Chocolate Toasted Coconut Balls

Chocolate Toasted Coconut Balls

These little decadent chocolate toasted coconut balls are easy to make but hard to resist. Make them and then just try to eat only one!

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Chocolate Toasted Coconut Balls on a cake stand with a few red and white napkins near by.

A Sweet Treat!

If you like sweet things… this treat is for you! There’s no hiding the fact that these Chocolate Toasted Coconut Balls are not diet food, but if you can manage to have just one (or maybe two), it will please any sweet tooth out there. Chocolate and coconut have been friends for a while, but when you toast the coconut first, it really intensifies the flavor and pairs so nicely with dark chocolate. 

Ingredients on a countertop - sweetened coconut, chocolate chips, butter, condensed milk, vanilla extract and powdered sugar.

A Few Simple Ingredients

There’s nothing complicated about this recipe. It uses sweetened coconut, condensed milk, powdered sugar (yes, more sugar), butter, vanilla extract and of course, some good quality dark chocolate. That’s just 6 simple ingredients. You only job is preparing them and combining them properly, which is not difficult.

Shredded coconut, toasted on a big red sheet pan.

Toasted Coconut

Toasting the coconut is a critical step and I want to give you just a little tip about it. It takes several minutes for the coconut to start to brown, but once it starts to brown, it goes quickly. So, stick around the kitchen for this step. Stir the coconut every few minutes because the browning will start on the bottom. When you see it start to brown, check it every minute. It is always a shame to burn or over-toast an entire bag of coconut.

Four photos showing how to build chocolate toasted coconut balls.

Making the Chocolate Toasted Coconut Balls

A hand mixer makes quick work of combining the powdered sugar, condensed milk, butter and vanilla. Then, stir in the toasted coconut. Depending on how well you toasted your coconut and the temperature of your kitchen, your batter may be more or less thick. If the mixture is a little soft, pop it into the refrigerator to chill it for 30 minutes. That will make scooping and shaping the balls much easier to do. Then, melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler (or a bowl over a saucepan) and melt it to a dipping consistency. If it starts to get too cool and thick, just melt it back down again. Control the temperatures of the batter and chocolate as you need to. 

A hand holding a chocolate toasted coconut ball with a cake plate of more in the background.

Storing the Chocolate Toasted Coconut Balls

Once you’ve dipped all the coconut balls, you can store them at room temperature in an airtight container if it is cool enough in your kitchen. Otherwise, place the container in the refrigerator. They will keep this way for 2 to 3 weeks, but I bet they won’t last! You can freeze the balls for up to 3 months, but you do risk the chocolate blooming (becoming cloudy). They will still taste the same though.

A small plate with a stack of chocolate toasted coconut balls on a red napkin with more balls in the background.

Featured Recipe Techniques

More about the skills used in this recipe.

Cooking School
How To Measure Ingredients Properly
How To Measure Ingredients Properly

Measuring properly can make or break a recipe and there is a right way and a wrong way to measure....View Technique

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Chocolate Toasted Coconut Balls

Nutrition Info Print Recipe
  • Prep Time: 45 m
  • Total Time: 45 m
  • Servings:
    24
    balls

Ingredients

  • 14 ounces shredded sweetened coconut
  • 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
  • 1½ cups powdered sugar
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter softened, divided
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups dark or semi-sweet chocolate

Instructions

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 350°F.
  2. Spread the shredded coconut out on a sheet pan. Toast the coconut in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes until lightly browned on the edges. Toss the coconut a few times through the toasting process and keep your eyes on it as it starts to brown.
  3. Remove ⅓ cup of the toasted coconut and set it aside. Scrunch the rest of the toasted coconut up with your hands, turning it into a finer crumb.
  4. In a large bowl, use a hand mixer to blend the sweetened condensed milk and the powdered sugar together until the sugar dissolves. Stir in the toasted coconut, 2 tablespoons of the softened butter and vanilla extract. Chill this mixture in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
  5. Scoop out tablespoon portions and roll the mixture into balls. Place the rolled balls onto a parchment paper lined sheet pan. If the balls get too warm, pop them into the refrigerator while you get the chocolate ready.
  6. Melt the chocolate and remaining butter over a double boiler. If you don’t have a double boiler, fill a small saucepan with 1 to 2 inches of water and place a metal bowl on top of the pan (the bowl should not touch the water). Bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat and keep the water at a low simmer. Add the chocolate and butter to the bowl and stir until melted.
  7. Using a toothpick, skewer or small fork, dip each coconut ball into the melted chocolate to completely coat it and place it back on the sheet pan with the parchment paper. Immediately sprinkle a little bit of the reserved toasted coconut on top. Repeat with the remaining coconut balls.

  8. Allow the chocolate to set at room temperature or pop the pan into the refrigerator. When set, transfer to an airtight container with pieces of parchment paper between the layers. Store in a cool place or the keep in the refrigerator. Keeps at room temperature or in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 weeks or up to 3 months in the freezer (though the chocolate may bloom in the freezer).

Enjoy,
If you made this recipe, please add your comments and ratings below.

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Comments (5)Post a Reply

  1. Hi – this recipe looks great, but I’m wondering how many ounces are your cups? Here in Ireland, we use metric or Imperial measures. One and a half cups of Dessicated coconut is 12 ounces…
    Thanks,
    Jill

    Reply

    1. Hi Jill,
      I don’t have a precise cup measurement of dessicated coconut. The 14 ounces specified is a weight measurement which is marked on the package. 14 ounces is just shy of 400 g, so look for a package about that size.
      ML

      Reply

  2. 5 stars
    Made these for holiday. Simple, easy and s new tradition. They look so beautiful and everyone thinks I am an experienced candy maker …..thanks Meredith.

    Reply

  3. Help! I’m not usually a candy maker, but I attempted this because I trust you, Meredith, and I trust to know that you’ll try and help me understand what I did wrong. I was making these as a post surgery treat for a friend that loves coconut and milk chocolate, so I used milk chocolate chips. When melting chips and butter, I ended up with a stiff, grainy big, ball. I added a little more butter, and not seeing much change, I added a little milk. My mixture started separating as I rolled the coconut balls in the chocolate and as the chocolate disappeared, I ended up with what looked like just melted butter. At this point I added dark chocolate chips and stirred to melt and put the rest of coconut balls into that. Worked a little better, but they were all kind of collapsing. Maybe too warm at that point. I’m sorry to present you with this train wreck of results, but I’d really appreciate your input as to what was maybe going wrong-you’re always such a good teacher!

    Reply

    1. Sorry you had a problem with your chocolate. It sounds like the milk chocolate got too hot and seized up. When you overheat chocolate it gets lumpy and grainy. You can try to fix it by adding a few teaspoons of boiling water. For this recipe it is best to use the semi-sweet chocolate which melts better than milk chocolate because it has a lower melting point. It will melt more quickly and evenly so you don’t have to heat the chocolate as long and risk overheating the chocolate.

      Reply

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