Homemade Gifts of Candy: Coconut Filled Candy Bars

paula

14 years ago

Another Spoiler Alert: If you know me, you may see your Christmas present ahead.

My husband’s aunt made wonderful filled chocolate candies. She would give them as Christmas presents every year. (She had to have made hundreds every year!) Everyone looked forward to her delicious treats.

She put together a recipe book a few years back after finding out she had cancer. It included all of her filled chocolate candy recipes. However, I have not been able to bring myself to try and make any of them until this year.

This year, I needed present ideas and was craving some good coconut filled chocolates, thus I decided to make her coconut candy.

When I went to the candy/baking store to buy the required chocolate, I discovered a candy mold shaped like Almond Joy and Mounds candy bar pieces. I decided to get them remembering I had a recipe for ” Almond Joys” and a recipe for “Mounds.”

When I started making candy, I decided to use my husband’s aunts filling in the candy bars instead of using my recipes. It took some of the pressure off making them as good as hers because they were molded, thus different.

They were great. They are more yummy than what you buy in the store. They are also MUCH cheaper.

I need an off-set spatula and/or a plastic squeeze bottle to get a neater appearance when I apply a back coating.

My problem is I really don’t think I can share the recipe for the filling I used. I do not think it is mine to share.

So, I thought I would share the recipe that I intended on making. If you do not have a candy mold or just do not want to use one, you can just make them into bar shapes and dip them.

Recipe: Coconut Filled Chocolate Candy Bars

Ingredients

14 oz. sweetened coconut
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 lb. confectioner’s sugar
Merckens Chocolate melt wafers, milk and/or dark

Instructions

Mix coconut, milk, and sugar together.
Place in refrigerator until chilled enough that you can work easily with it.
Make into bars or roll into logs and dip into melted chocolates.
Place on parchment paper or wax paper lined baking sheet to dry.
Or use candy molds.

Variations

You can add finely chopped almonds directly to coconut mixture to make “Almond Joy” type candy bars/balls.

Recipe: Coconut Filled Chocolates

Ingredients

1 1/2 lb. shredded coconut
Light Karo syrup

Instructions

Add just enough syrup to coconut to get it to stick together well.
Mix well. Refrigerate until well chilled.
Form into balls, place on wax or parchment paper lined tray, and refrigerate until cold.
When cold, dip into melted chocolate and place in about the same size paper candy liners.
Or, put into molds lined with chocolate and coat back with melted chocolate. Refrigerate again until well chilled.

Recipe: Coconut Filled Chocolates

Ingredients:

2 sticks butter
1 lb. confectioners’ sugar
1 Tsp. vanilla
Heavy cream
Sweetened coconut
Merckens cocoa dark
Molds or paper candy cups

Instructions:

Combine butter, sugar, and vanilla in large mixing bowl. Beat until mixture is light, fluffy, and pale in color, at least 10 minutes. Add 1 pound of coconut and mix until incorporated. Add heavy cream, a little at a time, to create a creamier mixture. Add more coconut, if needed. The base should just be enough to hold all the coconut together…the final mix should me mostly coconut.
Refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Form into thin strips to place in candy bar molds or thicker bars or balls to dip into melted chocolate. Store for several hours or overnight in airtight containers. Place in molds or dip in melted chocolate. Dipped balls may be placed in paper or foil candy cups.