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This chocolate coconut fudge uses shredded coconut, pure cocoa, raw honey, homemade vanilla and mineral salt. Process the coconut into smooth coconut butter before mixing the fudge, then press it into one pan and chill. The batch makes about 16 pieces; properly prepared almonds can go on top.

Sixteen chocolate coconut fudge squares, each topped with one prepared almond

The important part happens before anything else goes into the bowl. Shredded coconut looks dry at first. After enough time in a food processor, its own oil releases and the texture changes into coconut butter. Stop too early and the mixture will stay crumbly. Let the machine finish that job before adding the honey.

Keep the three-cup coconut base, six tablespoons raw honey, full half-cup cocoa, one teaspoon homemade vanilla and half-teaspoon mineral salt together. The fudge chills in an eight-inch square dish for two hours before it is cut into 16 pieces.

Making GAPS versions of familiar foods was part of how our family followed the diet. For a homemade treat, a short ingredient list helps me keep track of what belongs in the batch. This chocolate fudge is for later Full GAPS, with its coconut base and optional prepared-almond topping ready before assembly.

Ingredients

3 cups unsweetened shredded coconut with no additives
1/2 cup pure organic cocoa powder without sugar or other additives
6 tablespoons raw honey
1 teaspoon homemade vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon natural mineral salt
16 whole prepared and fully dried almonds, optional

Equipment

Food processor fitted with an S-blade or a high-powered blender
Spatula
Mixing bowl
8 x 8-inch baking dish
Parchment paper

A food processor or high-powered blender turns the shredded coconut into butter. If the flakes climb the sides, stop and scrape them toward the blades. Continue processing rather than adding water or extra oil.

Instructions

1. Line The Pan

Line an 8 x 8-inch baking dish with parchment paper. Leave enough parchment above two opposite sides to lift the cold fudge out later.

2. Turn The Coconut Into Coconut Butter

Place all 3 cups of shredded coconut in the food processor. Process for 10 to 15 minutes. Stop every few minutes and scrape the sides and bottom so every bit of coconut passes through the blade.

The texture changes in stages. It begins as fine crumbs, gathers into a dense paste, and then loosens into a smooth, thick liquid. Continue until no dry pockets remain. That finished coconut butter supplies both the body and the fat for the fudge.

Shredded coconut becoming smooth thick coconut butter in a supported glass blender jar

3. Add Cocoa, Honey, Vanilla And Salt

Transfer the coconut butter to a mixing bowl. Stir in the full 1/2 cup cocoa, 6 tablespoons raw honey, 1 teaspoon homemade vanilla extract and 1/2 teaspoon mineral salt.

Stir until the chocolate color is even and no pale streaks of coconut butter remain. The full half-cup of cocoa is part of this chocolate recipe.

4. Press The Fudge Into The Dish

Scrape the mixture into the lined 8 x 8-inch dish. It will be thick. Press it into one even layer with a spatula. Smooth the corners so the finished squares cut evenly.

If you are using the optional almonds, keep them aside until the chilled fudge has been cut. The measured chocolate fudge is complete without the topping.

Chocolate coconut fudge pressed evenly in a fully supported parchment-lined glass dish before chilling

5. Chill And Cut

Refrigerate the pan for 2 hours, until firm. Lift it out by the parchment, peel the paper away and cut four rows by four rows for 16 squares. If using prepared almonds, press one into the top of each cut square.

Chocolate And Coconut

This is chocolate fudge. Its full half-cup of pure cocoa gives the mixture its chocolate flavor and belongs in the measured batch.

The coconut butter holds the fudge together, the raw honey sweetens it, and the homemade vanilla flavors the chocolate mixture. Optional prepared almonds sit on top rather than becoming its base.

Use pure organic cocoa without sugar or other additives. Keep this as an occasional later Full GAPS treat after digestive symptoms have gone and pure cocoa is tolerated.

Preparing The Optional Almonds

Use 16 optional almonds that have been properly soaked, sprouted or fermented, then fully dried. They sit on top, one per cut square.

Prepare the almonds ahead and dry them completely. Add them after the fudge has chilled and been cut, so each piece gets one whole almond.

If you do not have prepared almonds ready, leave them off. Do not replace them with ordinary commercial nuts, almond extract, or an unmeasured spoonful of almond butter. The measured coconut base sets without a garnish.

Why This Fits Full GAPS

This later Full GAPS recipe uses additive-free shredded coconut, raw honey, homemade vanilla, mineral salt and properly prepared optional almonds. Pure cocoa has a narrower placement: save this chocolate treat until digestive symptoms have gone and cocoa is tolerated.

The measured six tablespoons raw honey sweeten the batch. One teaspoon homemade vanilla extract belongs in the mixture too; a separate almond extract is not part of this version.

Keeping The Measurements Straight

Measure the coconut before processing it. Three cups of loose shredded coconut become a much smaller volume of coconut butter, but you do not remeasure after processing. The whole three-cup batch goes into the mixing bowl.

Keep the raw honey at 6 tablespoons. It replaces the source’s 6 tablespoons maple syrup. Changing that amount changes both sweetness and moisture.

Measure the full 1/2 cup cocoa for this chocolate batch. The optional almond topping uses 16 whole prepared almonds, one for each square.

Three chocolate coconut fudge squares topped with prepared whole almonds

Storage and Serving

Chill the lined pan for two hours until firm. Keep uneaten pieces covered in the refrigerator.

Cut only after the full chill. Lift the slab onto a cutting board with the parchment, then make three evenly spaced cuts in each direction to get four rows by four rows. Add the optional almonds to the cut squares.

A Quick Batch Check Before Chilling

Before chilling, check that the coconut has become smooth butter and that the cocoa, raw honey, homemade vanilla and mineral salt are evenly mixed. Keep the optional almonds aside for the cut squares.

Scrape any dry coconut pockets from the processor sides before mixing. Press the chocolate mixture evenly into the dish so the slab chills and cuts consistently.

Level the corners before the two-hour chill. The slab should be firm enough to lift by its parchment before cutting.

FAQ

Does This Recipe Use Coconut Oil?

No. Start with the measured shredded coconut and process it until its own oil releases. The mixture does not need extra coconut oil.

Is Cocoa Required?

Yes. The full 1/2 cup pure cocoa is part of this chocolate recipe. Leaving it out would make a different formula.

Can I Use Ordinary Almonds From A Package?

Use almonds that were properly soaked, sprouted, or fermented and fully dried. If those are not ready, omit the garnish. The almonds are optional and do not control the set.

Why Use Homemade Vanilla?

Use one teaspoon homemade vanilla extract in the mixture. The optional prepared whole almonds give the topping its almond flavor; a separate almond extract is not included.

How Many Pieces Does This Make?

The batch makes about 16 pieces. Chill it for two hours, then cut four rows by four rows.

Make the linked homemade vanilla before measuring its teaspoon into the fudge.

Next Steps

The No-Bake Snacks Cookbook is coming soon, with more treats that fit around an oven-free kitchen routine.

Ebonie Garnica