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This one is for chocolate lovers… I am obsessed with making different variations of no-added sugar treats. These chocolate coconut muffin tops are so amazing I can’t help but share them with you.
They are soft and tender with a rich chocolate taste and a hint of coconut (plus a secret ingredient ;-)). Who can resist these tasty morsels with only 66 calories and 1 gram of added sugar? The sugar, by the way, comes only from the chocolate chips, and you can omit them if you want. But it’s so nice to bite into one once in a while that you shouldn’t deprive yourself of that pleasure.
They are gluten free, vegan, and rich in antioxidants from the cacao powder.
The ingredients
The flour used in this recipe is a mix of oat flour and almond flour (or almond meal). I do not buy oat flour, as whenever I need it, I just throw some old fashioned oats in my blender and… voila! One cup of oats will yield the 3/4 cup of flour needed in this recipe. It doesn’t need to be super fine, just the texture of breadcrumbs.
You could make these chocolate coconut muffin tops with just oats, but I find the almond flour add a subtle taste and a bit of fat that makes them extra decadent.
A word about raw cacao powder. It is not the same as cocoa powder. I know, it’s tricky… Raw cacao powder is made by cold-pressing unroasted cocoa beans. This process retains the living enzymes and removes the fat (cacao butter). Cocoa powder looks the same but it’s not. Cocoa powder is raw cacao that’s been roasted at high temperatures. Sadly, roasting changes the molecular structure of the cacao bean, reducing the enzyme content, and lowering the overall nutritional value. Raw cacao powder contains more fiber, calories and antioxidants than cocoa powder since more of the nutrients from the whole bean are still intact. Dutch processed cocoa powder is yet another variety that is even more processed using an alkalized solution to make it less acidic and richer in taste. Bottom line: if you want maximum nutrients make sure you buy raw cacao powder!
Your bananas should be nice and ripe, just starting to get brown spots. Three medium bananas should yield about 1-1/2 cups mashed.
I am partial to real vanilla extract from Nielsen-Massey. It is one of the best out there. And it’s the real deal, not that artificial imitation stuff.
My secret ingredient: Rum. Just because. Well, because coconut and Rum are a match made in heaven, and if you add chocolate to it, it’s a step beyond heaven… It’s of course optional but the secret to an amazing recipe versus a plain one is in the special little touches! The alcohol gets cooked so don’t worry about feeding these to children. they won’t stumble around the house in a drunken stupor…
Shredded coconut is best (not flakes), and of course should be unsweetened.
Dark chocolate chips are optional as they are the only source of added sugar in the recipe. But I find it’s a small price to pay for the amount of satisfaction I get from biting into one… I recently discovered these Godiva 69% bittersweet chips that are to die for, but pricy… Any dark chip is fine, preferably 60% or above.
The process
It takes me about 15 minutes from start to finish to throw these cookies together. The most work is to mash the banana with a fork, and if you don’t find that a stress-relieving experience like I do, you can even do that in a blender…
Once you have processed the oats into a coarse powder, add them to a large bowl with the almond flour, cacao powder and baking soda. Then add the liquid ingredients: banana, vanilla, Rum. Combine all that, add coconut and chocolate chips and combine again. Scoop out the dough onto a silicone-lined baking sheet. Don’t worry about the shape, these will rise a bit and shape up as they cook. A sprinkle of coconut on top, into the oven at 350F for 20 minutes, and that’s all!
Let cool and enjoy…
If you like these chocolate coconut muffin tops, check out these other recipes:
Healthy oatmeal raisin cookies
Gluten-free banana bread chocolate chip muffins
Banana oatmeal walnut chocolate cookies
Chocolate coconut muffin tops
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup rolled oats old fashioned, or 3/4 cup oat flour
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/4 cup Raw cacao powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 3 ea bananas mashed (1-1/2 cups)
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp rum
- 1/4 cup shredded coconut unsweetened
- 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
- 2 tbsp shredded coconut unsweetened, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Process the oats in a blender into a coarse flour. Place in a large bowl.
- Add almond four, cacao powder and baking soda. Stir with a whisk until blended.
- Mash the bananas. Add to the bowl.
- Add vanilla and rum.
- Mix with a spatula until combined.
- Add 1/4 cup shredded coconut and 1/4 cup chocolate chips. Mix until combined.
- Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat.
- Drop 2 tablespoon balls of dough onto cookies sheet using a small ice cream scoop, spacing them well.
- Sprinkle the rest of the shredded coconut on top.
- Bake for 20 minutes.
- Let cool on the baking sheet for 15 minutes before moving the cookies to a rack.
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I haven’t made these yet, but they sound great and with ingredients I would feel good about using. However, I don’t care for the taste of coconut. Would it be terrible if I left it out? Does it just provide a taste or is it important to the overall “structure” of the goody?
Hi Patricia! You can definitely leave the coconut out. I suggest you increase the amount of oats and or almond flour by the equivalent amount to make up for it, otherwise the batter may be a bit too liquid. For example, add 2 tbsp of oats and 2 tbsp of almond flour to replace the 1/4 cup of coconut flakes. Rum is also entirely optional. Hope you enjoy!