Almond Joy Bars

Thanks to Adrienne Urban and her post on The Balance Platter I will now be able to enjoy one of my absolute favorites Almond Joys!!!! 

Ingredients
Chocolate / Carob Base:

1/2 cup coconut oil (Nutiva is one brand that I use.  Palm would work well too, or butter. See notes below.)
1/2 cup almond butter (any nut or seed butter would work, but almond is especially nice.) See my post on Homemade Nut / Seed Butter.
1/4 cup granulated sweetener. 4-6 scoops stevia extract is a good alternative.  NuNaturals is one good brand of stevia.)
6 Tbsp carob or cocoa powder
3 Tbsp honey or other liquid sweetener (for candida diets, use vegetable glycerine. Now Foods has this at a great price.)
1 tsp vanilla (Frontier is a great alcohol-free brand.)

Coconut Topping:

1 2/3 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
7 Tbsp coconut oil
1/3 cup granulated sweetener (or 2-3 scoops stevia extract powder. I recommend NuNaturals.)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp additional flavoring (optional. Almond or coconut are good choices)
2 tsp arrowroot powder (cornstarch may be substituted)
Almonds halves or slices (optional)

Method:
Base:

1. Melt oil and nut or seed butter over low heat.

2. Stir in carob and sweetener and combine thoroughly (See my post on Substituting Sweeteners for Cooking and Baking.)

3. Add and mix in remaining ingredients. Stir continuously until mixture slightly thickens. Remove from heat.

4. Stir in liquid sweetener (or substitute a granulated with water) and vanilla.

5. Spread mixture into 8×8 pan. While you make topping, place in freezer or fridge to harden.

Topping:

1. In small pan, melt oil and add coconut flakes. Stir.

2. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer slightly and stir until it thickens a little.

3. Once chocolate mixture is hardened enough to work with, gently smooth coconut mixture over top.

4. Place slivered or whole almonds on top if desired. Place pan in the freezer until hardened. The fridge will work, but takes a bit longer.

5. Slice into desired size. They’ll be a bit hard to cut right from the freezer so let the thaw a bit first.

6. Store in the refrigerator.