Make your own Mounds or Almond Joy bites that taste like the real thing! Our homemade coconut filling is made with only 3 ingredients! This post contains an affiliate link.
You might also like our homemade chocolate peanut butter eggs. They are to die for! Looking for more candy recipes? Try our homemade English toffee (tried and true family recipe) or our microwave caramels!
Watch our step by step video!
If you like Mounds and Almond Joy candy bars you will LOVE our version. I actually like them better, and think that the coconut has a more distinct texture, but I’ll leave it up to you to decide for yourself!
Homemade Mounds and Almond Joy Bites
You can make them in round truffle shapes or press the coconut dough into more of a mini candy bar shape. Both are easy to do. Add one almond or several, depending on your preference. And if you don’t like almonds, no worries, we have a Mounds version too.
This recipe yields about 3 dozen bites. The Almond Joy ones are slightly larger since the dough is packed around the almond.
Almond Joy/Mounds Ingredients
- 14 oz. package sweetened shredded coconut (about 4 cups)
- 1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 cups melting chocolate wafers or chocolate chips
- whole almonds (raw or roasted)
- toasted almonds (optional garnish)
Chocolate To Use for Almond Joy and Mounds
Traditionally, Almond Joy candy bars are made with milk chocolate and Mounds are made with dark chocolate.
Note: You can use your favorite melting chocolate or chocolate chips to dip the candy in. I’ve used both and have had great results. If I HAD to choose, I’d probably go with melting chocolate wafers because they are made for this and harden quickly.
How To Make Coconut Dough
- Pulse coconut in a blender until it resembles coarse crumbs. You don’t want to pulverize it too much, you just want to break down the flakes a bit. Watch my video to see the texture that you are looking for.
- Mix coconut with powdered sugar. Add 1 can of sweetened condensed milk and mix until sticky dough forms.
- Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes.
How To Form Coconut Dough Into Bites
- Grease your hands with a small amount of butter and roll refrigerated coconut dough into 1″ balls for the Mounds bites and 1 1/2″ balls for the Almond Joy bites. Press an almond into the center of the Almond Joy bites and roll the dough around the almond.
- Place coconut balls onto a parchment or wax paper lined baking sheet.
- Freeze 30 minutes.
How To Dip Coconut Bites Into Chocolate
- You can use a double boiler to melt your melting chocolate, but a microwave works too, and is what I used this time. 30 seconds is a good starting point before giving it a good stir and deciding whether to add another 10-20 seconds or so. DO NOT OVER HEAT.
- Dip coconut balls into chocolate, tap the fork or chocolate dipper against the bowl to allow excess chocolate to drip off.
- Place balls on prepared baking sheets.
- Let stand until chocolate hardens (or freeze for 10 minutes).
Optional: Sprinkle toasted almonds on top of the Almond Joy bites before they harden.
Mounds and Almond Joy Bites REcipe
Homemade Mounds or Almond Joy Bites
Ingredients
- 14 oz sweetened shredded coconut (about 4 cups)
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
- chopped almonds for Almond Joy
- 2-3 cups melting chocolate wafers milk or dark
- whole almonds for Almond Joy
Instructions
- Pulse coconut in a blender until it resembles coarse crumbs. You don’t want to pulverize it too much, you just want to break down the flakes a bit.
- Mix coconut with powdered sugar. Add 1 can of sweetened condensed milk and mix until sticky dough forms.
- Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes.
- Line a baking sheet with waxed paper.
- Grease your hands with a small amount of butter and roll refrigerated coconut dough into 1″ balls for the Mounds bites and 1 1/2″ balls for the Almond Joy bites. Press an almond into the center of the Almond Joy bites and roll the dough around the almond.
- Place coconut balls onto a parchment or wax paper lined baking sheet.
- Freeze 30 minutes.
- Melt chocolate in microwave safe dish for 30 seconds. Stir. Add 10 seconds if necessary and stir until smooth.
- Dip coconut balls into chocolate, letting excess drain off and place back onto waxed paper.
- Let harden.
- Optional: place an almond in the center of the coconut ball and form dough around almond. Sprinke with chopped almonds after dipping in chocolate for a garnish.
Notes
Nutrition
Welcome! I'm Brandy, mother to 5 darling kiddos and a cute black lab named Toby. My husband is in the Coast Guard so we've lived all over the place, turning each house into a home. I love baking, sewing, making cute things with my kids, and sharing what I've learned with all of you!
Tina says
Should we use sweetened coconut? Or unsweetened ?
Thank you.
Tina♥️
Brandy says
Hi Tina! I use sweetened.
Carol says
Great Holiday tradition. Crowd pleaser.
Ann says
These look great! Can they be made ahead and frozen ? Or how should they be stored ? Thx
Brandy says
Hi! They can be frozen, and I stored them at room temp in a container.
Marie Stoltzfus says
The taste is a 5, but after doubling the coconut, mine was still to moist to roll into balls after overnighting in the frig. I gave up and put it in a pan layered with almonds and topped with chocolate. Right now it’s in the freezer. Hopefully I’ll get some bars out of it.
Brandy says
That’s so odd!
Christy says
Lovely recipe thank you delicious
Brandy says
You’re welcome! Glad you liked it!