You probably know this by now, looking at very name of this blog, but I have a thing for chocolate and quinoa! In fact, the first recipe I ever shared here was Chocolate & quinoa crisps, and last year for Easter I created those cute Chocolate and quinoa nests.When craving for something sweet hits, and I want to stay on the healthy yet satisfying side, I turn to no-bake snack bites. These dark chocolate, quinoa and coconut bars are combining everything I love: chocolaty, nutrient rich, naturally sweetened with dates, and super delicious. {Recette en français à la fin de l’article}
The base is simple: soft Medjool dates blended with coconut oil, a pinch of salt and one of vanilla powder. Then you can basically add any nuts you like to the mix. I picked desiccated coconut and chopped chocolate to get a Bounty bar-like flavor (I use to looove Bounty bars, so much that even called my cat Bounty years ago!).
Goji berries are packed of antioxydants and add a tangy yet sweet flavor to the bars. Don’t they look pretty with their bright popping red shade! Next step is chilling mixture in the refrigerator and one hour later, your bars are ready to enjoy!
For the gourmands (*me*) and to make a beautiful finish, I like to dip the bars in melted chocolate and top with extra desiccated coconut. The bars have a lovely chewy texture with added crunch from the puffed quinoa. You can find puffed quinoa from health food store, if you don’t, you can replace it with other popped grains or more nuts and seeds.
I hope you’ll enjoy these chocolate, quinoa and coconut bars as much as I do! These make great treats or desserts to snack on throughout the week. Let me know if you try this recipe!
- 150g pitted Medjool dates
- 100g desiccated coconut
- ½ tsp vanilla powder
- 50g finely chopped dark chocolate (70%)
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 50g softened coconut oil
- 20g puffed/popped quinoa
- To top:
- 100g dark chocolate
- 15g dessicated coconut
- Goji berries (optional)
- Put the dates in a food processor with salt and vanilla powder and blend to a rough paste (if the dates are not soft enough, soak them for a moment in hot water).
- Add the chopped chocolate, desiccated coconut and coconut oil to the dates and blend until the mix is well combined.
- Place the mix in a bowl and stir in the puffed quinoa.
- Line a baking dish with parchment paper, making sure the paper comes up around the edges.
- Place the mix on the paper and smooth out with a spoon. Sprinkle and press down a handful of goji berries (optional). Freeze for about one hour.
- Remove the mix from the dish and cut it in bars with a sharp knife.
- Melt the dark chocolate in a bowl large enough to dip the bars. Prepare an other bowl with the desiccated coconut. Dip each bar halfway in the melted chocolate then into the coconut. Leave on a tray to set. The bars are best eaten cold straight from the fridge.
- Stored them up to 4-5 days in a closed recipient in the refrigerator.
- 150g dattes Medjool dénoyautées
- 100g noix de coco râpée
- ½ cc poudre de vanille
- 50g chocolat noir concassé en tous petits morceaux (70%)
- ½ cc sel
- 50g beurre de coco ramolli
- 20g quinoa soufflé
- +
- 100g chocolat noir
- 15g noix de coco râpée
- Baies goji (optional)
- Mettre les dates dans un mixer ou blender, avec le sel et la poudre de vanille. Mixer pour obtenir un mélange oncteux. (Note: si besoin plongez d'abord quelques minutes vos dattes dans de l'eau chaude pour les ramollir)
- Ajouter le chocolat concassé, la noix de coco et le beurre de coco. Mixer jusqu'à ce que le mélange soit homogène.
- Mettre le mélange dans un large bol et y incroporer doucement le quinoa soufflé.
- Verser le mélange dans un plat préalablement chemisé avec du papier sulfurisé (le papier doit remonter sur les bords du récipient). Aplatir à l'aide d'une cuillère ou spatule. Si vous souhaitez, parsemez de quelques baies de goji et les presser dans le mélange. Placer au congélateur pendant environ une heure.
- Sortir du congélateur, puis découper plusieurs barres avec un large couteau.
- Faire fondre le chocolat noir dans un bol suffisamment large pour y tremper les barres. Préparer un autre bol avec la noix de coco.
- Tremper chaque barre à mi-hauteur dans le chocolat puis poser dans la noix de coco. Laisser durcir au frais avant de déguster! Conserver les barres jusqu'à 5 jours au réfrigérateur.
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