healthier mounds brownies

Mounds of Browns!

I think Almond Joy and Mounds are two very underrated candies. Recently at work we had a candy bin filled with treats, and I grabbed an Almond Joy before even a Reese’s. My coworkers pretty much universally though that was weird. Well, I think ya’ll are weird. So there.

If you’ve followed my cynical ass for awhile, you know that I think most Gluten-Free Warriors are frauds. It’s a diet culture gimmick that reflects just how sadly gullible humankind is (obviously, not shitting on celiacs, I know a few who if they so much as touch gluten they’ll get very sick) and is something of a cop-out for just fucken treating your body better overall, damn it. Gluten is a sad, unfair scapegoat.

Anywho, much as that label pisses me off, I’ve actually quite enjoyed playing with almond flour, which I never touched before. The flavor certainly has a nutty, wholesome element compared to all-purpose flour, and it behaves acceptably similar.

Couple that with some coconut sugar – a nice brown sugar sub – and lots of coconut everything pretty much, and you’ve got a good, less saccharine, deliciously layered brownie with which to treat yourself when the sweet hankerings punch you in the nuts.

I procrastinated the shit out of these brownies because my baking touch has been severely diminished after the holidays, so they took me five days start to finish. They certainly will not take you that long if you don’t want them to. These dudes take some chilling time, which is great if you also want to put off finishing them or have other shit to do. They’re pretty patient. Unlike me.

Wear Your Base Layer

The brownie base, like I said, is much lighter in sugar than a traditional brownie. It’s also worth noting that they’re not as thick as I usually make my brownies, nor do I focus on the lovely crinkle-top, since we’re stacking them with other shit.

All that aside, let’s begin. Whisk up some coconut sugar with melted coconut oil, and in a separate big bowl whisk the eggs until very bubbly. Add the sugar mix to the eggs, then some vanilla, almond flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, and salt.

Pour that shit in a 9 x 9 inch cake pan lined with parchment, and bake until set. Cool the brownies in the pan, with the pan set on a wire rack.

Sometimes You Feel Like a (Coco)nut

When the brownies are cool, start up on the coconut layer.

I put my coconut shreds through a food processor with some melted coconut oil to create a more cohesive and less crumbly texture. The coconut shreds as-is are just too thick to adhere nicely to the brownies. You don’t need them to be the consistency of sand or anything, just a little fluffier and smaller. Like snow. Thick snow.

Great fucken descriptor, I know.

Pat the coconut mixture firmly on top of the brownies, spreading evenly. Don’t press it so hard you make a crevice in your cocoa Earth, just enough to make it stick together nicely. Pop the pan in the freezer for a bit to firm up.

Come Out of Your Shell

Finally, the chocolate shell. I call for dark chocolate chips since I like shit less sweet, but if you want a sweeter topping, you can use semi-sweet or even milk chocolate.

Melt those chippies with a touch of coconut oil (I hope you have a jar of coconut oil because, case in point, your ass needs a lot here) until nice and smooth. Pour the shell over the coconut and spread gently until it reaches all edges. Refrigerate for a bit longer to set the top.

Now, if you refrigerate the brownies for a long time, the shell will become very hard like, well, a shell, and the brownies will be pretty hard to cut. 10-15 minutes is good enough to set the layer but still allow a knife to glide smoothly through the barriers. If you do cool them longer than the aforementioned duration, set the brownies on the counter for 10 minutes or so to soften the shell – the exact time depends on how cold your house is. Then slice them up.

A good pinch of flaky salt is wonderful on these brownies. If you have leftovers, I recommend storing them in the fridge to prevent all the coconut from getting too soft. Coconut oil is far more malleable than butter and sensitive to temperature changes. Gets moody. Like me.

One final tidbit. If you want to make these Almond Joy brownies, feel free to arrange some whole almonds on top of the coconut layer before adding the chocolate shell. Try to space them so that you have a free path to cut the brownies, else you might have some extra crumbliness to deal with.

Tried this recipe out? Leave a rating and comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!

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