Chocolate Coconut Chips
Is it just me, or are coconut chips, particularly chocolate coconut chips, more difficult to come by these days? My younger son loves coconut and used to regularly ask me to buy the chocolate covered coconut chips as a special snack, while I was partial to the cocoa coconut chips as a topping for my yogurt. I could regularly pick up both versions at my local grocery store, or maybe Target if they happened to be out of stock at the grocery store. But then they seemed to just disappear, I couldn’t get them in the grocery stores, Target, or Walmart. When it became apparent that they weren’t coming back any time soon, I decided to try my hand at making my own and I have to say, I don’t think I will ever buy them again!
I had actually planned to post this recipe several months ago. I was extremely happy with the results on the very first try and the recipe, while a bit of a time investment, was pretty simple. I decided that I needed to make them again to be sure the results were consistent before sharing with all of you. In preparation, I requested my usual brand of flaked coconut in my grocery order – Bob’s Red Mill Unsweetened Coconut Flakes – only to be told that they were not available. I opted to substitute Nuts U.S. Unsweetened Coconut Chips instead.
As soon as I opened the Nuts U.S. package, I could definitely see a difference between the two. The Nuts U.S. flakes were larger, and thicker than the Bob’s Red Mill, but I didn’t really think much of it. I made the recipe exactly the same as I had before. When I got to the point of stirring the coconut into the syrup, I noticed a second difference. When I made the recipe with the Bob’s Red Mill coconut, it seemed to instantly absorb the syrup, requiring a bit of an effort to get all of the flakes evenly coated. With the Nuts U.S. coconut, it was easy to get the syrup to coat all of the coconut, but I wouldn’t exactly call it even as the syrup started to pool in the bottom of the pan. I figured it would just take longer for this thicker coconut to fully absorb the syrup, but even after waiting a full hour and then some, there was still some syrup pooling in the bottom of the pan.
Since I had already come that far, I gave the mixture a good stir and then spread it out on the baking sheet and proceeded with the recipe. Now I encountered a third difference – these coconut chips never became matte – they retained a bit of gloss, almost like a candy coating, on the chips. Well, now I was wracking my brain – what had gone wrong? I couldn’t account for the difference in the end product, as far as I could tell I had done every step exactly the same. So, I decided to put off sharing the recipe, but some part of my brain must have been continuing to noodle on the issue because it finally occurred to me that I hadn’t done anything different, the two different brands of coconut just plain behaved differently.
This weekend, I put the recipe, and my theory, to the test. This time, I made a single batch of the syrup and divided it equally between the Bob’s Red Mill coconut and the Nuts U.S. coconut. I kept the two brands separate in the oven but baked them in the same oven, stirring them at the same intervals. The Bob’s Red Mill coconut came out exactly as it had the first time I made the recipe and the Nuts U.S. coconut came out exactly as it had the second time I made the recipe.
As it turns out, the recipe is quite consistent if your ingredients are consistent! If you want a very light, airy, crispy coconut chip go with the Bob’s Red Mill (or similar) coconut. If you want a thicker, crunchier coconut chip that almost presents as candied, I would recommend trying the Nuts U.S. (or similar) coconut. Regardless of which brand or style of coconut you choose, I’m 100% sure you’ll find the end result to be a delicious, addictive snack.
Chocolate Coconut Chips
Equipment
- sauce pan medium
- spatula
- baking sheet large
- parchment paper
Ingredients
- 160 ml water
- 120 g sugar
- 24 g cocoa powder dark
- 5 ml vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
- ¼ tsp espresso powder
- ¼ tsp fine salt
- 285 g coconut (chipped or large/wide flakes)
Instructions
- In a medium sauce pan, combine the water, sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla bean paste, espresso powder and salt. (If you are using vanilla extract, do not add it yet or it will cook off and you will lose most of the flavor).160 ml water, 120 g sugar, 24 g cocoa powder, 5 ml vanilla bean paste, 1/4 tsp espresso powder, 1/4 tsp fine salt
- Stirring constantly over medium heat, bring the mixture to a boil. Cook only until the sugar is fully dissolved and there are no lumps of cocoa remaining.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the coconut flakes until completely coated with the chocolate syrup mixture. (If you are using vanilla extract, this is the time to add it) Set aside for about an hour to fully absorb the syrup.285 g coconut
- Preheat your oven to 250° F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a spatula, spread the chocolate coconut mixture in an even layer over the parchment. You want the coconut flakes separated as much as possible and as close to a single layer as possible.
- Place the pan in the oven for about an hour. Stir and further separate the coconut flakes occasionally during the cooking time, maybe once every 20 minutes or so. The coconut will get light, crispy and have a dry matte finish when it is done. This may take longer than an hour depending on the humidity in your kitchen and the initial moisture content of your coconut. When the coconut is done, turn off the oven and leave the pan in the oven to cool for another 1-2 hours.
- When the chocolate coconut chips are fully cooled, transfer to an air tight container and store in your pantry.
Nutrition
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