Chocolate coconut bites

Hello, everyone!  Since I'm in a sweet mood today, I figured I would make one of my favorite candies!  Chocolate coconut bites!  I prefer homemade candies...I know what's in it, and how much of everything is going in (not to mention the quality of the ingredients...not that I use super high end ingredients, but I have know what the quality is!  Ha ha!)
These are so easy, and pretty affordable, you'll not want to buy store bought again, I promise.




Here's what you'll need:
6 oz of sweetened condensed milk
2 C powdered sugar
Pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 (14 oz) bag of sweetened shredded coconut
16 oz chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet, but if you like dark chocolate, feel free to use that!)
1/2 Tsb vegetable oil

These make roughly 18, depending on how you cut them, and they should take about 2.5 hours to make.  Unless you have a potty training toddler and keep getting pulled away every five minutes, in which case, it will take all day to get these done.  Either way, the end result is the same, and it's totally worth it!!

First, you'll want to take an 8x8" pan, line it with aluminium foil, and lightly spritz it with cooking spray:

Take a medium size mixing bowl (or just use a mixer...whichever you prefer), and add in the coconut, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, salt, and powdered sugar:

      Mix well!!







Next, press this deliciousness into the 8x8" pan (you may find it easier if you lightly spray your spatula (or whatever you're using to press) with some cooking oil spray):

Now, place this pan, uncovered, in the fridge to set up for about two hours (you could do this ahead, and leave it, covered, in the fridge for a couple of days).
While you're waiting on this to chill, you'll want to melt your chocolate chips.  Put the chocolate and oil in a heat proof container, and melt however you would like.  There are a few different ways to do this:  You can microwave them, at 30 second intervals and stirring between each heating, you can use a double boiler (put a glass bowl with the chocolate chips over a small sauce pan that has some water in it, and stir the chocolate as it melts), OR you can use a nifty chocolate melter!  I got this one for Christmas, and this is my first chance to use it!

....I can't....can we just have a minute here??

Once the two hours are up, and your chocolate is melted, pull the pan out of the fridge.  Pull the aluminium foil out of the pan, and cut the coconut mixture up into the sized bars you want*. 

 Put each bar onto a fork, and dip it into the chocolate.

After you've dipped them, place them on a baking sheet that has been lined with wax paper, and place them in the fridge to set up!

 




...go on and rest up my pretties!!  I know of one toddler who is dreaming of these for when she gets up from her nap!!
I had to make them all pretty on a plate, so you can see just how amazing these are:

                                                  

*If you notice your bars getting soft before you can dip them, just stick them back into the fridge to set back up.

These taste just like what you buy at the store, and really are super easy to make at home!  I hope you'll give them a shot this weekend!  I'll see you back here on Tuesday, where I'll be going over how to make my chicken stock, with the leftover chicken from this week!