Bounty of My Love for Chocolate and Coconut

“My bounty is as boundless as the sea,
My love as deep; the more I give to thee,
The more I have, for both are infinite.”
― William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

I just don’t buy into Valentine rebellion; The whole “I don’t do Valentines Day” schtick. Sure, you don’t have to buy into the extravagant suggestions of those prime-time jeweler ads but relationships are hard, life can be hard, why not celebrate the ones you love as often as you can?? Perhaps even a little more when there is a day on the calendar reminding you to do so. Give in to the romance. Oblige the masses, just do it your own way.

I’m using this Valentine’s Day to finally create the homemade Bounty Bars that I have been craving for months. Fortunately for me, the hubby adores the combination of creamy coconut filling and hard chocolate exterior as much as I do.

Like Romeo to his Juliet, John to his Yoko, chocolate is a perfect compliment to the sweet & sassy coconut. A true romance.

Homemade Bounty Bars / Coconut and Chocolate Awesomeness
Inspired by the excellent food blog Lick The Spoon
Makes about 24 bars / 1 8″ x 8″ dish

Ingredients:

3 cups unsweetened shaved coconut (medium to fine)
1 cup sweetened condensed milk (go ahead and use a whole 200 g can, just add a little more coconut and icing sugar to thicken)
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 pound of dark or milk chocolate, chopped and melted (I went with a milk chocolate above but will trust my gut next time and opt for the dark chocolate. The coconut mixture is sweet, the dark chocolate would offer a richer flavour to pair well with that. Personal choice.)

Combine the coconut and condensed milk in a large bowl. Stir in the icing sugar to make a stiff mixture. Add the vanilla and stir until well combined.
Press with a fork into a greased 8″ x 8″ (20cm x 20cm) square dish and refrigerate for a minimum of 3 hours or as long as overnight, until hardened.
Bring your coconut mixture out of the refrigerator only when you are ready to rock n’ roll with the hot, melted chocolate. Cut into 24 equal sized bars.
Chop your chocolate into small pieces and melt in the double broiler, stirring constantly.
Once completely melted, toss each coconut bar in the melted chocolate, one at a time. Set on wax or parchment paper to rest.

I like to melt my chocolate over the double boiler, a.k.a. the heat-proof bowl over the boiling pot of water. Note: be sure to take off of the heat once the chocolate has fully melted.

A Valentine gift from HotPinkApron.com to all of the chocolate lovers out there. Soooo dreamy.. 🙂

Let your amazing little bars chill completely before serving and definitely before packaging. I recommend letting them sit at room temperature for about an hour, then transferring to the fridge or freezer on a cookie sheet to fully set. Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. HA, as if necessary!

I was moaning earlier tonight about how tight my pants are fitting and how I need to stop pigging out on these chocolate bars, to which my dear husband and partner responded:

“Babe, my love for you goes way beyond the fit of your pants.
I’ve loved you through elastic waistbands and will continue to as that waistline creeps closer to your belly button.
The more you are, the sexier I find you.”

Well, it’s not quite Shakespeare but I’ll take it. 🙂

Happy Valentines everyone!!
Much love to all! xoxo