~ raw, vegan, gluten-free ~

Almond Joyous bars are one of my favorites... OK, so I say that a lot. I can’t help it. I love them all! If I didn’t like them, I wouldn’t be posting them. But seriously, I grew up loving Almond Joy candy bars and these taste just like them.

The mouth-watering chocolate, sweet coconut, and crisp whole almonds—all packed into one INDESCRIBABLY DELICIOUS bar. And to think, it took Hersey’s all of the following ingredients to create the Almond Joy: corn syrup, milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate), milk, lactose, milkfat, nonfat milk, soy lecithin, PGPR, coconut, sugar, almond roasted in sunflower oil, palm kernel & oil, cocoa, milk, salt, hydrolyzed milk protein, AND sodium metabisulfite.

And it took me... dates, coconut oil, coconut, almonds, and chocolate. I think they hired the wrong recipe developer.

To create a nice compact bar, I used my faithful sushi press. I bought it specifically for creating raw bars because you can press them much firmer than you can by hand. This causes the bars to be dense and holds together really well. This is completely an optional technique, but I do suggest that you entertain getting one in time. I use it a lot in my bar recipes.

I hope you enjoy this simple, yet DELICIOUS recipe. Blessings, amie sue P.S. I first shared this recipe on 12/02/10, but since I made them for some gifts today, I thought I would update the photos and bump it to the top of the list... so sad how many of the old recipes get lost in the shuffle and forgotten about. Hehe Poor, poor recipes. :)

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup date paste
• 1/4 cup cold pressed coconut oil, warmed
• 1 1/2 cups dried shredded coconut
• 36 raw almonds, soaked & dehydrated (for topping)
• Hardening chocolate for coating

Preparation:

1. In the food processor outfitted with the “S” blade, process the date paste, coconut oil, and shredded coconut till it reaches a paste-like texture.
2. To form equal and compact portions, I used my sushi press, which I bought sticky for making bars with.
   • Place 1/2 cup of batter into the press and create a firm bar.
   • Divide the one bar into 3 equal-sized pieces.
   • Press 2 almonds on the top.
   • Alternatively, you can shape the bars by hand.
3. Prepare the hardening chocolate and dip each piece until it is fully coated.
4. Place on parchment paper while it firms up
5. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one month.