined) sugar-free, simply swap the semi-sweet chocolate for all unsweetened and use unsweetened coconut instead of the sweetened variety! Just as tasty and even more nutritious. Recipes like this are a testament to the fact that treating your loved ones and yourself during the holidays can be done in a balanced way. With these bars, you’re getting all the chocolate flavor your could want with less sugar because of the use of fruit to sweeten them.Using fruit to sweeten baked goods and treats is my all time favorite baking hack! It’s such an easy swap to make and doesn’t detract from the taste or texture of the end result at all. In fact, I PREFER desserts that are fruit sweetened. Once you have them that way you quickly realize that more desserts are over-sweetened as it is. Plus using fruit often adds fiber and an extra serving of fruit into foods that wouldn’t normal contain those nutrients! I will definitely be making more of this fudge throughout the season. Guess I sort of spoiled the surprise for my friends and family, huh? Well, I am sure they won’t mind when they are presented with a big box of fudgey deliciousness! đ˜‰ For more holiday recipe ideas using Kraft products, check out this page! Do you like giving or receiving handmade gifts during the holidays? What’s your favorite flavor or ingredient to pair with chocolate? Linking up with: Allergy Free Wednesdays,#RecipeOfTheWeek,#StrangeButGood,Gluten-Free Wednesdays, Real Food Friday, Gluten-Free Fridays,Tasty Tuesdays,Savoring Saturdays, Healthy Vegan Fridays, Tasty Tuesdays, Meatless Mondays,Lena’s Tasty Tuesdays, Full Plate Thursday, WNWN Wednesday!