These Keto Homemade Almond Joy Candy Bars are sure to satisfy your deepest cravings for a chocolate bar while staying in ketosis!
Growing up most of us had a favorite candy bar, something like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Heath, or Almond Joy. Well, keto friends, there’s absolutely no reason we can’t remake those classic favorites into keto-friendly versions that we can eat and enjoy, and even use as a means to get in high-quality fat to keep our macos on-point, fuel ourselves, and stay in ketosis! If you liked Almond Joy bars before going keto, you’ll LOVE these.
How to Make Homemade Copycat Almond Joy Candy Bars
You’ll be surprised at how quick and easy homemade Almond Joy candy bars are to make! There’s no baking required in the method I use, and it takes just a little over half an hour from start to finish.
My method involves combining a keto version of sweetened condensed milk with coconut flakes in a food processor, and then pressing the mixture into a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan lined with parchment paper. Almonds get pressed into the coconut, and then the candy is chilled and cut into bars. After that the bars are dipped in chocolate, and left to harden. And then you get to enjoy them!
The Coconut Filling
The coconut filling is where the magic happens here. When I was thinking of different ways to make this recipe, I wanted an ingredient that would both sweeten and bind the coconut, without the need to be cooked after it’s mixed with the coconut (because the coconut in Almond Joy isn’t toasted and I wanted to keep the flavor integrity of this homemade version as close to the original as possible). I used coconut flakes here (not shredded coconut) because I wanted the filling to have some chew to it, and I like Bob’s Red Mill brand.
Sweetened condensed milk was the obvious choice to both bind and sweeten the coconut filling, but of course I had to make my own version since there isn’t keto sweetened condensed milk on the market. Sweetened condensed milk is very easy to make; cream, butter, sweetener (I use a blend of Swerve Confectioners and stevia glycerite for the best flavor), and a touch of salt get cooked down until thick and luscious, and then a bit of vanilla is added in. This method worked like a charm and it’ll be my go-to keto sweetened condensed milk recipe from now on.
The Chocolate Coating
I used 90% dark chocolate to coat these candy bars, but you could also use stevia-sweetened chocolate. I like to keep it simple and just use a good-quality chocolate and let the flavor of the coconut filling shine through.
The Difference Between Almond Joy and Mounds Candy Bars
Like the jingle from back in the day said, “Almond Joy has nuts, Mounds don’t! Because sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t!” The other difference is that Mounds is dark chocolate and Almond Joy is milk.
Keto Candy and Fat Bombs
In the keto world, fat bombs are used as a tool to stay in ketosis. Fat bombs are a low-carb, low-protein, high-fat treat that can be added to a meal plan to help meet your macros and make sure you’re getting in enough fat to stay in ketosis and properly fuel your body. (Read more about fat bombs on Ruled Me.)
Other Low-Carb Keto-Friendly Candy and Fat Bomb Recipes
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Fat Bombs from Healthy Sweet Eats
- Cinnamon Bun Fat Bomb Bars from Ditch the Wheat
- Strawberry Cheesecake Fat Bombs from KetoDiet Blog on Low Carb So Simple
- White Chocolate Butter Pecan Candies from Healthy Sweet Eats
- Yields: 8 bars
- Serving size: 1 bar
- Calories: 365
- Fat: 35
- Saturated fat: 25
- Trans fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 10
- Sugar: 3
- Sodium: 29
- Fiber: 6
- Protein: 3
- Cholesterol: 55
- 1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons Swerve Confectioners
- 1/4 teaspoon stevia glycerite
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 6 oz (170 g) coconut flakes (about 2 3/4 cups)
- 16 almonds
- 3 1/2 oz (100 g) 90% dark chocolate
- Add the cream, butter, Swerve Confectioners, stevia glycerite, and salt to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat down and simmer until thickened, about 10 to 12 minutes whisking occasionally. Stir in the vanilla.
- Add the coconut flakes to the bowl of a food processor. With the motor running, drizzle the cream mixture into the coconut. Process until it comes together like a chunky dough.
- Line a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper and press the coconut mixture into the bottom of the pan, evening it out with a metal spatula.
- Evenly space out the almonds so that there will be 2 almonds per bar when you cut it cross-wise into 8 equal pieces, lightly pressing them into the top of the coconut.
- Transfer to the fridge to chill, about 1 hour.
- Cut the candy cross-wise into 8 bars.
- Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or microwave and dip each candy bar in it. Transfer to a wire rack so the chocolate can set and any excess chocolate can drip off.
- Let the chocolate set before serving. Store covered in the fridge for up to 3 to 4 weeks.
Disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links to products we believe in, which means that even though it doesn’t cost you anything extra, Healthy Sweet Eats will receive a small amount of money from the sale of these items.
Hello and welcome! I'm Faith and I believe you can have your cake and eat it too. For breakfast.
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