Coconut Butter Bark, Two Ways

Want a super easy, infinitely adaptable, no added sugar necessary sweet treat? Never fear, coconut butter bark from http://meatified.com is here! Just spread, sprinkle and chill.

Well, brace yourselves: this is probably the first treat recipe to grace this site since about 2013. Yup, twenty thirteen. The year before I wrote a cookbook and THAT feels like eons ago! I wanted to whip up something (last minute, so very last minute) that was a little sweet with a Valentine’s spin, but also keep the recipe obnoxiously simple, too. So this Coconut Butter Bark hits the spot: it’s literally as easy as spread, sprinkle and chill. It’s more a method than a recipe, really.

Want a super easy, infinitely adaptable, no added sugar necessary sweet treat? Never fear, coconut butter bark from http://meatified.com is here! Just spread, sprinkle and chill.

To keep with all things heart shaped and pretty in pinks and reds, I turned to nature’s naturally gorgeous things for a punch of color: dried rose petals and freeze dried raspberries. They look stunning sprinkled over the pale coconut butter bark and are totally romantic without storming into cheesy territory. You might not believe that of the rose petals, but they’re so small and delicate looking that they don’t overpower everything.

Want a super easy, infinitely adaptable, no added sugar necessary sweet treat? Never fear, coconut butter bark from http://meatified.com is here! Just spread, sprinkle and chill.

Want a super easy, infinitely adaptable, no added sugar necessary sweet treat? Never fear, coconut butter bark from http://meatified.com is here! Just spread, sprinkle and chill.

Because this recipe has so few ingredients, the quality of the coconut butter you use matters. Use the smoothest, creamiest coconut butter (or coconut manna) you can find. Some jars can be a little gritty and you really don’t want that here! So, whether you use your own homemade coconut butter or your favorite jarred brand, make sure it’s super creamy.

Again, to make this really easy (can you spot the theme when it comes to me making treats?), I used a whole jar of coconut butter. No weighing and measuring that way, ha! Spread thinly on a lined baking sheet, that makes for a fair amount of coconut butter bark, so I decided to use this one batch to make two different variations. I didn’t bother to make two separate batches. I just sprinkled the toppings onto their respective halves of the coconut butter.

Want a super easy, infinitely adaptable, no added sugar necessary sweet treat? Never fear, coconut butter bark from http://meatified.com is here! Just spread, sprinkle and chill.

The best bark has a couple of different toppings that complement each other, with bonus points for sprinkles that bring some fun textures to the mix. So with that in mind, I decided to pair the fragrant dried rose petals with chewy crystallized ginger chips and an optional sprinkle of coconut sugar for crunch on the top half of the coconut butter bark. The bottom half of the coconut butter bark was made with freeze dried raspberries paired with my favorite caramel sea salt coconut chips and an optional sprinkle of flaky sea salt to finish.

You might be wondering about where to get some of these ingredients. I’ve linked to online sources for all of them in the recipe below, but it’s often cheaper to buy them in person. I picked up my dried rose petals in an international market and found them with the herbs and spices. You may also have luck finding them with the ingredients for herbal teas or even at a tea shop. Both the freeze dried raspberries and caramel sea salt coconut chips can be found at Target. I usually pick up the coconut chips in the snack aisle and the candied ginger in the baking aisle of my local Sprouts.

Want a super easy, infinitely adaptable, no added sugar necessary sweet treat? Never fear, coconut butter bark from http://meatified.com is here! Just spread, sprinkle and chill.

The candied ginger and rose coconut butter bark is, surprisingly, not overly floral. The rose petals bring a nice subtle fragrance that goes really well with the sweet and spicy ginger. Even Mr Meatified enjoyed this variety, which surprised me! (A quick note: if your rose petals come as buds, you’ll want to pull off the petals and discard the green base of the buds. Only the petals are edible.)

That said, if you can’t find them or don’t think they’re for you, try pairing the candied ginger with chopped dried figs or dried apple. The raspberry and caramel sea salt coconut butter bark would be equally delicious made with freeze dried strawberries or freeze dried blueberries and finely crushed plantain chips for another sweet and salted combination.

Want a super easy, infinitely adaptable, no added sugar necessary sweet treat? Never fear, coconut butter bark from http://meatified.com is here! Just spread, sprinkle and chill.

If you don’t want to make both flavors of coconut butter bark, this recipe is infinitely adaptable – try experimenting with your favorite dried fruits and crunchy toppings. If you favor one of the flavors I’ve given below over the other, simply double the amounts of toppings given in the recipe that tickles your fancy and sprinkle them evenly over all of the coconut butter!

You can store the coconut butter bark in an airtight container or bag in either the fridge or freezer. I prefer the frozen version as it has a really satisfying snap when you bite into it. That’s one of the reasons I like to spread the mixture thinly, to make a thin and crispy bite. If you would like your bark to have a slightly softer feel, keep yours stored in the fridge. If it’s cold enough in your kitchen or pantry that coconut butter remains solid, you can try storing your coconut butter bark in a cool dark place there. Just be aware that the freeze dried fruits will soften a little after a few hours exposed to air.

And if you wanted to go all out: a carob powder and coconut oil “chocolate” drizzle would be awesome!

Want a super easy, infinitely adaptable, no added sugar necessary sweet treat? Never fear, coconut butter bark from http://meatified.com is here! Just spread, sprinkle and chill.

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Coconut Butter Bark, Two Ways

Want a super easy, infinitely adaptable, no added sugar necessary sweet treat? Never fear, coconut butter bark is here! Just spread, sprinkle and chill.

  • Author: Rachael Bryant / Meatified

Ingredients

Scale

For the candied ginger & rose coconut butter bark half:

For the raspberry & caramel sea salt coconut butter bark half:

Instructions

  1. SOFTEN: Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. The coconut butter needs to be soft enough to stir and pour. If it isn’t, either gently heat the glass jar without its lid in a microwave on about 50% power for a minute or so OR pop the jar with the lid on into a bowl of warm water for ten minutes or so to soften. Stir the coconut butter until it’s smooth, evenly combined and creamy. You don’t want the jar to get too hot to the touch or for the coconut butter to be liquid, or it will spread too thin. You’re looking for a thick, smooth consistency that can pour and spread, but not run on its own.
  2. SPRINKLE: Pour the softened coconut butter onto the parchment lined baking sheet and use a spatula to spread it into an evenly level rectangle that’s about 1/8 – 1/4 inch (3 – 6 mm) thick. While the coconut butter is still soft, sprinkle one half with the crystallized ginger chips, dried rose petals and coconut sugar, if using. Sprinkle the other half of the coconut butter with the crushed caramel sea salt coconut chips, freeze dried raspberries and additional flaky salt, if using. (If you would like to make the whole batch a single flavor, double the amount of the toppings of your choice and sprinkle over the softened coconut butter evenly.)
  3. CHILL: Transfer the baking sheet to the fridge or freezer. Chill for 30 minutes before breaking into pieces as you like. To store, keep the pieces in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer. If it’s cool enough in your kitchen or pantry that coconut butter stays solid, you can store the bark in a cool dark place there. Note that the freeze dried raspberries will soften after a few hours when exposed to air.

Notes

I picked up my dried rose petals in an international market and found them with the herbs and spices. You may also have luck finding them with the ingredients for herbal teas or even at a tea shop. Failing that, follow the link in the recipe to find them online. One other thing: if your rose petals come as buds, you’ll want to pull off the petals and discard the green base of the buds. Only the petals are edible.

Freeze dried strawberries or freeze dried blueberries would also be lovely here paired with the caramel sea salt coconut chips.

Bonus points: a quick chocolate-y drizzle made from carob powder and coconut oil, ‘magic shell’ style would be amazing!

 

Want a super easy, infinitely adaptable, no added sugar necessary sweet treat? Never fear, coconut butter bark from http://meatified.com is here! Just spread, sprinkle and chill.

4 comments

  1. YAAAAAAY! Lovely to see you post a recipe again, and oh boy, what a recipe this is! I can’t wait to make this 🙂

    1. Thank you, Raina! I’ve been working on a lot of behind the scenes stuff this year so far — hoping to have a brand new website up and running soon 🙂 Oh, and I almost feel sorry for sharing this recipe because it’s SO ADDICTIVE.

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