Homemade Bounty Bars Recipe

Homemade Bounty bars are chewy coconut bars dipped in chocolate, made with sweetened shredded coconut, a can of sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, a pinch of salt and chocolate chips. Nothing is baked. You need about 15 minutes of hands-on work and 1 hour 15 minutes in total, mostly freezer and fridge time, and an 8×8 inch pan gives you 12 to 16 bars.

The trick is cold. The coconut slab goes into the freezer before you cut it and again before you dip it, so every bar stays firm in the warm chocolate instead of slumping or dropping shreds into the bowl.

What Goes Into 12 to 16 Coconut Bars

• Filling: 3 cups sweetened shredded coconut, 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, a pinch of salt
• Coating: 2½ cups semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips, plus 1 tablespoon coconut oil if you want a thinner, smoother shell
• Pan: 8×8 inch, lined with parchment that hangs over two sides so you can lift the slab out
• Time: 15 minutes prep, 30 minutes in the freezer, then 20 to 30 minutes in the fridge after dipping
• Ratio to remember: 3 cups of coconut to one 14 oz can of condensed milk

Bounty vs Mounds vs Almond Joy

All three are coconut candy bars, and the main difference is the chocolate. A store-bought Bounty has a milk chocolate shell, and there is a dark chocolate Bounty too. Mounds is dark chocolate. Almond Joy is milk chocolate with an almond sitting on the coconut.

With the semi-sweet or dark chips the recipe calls for, these come out closer to Mounds. For the taste of a Bounty from the wrapper, use milk chocolate chips instead. Milk chocolate sets softer, so cut the coconut oil to a teaspoon or leave it out, and give the bars the full 30 minutes in the fridge. Press a whole almond onto each bar before dipping and you have homemade Almond Joy.

One honest difference: the filling here is bound with condensed milk, so it is denser and chewier than the candy bar. If you like a fudgier coconut and chocolate mix, my chocolate coconut fudge sets firmer.

Sweetened Shredded or Desiccated Coconut?

Use sweetened shredded coconut, the soft, moist kind sold in bags in the baking aisle. Its sugar and moisture help the condensed milk bind it into a slab that slices cleanly. Big flakes and coconut chips are too large to pack tight, so the edges crumble.

Many UK and European Bounty recipes use desiccated coconut. It is finer, drier and usually unsweetened, and it soaks up more liquid. It works, but add a little more condensed milk until the mixture holds together when squeezed, and expect a less sweet filling. Any coconut left in the bag is a good start on a batch of coconut macaroons.

Keep the pinch of salt. Condensed milk is very sweet, and the salt is what lets the coconut taste like coconut. The vanilla rounds it out. Almond extract in its place gives a marzipan note that suits the Almond Joy version.

Pressing and Cutting the Coconut Slab

Stir the coconut, condensed milk, vanilla and salt until there are no dry shreds left at the bottom of the bowl. The mixture should look thick and sticky and hold together when you squeeze a spoonful in your fist. If it falls apart, keep stirring for another minute so the coconut can soak up the milk.

Press it into the lined pan with a silicone spatula, which sticks less than metal, then use damp hands to push it into the corners and level the top. Packed tight now means clean slices later. Freeze for 30 minutes, until the center feels firm and cold when you press it.

Lift the slab out by the parchment. For the Bounty shape, cut it into 8 strips about 1 inch wide, then cut each strip in half: 16 bars about 1 x 4 inches. For 12 chunkier bars, cut 6 strips and halve them. Dip the knife in hot water and dry it, and wipe it between cuts so the coconut does not drag. Put the bars back in the freezer while you melt the chocolate.

Melting and Dipping the Chocolate Shell

Melt the chips with the coconut oil in the microwave in 30 second bursts, stirring after each one. Stop while a few small pieces are left and let the warm bowl finish them. Overheated chocolate does not get thinner. It goes thick and dull, and then it coats in clumps.

Take only a few bars out of the freezer at a time. Dip one with a fork, turn it to coat every side, lift it and tap the fork on the rim so the extra runs back into the bowl. Slide it onto a parchment lined sheet with a second fork. While the chocolate is still wet, drag the fork tines across the top in a wavy line if you want the ridges of the candy bar.

Chill the dipped bars for 20 to 30 minutes. They are ready when the chocolate is firm, no longer tacky and has turned slightly matte. Any chocolate left in the bowl can be drizzled over the tops.

Why Coconut Bars Crack, Smear, or Crumble

• The shell cracks after setting: the bars went into the chocolate straight from a long freeze, or the coating is very thin. Let frozen bars sit 2 to 3 minutes before dipping and keep the coconut oil at 1 tablespoon.
• Coconut sheds into the chocolate: the bars warmed up. Put them back in the freezer for 10 minutes and dip a few at a time.
• Edges crumble when you cut: the mixture was not packed firmly or still had dry shreds. For this batch, press the crumbs back onto the bar and dip anyway. The chocolate holds it together.
• A puddle of chocolate sets around the base: too much stayed on the bar. Tap the fork longer and scrape its underside on the rim before you set the bar down.
• Gray streaks on the chocolate: it got too hot while melting or the bars sat in a warm kitchen. They taste the same. Keep them in the fridge.
• Filling squeezes out when you bite: the slab was cut before it was frozen through.

Storing Homemade Bounty Bars

Keep the bars in a lidded container in the fridge for up to 1 week, with parchment between the layers so the chocolate does not stick. For longer, freeze them in a single layer on a tray until hard, then pack them into a freezer box for up to 2 months.

Take them out about 10 minutes before serving. The chocolate softens a little while the coconut stays cold and chewy. For a gift box, set each bar in a paper candy cup and keep the box cold until you hand it over.

Bounty Bar Questions Readers Ask

Are homemade Bounty bars gluten free?

The ingredients are naturally gluten free. If you are making them for someone with celiac disease, check the labels on the coconut and the chocolate chips.

Can I make them dairy free or vegan?

Vegan chocolate chips alone are not enough, because sweetened condensed milk is dairy. Swap it for sweetened condensed coconut milk and use dairy free chips.

Can I use white chocolate for the coating?

Yes. White chocolate makes a sweeter, softer shell. Melt it in 15 second bursts, because it scorches faster than dark chocolate.

More Coconut Bars and Chocolate Bites

If cutting and dipping feels fussy, chocolate coconut balls are rolled instead of sliced, and coconut almond truffles lean into the Almond Joy flavor. For a baked coconut bar, try brown butter coconut blondies or coconut cheesecake bars. And for a higher protein snack with the same coconut taste, there are coconut vanilla protein bars.