Mary berry Almond Joy Bark – Dairy-Free and Gluten-Free

Almond Joy Bark is one of the best sweet treats to grace my kitchen in the last 6 months. AND it’s gluten-free, dairy-free and soy-free and a breeze to make! 

The combo I can’t get enough of right now:

Chocolate. Almond. Coconut.

I know what you’re thinking: Almond Joys and I were made for each other. These days that might be true but up until about 2 years ago, I was not a fan.

While I’ve always been a chocolate+almond fan, I was always a coconut hater until about 2 years ago when I saw the light. Now the world is a much brighter, happier place. How on earth did I ever live without it?

… but seriously. God’s gift to Leah-kind.

Also, on the actual real brand-name Almond Joy front, there’s that whole baby being intolerant to dairy and soy thing (so fun!) which keeps this gluten-free mama dairy-free and soy-free as well, and consequently far, far away from 99% of store bought goodies and processed foods.

Le sigh.

BUT, when have I ever let that restrict me from indulging? I mean, C’mon folks. I’m the queen of making it happen (in an allergen safe way, of course) – sometimes it just means you have to get a little creative to get your fix.

So, one evening as I was having my usual nightly “dessert” – a little dish filled to the brim with a mix of top 8 allergen-free dark chocolate chips, roasted almonds, and toasted coconut flakes, which I all too often spill all over the place because have you TRIED getting three small items into your mouth at the same time with one hand, while holding an extremely grabby baby in the other? “Yeah. Doesn’t end well – I thought: ‘There has to be a better, easier way to get all these flavors in my face at once without vacuuming up the mess every dang night.’”

MAKE IT INTO A BARK!

The secret to making this Almond Joy Bark the best darn bark you’ve ever had? LOAD IT UP.

As you can see, this bark is best when it’s so packed full of the good stuff – roasted, chopped almonds, coconut flakes and shredded coconut -that you can barely even tell that there is chocolate involved.

The other secret? Well-toasted almonds and coconut flakes/shreds. While I’ve been known to dive head first into bags of raw unsweetened coconut flakes and raw almonds, this bark is best when the toppings are perfectly golden brown and toasty. Yes, it requires one extra step and a little extra time, but honestly, this “recipe” is all of three steps as it is, so I’m pretty sure you can handle it 😉

And trust me, it’s worth it.

Bark bonus: you can feel good about this sweet treat!  All this gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free living has really changed the way I feel for the better and has made me reevaluate all of the processed junk I used to put into my body. Sure, this is still chocolate and still a treat – by no means “health food” – but it’s a heck of a lot better than it’s sugar and additive-laden namesake!

I’ll raise an almond joy bark to that!