These cherry bounty bars are both no bake and vegan, free from refined sugar, gluten, dairy and most other allergens. They are chewy, coconut-y, only slightly sweet and so easy to make, using only 9 ingredients.
The bounty bar was my favourite chocolate bar in the good ol’ days, and not much has changed except that now they’re homemade (and made from ingredients I actually want to eat). This is a slightly skewed version of the classic- no bake cherry bounty bars that combines not just the fantastic combination of coconut and chocolate but brings in the delightful flavour of cherry! Boom, what a combo.
Well, gather up some ingredients, get out your food processor and get making! You can check out this reels here on my instagram for a visual… I still have not figured out to add videos to my blog. Be patient, it will come.
CHERRY BOUNTY BARS INGREDINET LIST
CHERRY BOUNTY BARS INGREDINET LIST- A food processor. Any food processor will do, you don’t need a fancy high powered one as we are just pulsing the coconut to break it up a little.
- Shredded or flaked coconut. I have tried both, they both work BUT you must go off the weigh if you use flaked coconut and not the cup measurement. Not all coconut comes equally- I use this one, which is quite moist. Some other brands might be more dry.
- Coconut butter or coconut manna. This is a paste made rom dried coconut (much like peanut butter, but made form coconut) and can be found is some independent supermarkets or health food shops. I make my own, so I will explain how below.
- Cherries. Fresh or frozen, your pick. You can always sub for extra coconut cream if you cannot access coconut butter.
- Pure maple syrup– or any sticky sweetener. I think honey and date syrup would be too overpowering for this recipe, but rice malt syrup, coconut nectar or agave would be a fine substitute. The sticky sweetener helps both to add sweetness but also to bind the bars.
- Vanilla paste or extract. Vanilla add a subtle flavour to these bars that I personally love, but if you don’t have any on hand you could omit it.
- Coconut cream form a can. Just use the thick creamy part for these vegan cherry bounty bars.
- Chocolate of choice. I used a dairy free dark chocolate (or mylk chocolate like this one) but you can use whatever you like- dark chocolate is a delicious choice too. I like to add coconut oil to my melted chocolate too, but this is optional.
Cant find coconut butter? Make your own.
Cant find coconut butter? Make your own.I find store bought coconut butter both hard to find and really expensive. If is a delicious addition to any pantry, and is actually very easy to make.
As a note though- even using my magi mix (which is a high powered, very capable food processor) I cannot get the paste completely smooth when it comes to coconut butter. I have even tried blending it heat, but there has always been a slightly grainer texture. I don;’t mind that- and it certainly doesn’t mater in these no bake cherry bounty bars, I just want to be honest here. Store bought coconut butter is stone ground, I assume, so unless you have one of those don’t expect a silky smooth finish.
A further note- the coconut you use is important. You cannot substitute for desiccated coconut (it is too dry). Make sure you choose a coconut that is unsweetened and shredded or flaked.
Heres what you do!
- You will need at least 3 cups of shredded coconut- 4-5 is ideal. Flaked coconut works too, but you’ll need extra and its hard to fit into a food processor.
- Add coconut to a high-powered food processor and turn onto a maximum speed. Blend for approximately 20 minutes. I think a high-powered food processor is essential here, and a thermomix would work well too. You will need to stop the machine a few times and scrape down with a spatula. Around 5 minutes your batter with look grainy or sandy-this is totally normal. At around 15 minutes to will start to become liquid. Once it has completely liquified and is thin and pourable it is ready.
- Decant into a clean glass jar and store in the fridge.
Before using coconut butter, soften it.
Coconut butter sets very hard at room temperature, unless it is a hot day. The best way to soften it is to 1/2 fill a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Turn off the heat and add the jar of coconut butter with the lid on. Add a weight on top if the jar try to fall over. Stand for 5-10 mins until the coconut butter has become liquid again.
If you loved these healthy cherry bounty bars you might like to try some of our other no bake recipes;
- Super seed chocolate bliss balls with Reishi
- Vegan chocolate peanut butter ice cream pops
- Low carb vegan bliss balls
- Raw vegan wagon wheel slice
- Healthy vegan peanut butter fudge
- No bake vegan brownies with almond butter frosting
- Berry gummies
We hope you enjoy making these raw vegan cherry bounty bars and look forward to your feedback n the comments. Your feedback, comments and questions help other readers find this recipe too.
No bake cherry bounty bars
- Prep Time: 20 mins plus setting time
- Total Time: 41 minute
- Yield: 12-15 1x
- Category: Desserts
- Method: No bake
- Cuisine: Australian
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These healthy cherry bounty bars are a homemade version of the classic chocolate bar (but with wholesome ingredients that you actually want to eat!) using only 8 ingredients.
Ingredients
- 250g (2 cups) cherry’s, fresh (pitted and de-stemmed) or frozen and defrosted (*see notes)
- 1 Tbsp water
- 4 Tbsp maple syrup, divided*
- 240g (2 cups) shredded coconut
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 85g (1/3 cup) coconut butter, softened (*see notes)
- 2 Tbsp coconut cream
- 200g chocolate, I used this one. (*see notes)
- 1 Tbsp coconut oil or peanut butter, optional
Instructions
- Cook your cherries until soft and starting to break down. Add halved, pitted cherries, 1 Tbsp of the maple syrup and a dash water to a saucepan on low heat for 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently (uncovered). Once you have a thick jammy texture remove from the heat and set aside to cool. If you are using frozen cherries you will end up will a lot of excess moisture, so simply drain most of this off. If your cherries do not break down use a fork to mash them up.
- Next, make the coconut filling. Add all ingredients to a food processor and process until well combined and moist- at least 30 seconds to 1 minute. Slow speed food processors will need 1-2 minutes. I encourage you to taste the mixture here. The recipe has minimal maple syrup as sweetener, so if you like a more sweet cherry bounty bar you may want to add an extra 1-3 tsp maple syrup.
- Transfer to a bowl along with the cooled cherry mixture and partially combine the two- you are not looking to make the cherries uniform, lots of chunks are ideal.
- Using clean hands take around 2 Tbsp of the mix and roll into a log. Place on a lined tray. Repeat until all the mixture has been used up. Freeze for 2 hours.
- After 2 hours cut up the chocolate finely. Add to a heat-proof bowl with coconut oil. Heat 2cm water in a small saucepan and then sit the bowl on top of the rim- the bowl should not be touching the water. Reduce heat to a simmer, melting slowly.
- Turn off heat. Remove bars from the freezer and dip each one into the chocolate. It is important to work quickly or in batches- the more the chocolate cools, the thicker the coating and the more chocolate you will need to use. Dump a bar into the bowl then use 2 forks to quickly roll to coat, then immediately lift the bar out using the forks. Allow excess chocolate to drip back into the bowl before setting on the tray. Reheat the chocolate if it becomes too thick.
- Store in an air tight container in the fridge (up to 5 days) or freezer (3 months).
Notes
- If cherries are not in season use from cherries. Remove cherries rom the freezer, measure out and defrost before using then in step 1.
- Coconut butter sets very hard at room temperature, unless it is a hot day. The best way to soften it is to 1/2 fill a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Turn off the heat and add the jar of coconut butter with the lid on. Add a weight on top if the jar try to fall over. Stand for 5-10 mins until the coconut butter has become liquid again.
- 200g of chocolate just covers these bounty bars perfectly, however you will need to work quickly when coating the bars. The slower you are, the thicker the coating and the more chocolate you will use. If you are not quick-handed, I would suggest adding an extra 50-100g of chocolate to compensate.
Keywords: No bake, coconut cherry, bounty bars, raw bounty, raw vegan snacks, refined sugar free, dairy free recipes
I made these yesterday and they are super delicious and easy to make! Probably going to be my new favourite guilt-free sweet treat
★★★★★
Hi Jess- thanks so much for the feedback. They’re so easy right? We love them here too.
Absolutely loved making these little delights! Super simple. I used frozen cherries & werent sweet like in season cherries so I’d probably add a tad more maple next time to add more sweetness (personal preference). I added some extra coconut cream until the consistency was a bit more wet and easier to mould. Loved! Will definitely be making these again x
Thank you for the thoughtful comment. The bars are definitely not very sweet, so it’s good to know for a sweet tooth that extra maple is needed! Enjoy xx
Just made these for the first time – wow, so delicious. The chocolate outer layer is reminiscent of an ice cream bar, and the center is so juicy and coconutty, I just love them. These are going to be put on a regular rotation in my kitchen during cherry season 🙂 Thank you Jade!
★★★★★
Thanks for teh gorgeous comment Emma- I love these so much too. Happy snacking xx