Preppin’ for this year’s V-Day with Friends festivities: I may have ruined my dinner by sampling along the way, but these Vegan No Bake Cranberry-Raisin Chocolate Coconut Cups (inspired by @bigmsansworld No Bake Cherry Chocolate Bars) were soooo worth it! Free of refined sugars, and gluten-free, and dairy-free too, these definitely are NOT free of taste and had me more than ready to celebrate my love [of chocolate] and friends too!
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 cups Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
- ½ cup Toasted Walnuts (any nuts will work here)
- ¼ cup Dried Cranberries
- ¼ cup Raisins
- ½ cup @mycoconutkitchen Toasted Coconut Butter (get 10% OFF with code FITFABMOMS10)
- ½ cup Oats
- ½ cup Now Foods Vanilla Protein Powder
- 1/3 cup Beet Root Powder (for a deeper red color; feel free to add more or discard entirely)
- ¼ cup Liquid Sweetener of choice (I used Agave, because that’s what I had on-hand)
- 1 TB. Vanilla Extract
- 1 tsp. Sea Salt
For the Chocolate Drizzle and Bottom Layer
- ½ cup @eatfreely Mini Chocolate Chips
- ¼ cup Coconut Oil
- 1/2 to 1 tsp. Sea Salt
DIRECTIONS:
- In a high-speed blender or food processor, add the Unsweetened Shredded Coconut, Nuts, Dried Cherries and Raisins and blend until mixed.
- Add in the Coconut Butter, Oats, Protein Powder, Beet Root Powder (if using), Liquid Sweetener, Vanilla Extract and Sea Salt and blend again until just combined.
- Pour into a large mixing bowl and set aside.
- Fill up a small pot with about 2 inches of water and set a glass bowl on top, making sure the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl. Gently boil the water.
- Pour the Chocolate Chips into the glass bowl and stir occasionally, until almost melted.
- Add in the Coconut Oil and allow to melt completely, stirring to make sure mixture doesn’t burn.
- Sprinkle in the Sea Salt.
- Pour a small amount of chocolate into separate muffin tins, enough so that the bottom is lightly coated. Freeze for 10 minutes, or until firm. You can either spray the tins, line them or use silicone molds (which would be my top suggestion).
- Gently press the Cranberry-Coconut Mixture on top of each frozen piece of chocolate, about 1/3 inch thick.
- Do a light drizzle over the top of each cup, using up the rest of the chocolate. Freeze again for another 20 minutes or so, or until the entire mixture is firm. Allow to slightly thaw before eating.
- Enjoy!
NOTES:
- I prefer to eat these Cups slightly chilled, so I suggest storing them in the fridge. The freezer works too though.
- If you’re not strictly vegan, honey is a nice substitute for the Agave, although you can also use THIS sugar-less sweetener to make it even lower in sugar and Keto-friendly (if you switch out the dried-fruit too 😉
