Elana's Pantry

New York Times Bestselling author Elana Amsterdam founded Elana’s Pantry, the go-to website for easy, healthy, grain-free, Paleo recipes, in 2006

Chocolate Almond Joy Bars

Chocolate Almond Joy Bars

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These gluten-free Chocolate Almond Joy Bars are crazy good! Who doesn’t love the combination of chocolate, almonds, and coconut in the form of a high-protein paleo dessert?

The dishes I create are far healthier than other gluten-free recipes. Regular gluten-free flours do not compare to almond flour and coconut flour. First, almonds are a super food that is high in protein, fiber, and good fat.  Next, coconut flour has an incredibly high fiber content. That’s why flours like brown rice, tapioca, sorghum, cornmeal, and potato starch don’t even begin to compare to almond and coconut flour. Better yet? Almond and coconut flour are easier to use and taste much better than traditional gluten-free flours.

When I use almond flour and coconut flour for baking, my children think they’re getting an indulgent dessert, yet I know I’m feeding them exceptionally healthy food!  With good protein and healthy fat, the boys don’t get cranky from sudden drops in blood sugar when they’re eating almond flour cookies.

In addition to nutritious grain-free flours, these Chocolate Almond Joy Bars contain protein from eggs and extra good fat from coconut milk. They’re lightly sweetened and dairy-free as well.

Chocolate Almond Joy Bars
Serves: 16
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, coconut milk, almond extract, and coconut sugar
  2. In a small bowl, combine almond flour, coconut flour, salt, and baking soda
  3. Mix dry ingredients into wet with a hand blender
  4. Stir in ½ cup of the chocolate chips
  5. Transfer batter to a greased 8 x 8 inch baking dish
  6. Sprinkle shredded coconut and remaining chocolate chips on top
  7. Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes
  8. Cool for 1 hour
  9. Serve

This Chocolate Almond Joy Bars recipe was inspired by one from Ginger Lemon Girl. If you can’t eat this because you’re on a nut-free diet, I have some amazing nut-free paleo desserts for you!

Comments

  6. Is the coconut milk in the recipe the canned coconut milk or the kind that comes in a container similar to rice milk or almond milk?

    Reply

    • Catherine, if you click the green words in the ingredients portion of the recipe that say “coconut milk” you will be given that info :-)

      Reply

  7. I love this recipe and have made it many times. Looking for something a little less sweet, I just altered it to make coffee cake!! Sub vanilla for the almond ex. Omit the chocolate chips and sub 1/2c-3/4c berries. (I used frozen raspberries so I had to add 20 min to the cooking time too.) Reduce the coconut sugar to 1/2 c. I also put a ‘streusel’ on top of chopped 1/4c pecans, 2tsp cinnamon, 2T coconut sugar, and the shredded coconut.

    Reply

  8. These are so yummy! I also sprinkled some slivered almonds on top before baking. Nobody guessed they were gluten free!

    Reply

  12. I made these for our family Easter celebration yesterday and they were a hit! Everybody loved them (not just the Paleo folks).

    I was hoping to find a replacement for a traditional family dish we make that uses shredded wheat, cottage cheese, milk and sugar syrup (weird, I know but soooo yummy). I can’t eat any of those things anymore so I’ve been missing out the last few holidays. No longer! THIS will be my new holiday tradition! So yummy and the texture the shredded coconut gives it even feels like my family’s dish in my mouth, but this one has chocolate, almond and coconut! Score!!

    Reply

  13. Thanks. I clicked on the link. Very interesting. My daughter is allergic to cane sugar so I usually use honey. However, there are some recipes where a solid sugar works but honey doesn’t. I will certain be aware of the info you shared.

    Reply

  14. Elana, you are amazing!! Those bar were just delicious ! I could live out of them. The texture is so moist and the taste is perfect. Thank you thank you from Montreal, Canada ! And for those wondering about cutting the coconut sugar I did only put 1/2 a cup. And I used Enjoy life chocolate chunk. I want more now ;)

    Reply

    • Almond meal is not as fine and usually still has the brown skins, though they are obviously crushed. Blanched almond flour does not have the skins, and is finer ground. I would use almond meal in this recipe and it would probably be fine. The main times I avoid almond meal is for a bread or possibly a pie crust, where you want the finer texture. Almond meal is fine in some cakes, but not others. I buy my almond flour in bulk (25 pounds) when they have a big discount and store it in my freezer. (I shop at honeyville grains online.) We use a lot of almond flour.

      Reply

  17. Just took them out of the oven and they’re really yummy! Texture is light and very moist. I only added 1 tsp of almond extract as I’m not a huge fan of almond and next batch will be made with vanilla. Other than my preference for vanilla I didn’t experience any issue with this recipe.

    Reply

  18. I made this recipe as cupcakes and they turned out great! The recipe made 12 cupcakes exactly. The cupcakes don’t rise much so you don’t need to worry about over-filling.

    Also, I used fresh, frozen grated coconut that I get at my local Vietnamese grocery store. I mixed it right into the batter. I then sprinkled just a little extra on top before baking for decoration.

    I think the fresh coconut in the batter makes them moist.

    Reply

  24. Holy Moly these are amazing! I used date sugar as I didn’t have coconut sugar and they came out so delicious and moist. And the toasted coconut on the top, heaven!

    Reply

  27. I made these Almond Joy Bars for dessert tonight and they were great. I kind of want to add some shredded coconut to the body of the bar and not just on top. Wonder if they would have that chewy quality that real Almond Joy’s have? Thanks for the great recipes. Love your blog.

    Reply

  28. Aloha Elana
    This is one of my favorite recipes of yours! I think I just made a version of it that might go well with your recent Paleo style baking. I took out the almond extract, the coconut milk and and the coconut sugar. Reduced the eggs to 3. For sweetening I put half a cup of dates in a food processor with 1 1/4 cups of almond milk, processed until smooth. To the flour mix, I added 1/2 cup shredded coconut (reduced fat – with regular shredded coconut I would reduce the almond milk to 1 cup). Also added 1/3 cup dried cranberries. Instead of the chocolate chips, I finely chopped just 3 pieces of a super dark chocolate and put those in the mix. Makes for a lightly sweetened very coconutty desert or snack, wonderfully moist like all the recipes I’ve tried from your amazing blog and book. Thank you!

    Reply

  29. Today I made the Chocolate Almond Joy Bars. I substituted carob for chocolate because I am avoiding chocolate in my diet. I also substituted organic cane sugar for the coconut palm sugar because I didn’t realize it called for it and I didn’t have any. I also didn’t want to wait to make this delicious sounding recipe.

    These bars are truly amazing. They are light and delicious and you can taste all the flavors in every single bite. If you offered these bars to someone and didn’t tell them they were gluten-free they would never know. I plan on making these again to serve to friends.

    Reply

  30. This is my all time fave recipe of Elana’s and I make it regularly. In fact I double it. My second most favorite recipe is the paleo banana bread and I make it every time there are bananas ready to cook. But yesterday, I decided to try using the bananas in the Almond Joy bars because I love the mixture of the two flours. Instead of the coconut milk, I used 3 ripe bananas for liquid. Used vanilla instead of almond extract, and added a handful of chopped walnuts. A great success! I would next time cut back somewhat on the palm sugar, as the bananas are so sweet. Thanks Elana!!!

    Reply

  31. I made these yesterday. I want to tell you that they are delicious! The people who have tasted them would swear that they were made with regular flour–the texture and “crumb” are perfect! Thank you for such a wonderful gluten free recipe :)

    Reply

  32. I just made this recipe and I LOVE it. I am currently on the anti-candida diet and I am so glad to have such a delicious dessert on hand. Changes I made for the recipe was using Carob chips instead of chocolate and I sweetened it with Xylitol and Stevia :)It has a nice sweet taste. I also sprinkled cinnamon and nutmeg on top along with the coconut shreds. I ended up baking it in a 8 in non-stick pie pan (since I didn’t have a 8 x 8. It turned out to be a fluffy cake like consistency. Not bar like but still good!

    Reply

    • Be careful with xylitol. It kills bacteria. Probably not a big deal for most people, but if you have candida you don’t want to get rid of any bacteria and really flow your flora out of balance.

      Reply

  33. I would love to make some of these recipes but I’m allergic to almonds. Will another flour work in place of the almond flour??

    Reply

  34. I just made these for the second time in oh, 2 weeks. I used the mini chips from Enjoy Life, and love the little bits of chocolate in each bite. These bars are so delicious, and also satiating, thanks to the almond and coconut flours. No sugar crash, which I greatly appreciate. And of course, gluten & grain eaters happily gobble them up! Once again Elana, you rock! I am always happier when I have some of your treats in the house. And being a chef, not a baker, I appreciate knowing that you’ve got me covered in the baking department! (me baking = not pretty!)

    Reply

  35. These “bars” are a favourite around here. I grew up having a simple cake and sauce for dessert on Sundays, this evening we’ll be having squares of this with a caramel sauce made from honey and coconut milk. So delicious! Thanks for all your hard work. Our family isn’t celiac, but I have cut most grains from our diet since October and I love how my body feels eating this way.

    Reply

  36. I just learned about your blog last night through my friend who brought this dessert. I loved it! I wrote a post about gluten today and included a picture of the Almond Joy bars as an example of how delicious gluten-free eating can be!

    Thanks for sharing all of your recipes. I am not gluten-free but I will definitely be making this one for a family gathering at some point.

    Reply

  37. Elana, My husband loved this recipe! After 3 servings, I asked him if this recipe was a keeper? I keep a notebook in the kitchen with our favorites. I love the fact that you recommend certain products and where they can be purchased. I order the ones that aren’t available locally online so I have a well stocked pantry. I have both of your cookbooks and am constantly online to see if there is a new recipe to try.

    Reply

  38. I just made these, but had no almond flour. I had already started, so I put almonds in the food processor until they were very fine, added another hald a cup or so of coconut flour, and also used half a cup agave instead of the three quarter cup palm sugar. At first I tought it wouldn’t turn out good because the batter seemed to heavy, but with an extra 15 minutes baking time it turned out great! I also didn’t have almond extract, so I just used a bit of vanilla extract instead. Nice fluffy texture, balanced flavor, mildly sweet. Very nice, thanks Elana!

    Reply

  39. Made these as Halloween treats for my GFDF neighbor kids — their whole family loved them (so did I). Thanks for yet another delicious recipe!

    Reply

  40. This treat was absolutely fantastic. It was so moist, flavorful and has made a big impression in my house hold. I can see this quickly becoming one of our favorite treats. I’m thinking about keeping the base minus the palm sugar and almond extract, adding a little more salt and substituting the flakes and choc chips with caramalized onions and spinach, turning it into a savory torte. I just loved the consistency and texture of the dough! Thank you- Michele

    Reply

  41. I made these last night and the batter seemed very liquid, even though like someone else I added the shredded coconut to the mix AND sprinkled more on top when it was in the baking tin. I used one and a half teaspoons of really good almond extract but it was a tiny bit too fake almondy flavour for me so I will use less next time. The chocolate chips seemed to fall mostly to the bottom of the cake so I will try sprinkling all of them into the tin rather than mixing them into the batter early on. But for all of these things they are still super delicious, really moist and I have to freeze them or else I am in trouble (can’t stop eating them…) Will post how they worked out being frozen. Thanks for the recipe Elana!!

    Reply

    • FYI
      I froze some of these once they cooled, wrapped in parchment in an airtight container. I simply took one out of the freezer in the morning and wrapped it in foil and let it defrost in time for lunch. It was just as delicious as when it was fresh, still moist and with a great chocolate kick!

      Reply

  42. Elana, I want to thank you for all the countless experimenting you must do in your kitchen and to your family to the benefit of all of your readers. :) I love that you stay true to a simple recipe with a short ingredient list and that you are health aware. I don’t have any gluten issues but I love your recipes just the same. Thanks for this delicious chocolate almond joy bar recipe and all of the countless others! Just want you to know you are appreciated.

    Reply

  43. The first time I made this, I accidently overbaked it a little. I was so surprised that it didn’t seem to dry out at all because it was still very moist. However, when I made this last night and had one warm-ish, OH MY GOSH, it was so moist and fluffy! The first thing I thought was that it would make an amazing vanilla cake without all the extras and lots of vanilla. It’s definitely up for some experimentation. Thanks for the amazing recipe, and the inspiration!

    Reply

  44. I made these today…for myself…thinking my boys wouldn’t eat them. THEY LOVED THEM!! Now I get the pleasure of sharing a great treat with them!

    Reply

  45. just tried these last night–fantastic! i’m definitely tuned in to see what other things you’re making. have been on the Paleo diet for 6 months, hardest thing is calming down my sweet tooth. thanks for the great info!

    Reply

  46. Elana, we’re making these for our second time… they are a hit with the whole family. I’m making (super minor) tweaks, and hope to post about them – giving full credit to you – on my site this week, thanks again! These are an almost guilt-free dessert – I love them!

    Reply

  47. These look fantastic! I’m new to the food blogging world, but I’d love to try these and re-post the recipe (with full attribution as your recipe, a link back, and, of course, only if it’s ok with you).

    On another note: although I’m a new commenter, I’ve been reading your blog for ages – and I love it. I’ve relied on it quite a lot since first being diagnosed 3 years ago, and it’s an incredible resource. Thank you!

    Reply

  48. Warning: These are highly addicting! Especially cold from the fridge. :) Definitely top 5 of my favorite “Elana” recipes.

    I accidentally stirred the 1/4 c. of coconut into the batter, and after noticing my error, I did sprinkle more on top before baking. I actually think I’ll do the same for the other times I make this.

    Reply

  49. I contacted the seller, “Gourmet Import Shop”, by phone, since they didn’t list the ingredients at their site either. (800) 995-6530

    Reply

  50. Any idea how these hold up in the freezer? Made a batch last night, and they are delish. However, very rich and dense, and one 8×8 pan is way too much for this single person household!

    Thanks,
    Harmony

    Reply

  51. These are amazing! My gluten eating family ate them so fast I had a hard time saving some for myself!

    Reply

  52. You’d enjoy healthyindulgences.blogspot.com, Joelle. She makes sugar-free sweets with natural sugar substitutes.

    Reply

  53. I made these for a department picnic last week. I wanted to be sure there would be something rich and sinful that I could eat. These were the hit of the party! They were the first dessert gone. My DH made me leave some at home for him before I left. They will be one of my go to desserts.

    Reply

  54. I just happened to have the coconut sugar that I bought by accident when I meant to get date palm sugar. I mixed mine up in the blender at low. My base came out cakelike and supermoist. It wasn’t quite what I was expecting but still very yummy. I was the only one to bring dessert for our cookout so even my graineating family and friends decided to try it. Many went back for seconds.

    Thanks to you I had a success and didn’t have to make a special trip to the store. (We tend to have these things on hand with a dairy-sensitive son and grain-sensitive baby.)
    Anyone have a suggestion on a grain free graham cracker crust?

    Reply

    • I tried Elana’s almond flour crust in her cookbook last week for a strawberry rhubarb pie. It didn’t work for that, it dissolved like a graham cracker crust would and tasted like a graham cracker crust. I’m betting it would work great as a sub for graham cracker.

      Reply

  56. I just made these with a few subs…maybe it doesn’t quite resemble your wonderful recipe but it’s good none the less. Kind of like a cookie bar. Substitutions:
    – 1/2 c organic honey + a dash of vanilla stevia for sugar
    – vanilla flavouring (didn’t have almond)
    – Almond milk for coconut
    – hemp hearts for shredded coconut (I didn’t have the coconut)
    – 3 egg whites + 2 eggs for 4 eggs

    Delightful!

    Reply

  58. I made these yesterday and between me, hubby and our two children there all gone :) so amazing, of course I take my daughter to the allergist today and she showed a reaction to chocolate, double boo, trying them with carob chips next. Thanks for the great recipe!

    Reply

  59. I made these bars last night, and they are the moistest squares that I have had since going gluten-free. My only sub was that I used cranberry extract as I was out of almond. I actually had a can of the Native Forest Organic Coconut milk on hand, but since I haven’t used coconut milk in a sweet recipe before I wasn’t sure if I was to mix it all together or just use the solid contents. I used the solid contents only.

    Could someone advise me how to use coconut milk when baking because I think I have seen where they just use the coconut meat and not the watery mixture and that is why I chose to use only the solid portion.

    Anyway, these are absolutely delicious, and I am going to make them again in a week to take to my mother-in-law’s 80th birthday party to show our guests that gluten-free baking is just as tasty, and actually much healthier for you. I am also going to be prepared with copies of the recipes to hand out to folks when they ask because I am certain they will ask!

    Thanks Elana for another great recipe!

    Reply

    • I didn’t know that about coconut milk. I assumed we were supposed to shake it up well (as done in other recipes) and then opened it to measure out what I needed.

      Good to know it works both ways.

      Reply

  60. Elana,
    You’re so right about the big difference between almond and coconut flour and some of the other GF mainstays, especially the starches. Tapioca and potato starch feel like ground styrofoam (and probably have about the same nutrition profile).

    I love your recipes. You make healthy taste and look wonderful!
    Melissa

    Reply

  62. Almond Joys are one of my all-time favorite candies! I just need to get my hands on some coconut milk and almond flour and I’m set to make these!

    Reply

  63. Elana i just wanted to thank you for all of your delicious recipes!! i have made a few from other allergen free websites and yours are always tops!! They actually taste good! i just baked some cookies from another website and i am soo dissatified that i think i might just have to make something of your later!!

    Reply

  64. I made these over the weekend and they were a huge hit with the hubby–he promptly ate 4 of them as soon as they were cooled! Now maybe he’ll stop giving me a hard time for buying those “weird” ingredients at the health food store. :)

    Reply

    • I made these without eggs- I took 1.5 TBSP of chia meal and whisked it into the coconut milk (used regular so delicious coconut milk) and let it sit until gooey. then i whisked the sugar, etc into it. they came out fine- maybe not as fluffy as with eggs, but still delicious!

      Reply

  68. Ok, this recipe is just awesome!
    But I ruined it this morning in a very tasty way. No coconut milk, i used 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk mixed with water to make 3/4 cup. No palm sugar at all. Mistakenly used lemon extract instead of almond. So…I also added some candied ginger to the mix. Poured into pan, sprinkled coconut as per recipe and more candied ginger. OH MY WORD….this was one of the best tasting mess ups I have ever made. Might add zest in a new batch. Hummm…..

    Now I will try the original recipe.

    Reply

  69. I made these last night and they’re fabulous! I didn’t have any chocolate chips in the house, so I just chopped up unsweetened dark chocolate and it worked like a charm. I also reduced the palm sugar by about 1/4 cup and made up the sweetness difference with stevia (Nu Naturals Low Carb Blend, which doesn’t have that stevia aftertaste).

    They were lighter than I thought they’d be (in a nice way!) they and reminded me a bit of moist bundt cake. I’ll definitely be experimenting with the batter- I can see ALL kinds of great possibilities for it!
    Thanks, Elana!

    Reply

  71. I turned the oven on before I even got the end of the entry! Can’t wait. I love having another breakfast treat for myself and the kids.

    Reply

  73. These look fantastic! I am always looking for yummy treats to “sneak” healthy ingredients into my kids. I am going to try this one.

    Reply

  74. Joelle,

    You should check out spoonfulofsugarfree.com
    Alex is sensitive to sugar, so all her recipes are sugar free (no sugar added).

    Reply

    • Thank you Heather! I snooped around over there looks like she has some yummy things to try = ) I can use Coconut Palm Sugar and Sucanat, but just not too much, but again when trying to do the chocolate chip thing, that’s where my life gets sad = )

      Reply

      • Another idea is to order Choco Perfection Bars and chop them with a chopper to use in place of the chocolate chips. They have no sugar added and no chemical sweeteners either. They are pricey but delicious and work well in recipes. I don’t do well with sugar either.

        Reply

  76. Elana, growing up the mounds bar was my favorite candy bar, because I was a dark chocolate kind of gal–and I always wished they would make the almond joy candy bar with dark chocolate rather than milk chocolate. They never listened to me! Thank you for combining the best of two treats into something so delicious and using the best ingredients–I am so glad you used palm sugar in this one. I have everything I need on hand right now and I am making this today.

    Reply

  78. That looks amazing. I have to see if I can find some coconut flour around here. NEver seen it yet. Or I could see if I could make it myself ofcourse. Hmm, interesting…

    Reply

  82. Oh yum! These sound absolutely wonderful. I love almonds, coconut and chocolate together. May have to make these tomorrow…

    Reply

  85. These look amazing!!! Can I use So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk though instead of the canned variety? Do you think it’ll make a difference?

    Reply

      • If you used the So Delicious Coconut Milk, you would want to cook it on the stove for a while to let some of the liquid evaporate. Make sure it has no sugar added. This recipe works best with a full fat coconut milk that is much thicker, like the kind found in a can in the grocery store.

        Reply

  87. I am on a chocolate and coconut kick right now…these look absolutely wonderful! Can’t wait to try them…
    When I was a kid we used to make 7 layer magic bars with tons of butter, sugar and condensed sweetened milk…I think this recipe will be a great substitute for that childhood memory!

    Reply

    • I thought the same thing when I saw this post. I have another Elana recipe that fits the 7-layer bill for me. I use the Apricot Tea Squares Recipe from her GF Almond Flour cookbook. I add walnuts and prunes at the same time as the apricots. I drizzle in some grapeseed oil after the almond flour addition. I pulse in some mini-chocolate chips and dried cranberries (not very 7-layer bar but – YUM) at the end. I love the flexibility of this recipe.

      Reply

  89. Perfect for this loving granny to make for 2 of her little grandies tomorrow. Thanks Elana for your fantastic healthy recipes :)

    Reply

  94. Hi Elana, I’m making up your original chocolate chip cookies right now, this recipe comes at a great time… now I have to decide: can I justify two desserts at once and make these right now too? :) Love the half and half of coconut + almond flours here and can’t wait to give these a try. Thanks for another great recipe.

    Reply

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