Have you ever wanted to make homemade chocolates, but without all the effort or a lot of complicated steps?
Then this recipe should be next on your “desserts-to-make” list!
These small morsels not only look wonderful – they also taste just heavenly.
Whenever I find a recipe made with shredded coconut, I can’t wait to try it out, because I just love its flavor so much.
Although I usually prefer dark chocolate over white when it comes to sweet, between-meal nibbles, the white chocolate and coconut combination just carries me away.
Another great thing about this recipe: you can use various types of cookies for making the chocolates. Just make sure they are crispy type of cookie or biscuit – some perfect examples are crisp ladyfingers, shortbread biscuits, or graham crackers.
These goodies are prepared in less than 20 minutes, plus two hours to chill in the fridge, and a little more time to chill after they’ve been formed and rolled in coconut.
It’s super convenient to be able to prepare them in the morning, and keep them cool for afternoon coffee or dinner later in the day. Plus, they also double as a nice gift idea that doesn’t require a lot of time or money to make!
Don’t let the use of alcohol in this recipe deter you from sharing this with the kids – just substitute fruit juice or syrup for the rum to sprinkle on the cookie crumbs.
The Recipe
- 50 g or 2 oz crispy biscuits (lady fingers, shortbread, graham crackers, etc.)
- 1 tablespoon rum substitute fruit juice or syrup for an alcohol-free version
- 150 g or 5 oz white chocolate
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup shredded coconut
- Crush the biscuits until really fine. Here’s a good tip: put them into a freezer bag, seal it, and use a rolling pin to beat them; or you use an electric mixer for this step.
- Put the crumbles into a bowl, pour over the rum, and stir.
- Roughly chop the chocolate, add the cream, and place into a double boiler. Melt, stirring constantly.
- As soon as the cream and chocolate have emulsified into a thick sauce (called a ganache), pour over the biscuits and mix to combine, until it becomes a smooth, creamy mousse.
- Cover the bowl with a lid and leave to cool in the fridge for 2 hours, or until firm.
- Place the shredded coconut in a bowl. Using a teaspoon, scoop small portions of the mousse, and quickly form into balls using your hands. Toss immediately into the coconut crumbles to coat.
- Place back in the fridge before serving. Approximately 1-2 hours would be the perfect amount of time for them to set completely, but they can be eaten before then, too. Store in a sealed container and keep in the fridge.
Cooking By the Numbers…
Step 1 – Crush your cookies
Place the biscuits in a large mixing bowl, and crush them until they are fine and uniform.
Step 2 – Pour on the rum
Pour the rum (or substitute) over the crumbled cookies, and stir to combine. Set aside.
Step 3 – Chop the chocolate
Roughly chop the white chocolate and place it in the top of a double boiler. Fill the bottom of a double boiler (or a small saucepan fitted with a metal mixing bowl on top) with a few inches of water and bring to a simmer.
Step 4 – Melt in a double boiler
Place the chocolate over the heat, and add the cream. Melt the chocolate, stirring constantly.
Step 5 – Pour the ganache
Once a thick sauce is formed (a.k.a. ganache), pour over the crushed cookies and stir to combine. Chill for two hours, or until firm.
Step 6 – Coat with coconut
Place the shredded coconut in a large bowl and scoop the chilled chocolate mixture by the teaspoonful, or using a small ice cream scoop.
Form into bite-sized balls by rolling in the palm of your hand, then drop into the coconut and toss to coat.
Step 7 – Chill before serving
Place the formed chocolates back in the fridge to firm up before serving.
Maybe you have your own suggestions for delicious variations on this recipe? Let me know in the comments!
Photos by Nina-Kristin Isensee, © Ask the Experts, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. See our TOS for more details.
About Nina-Kristin Isensee
Nina lives in Iserlohn, Germany and holds an MA in Art History (Medieval and Renaissance Studies). She is currently working as a freelance writer in various fields. She enjoys travel, photography, cooking, and baking. Nina tries to cook from scratch every day when she has the time and enjoys trying out new spices and ingredients, as well as surprising her family with new cake creations.
White chocolate, coconut and cookies? I think you’ve found the perfect dessert trifecta! I never used to like coconut as a kid, but I’ve recently developed a love of it, especially in combination with chocolate. My mom, however, finds it absolutely disgusting. Like, if she ever accidentally eats some, she actually spits it out into a napkin – that level of hate. I’ll definitely have to try these out sometime. Thanks for the recipe!
What a pity your mom dislikes coconut so much. I also have someone in the family who doesn’t like it. But as a true lover, I can’t understand why that is 😉 In the end, let’s just say, fortunately there is more for you and me then 😉
I’m a big fan of coconut and combining it with white chocolate a crumbled biscuits sounds like a great idea! I’m already craving them just by looking at the pictures! Besides it seems an easy and quick recipe and that’s a plus. I really appreciate the tip about sealing the biscuits in a freezer bag and beating them with a rolling pin, I’ve been using my electric mixer but it’s a very old device and it takes a lot of time to get decent crumbs out of it.
Thank you so much for the fantastic recipe, I’m going to try it out soon!
Thank you, I’m happy you can indulge into these little treats. And indeed – it is such a quick recipe, that’s why I love it so much. When they are thoroughly chilled during summer, they taste amazing. Great that the tip with the rolling pin is helpful to you. That is really practical.
Did someone say delicious? I love how detailed this recipe is because it’s definitely going to aid me when I decide to make this. I say decide because these types of deserts aren’t usually what I make because I’ve had some terrible messes with coconuts before but I’m still going to do it, one day. I’m always up for learning new recipes and more so if they’re SWEET!
Oh I’m sure everything will work out this time 🙂 Luckily, you just have to toss them in coconut. Happy to hear that you appreciate the detailed description. I also think that this is helpful to see how e.g. different textures look like. Enjoy the goodies!
Wow, those look wonderful. I am not the world’s greatest baker, so no-bake stuff is great for me. I love coconut, but I suppose you can also substitute ground or chopped nuts or some other delicious topping as well. The above picture of the cookies looks so neat and tidy. I can imagine that my results won’t be as pretty, but as long as they taste good, that’s the main thing.
I agree with you that the taste should be the most important thing. Especially, when it comes to trying recipes for the first time. With more practice, one can still work on the look, but getting the flavor comes first 🙂
Yeah, you might replace them with chopped nuts or other things you can find. I hope you enjoy them!
This is fantastic! I really love this recipe primarily because I’m no baker. This is something someone like me whose not very adept at baking can try. I love the simplicity of the procedure. Will it make a difference if dark chocolate is to be used? I’m just a chocoholic and while I’m not averse to white chocolate, I just prefer dark ones.
Thanks, the simplicity is awesome – and sometimes one is just not in the mood for doing something complicated, turning on the oven, preheating etc. So this is a true alternative for preparing a quick treat!
You can substitute the white variety with dark chocolate. Add it bit by bit to see how the texture of the ganache changes. The pralines might become a bit harder, as white choc has a higher amount of cocoa butter which makes it creamier in the end. That’s why you probably won’t need excactly the same amount of a dark variety, a bit less.
You can orientate towards the picture I have taken. If the cream is running like that, it’s perfect.
But eventually, it will also work as delicious dark morsels 🙂 Yummy!
They sound scrumptious and look so pretty. I was just talking to some others about food gifts, and you’re right, this item would be perfect for giving. I also wouldn’t mind keeping a few!
It’s great how you spelled everything out to make these perfectly. Now that I’ve learned how important it is to follow directions precisely, I’m getting better at the whole cooking and baking thing. Okay, I was a pretty good cook anyway, but cooking to taste and all that guesswork is just not the same as being precise.
Well that is awesome to hear 🙂 I also have come to the conclusion that – when keeping to the directions – things turn out better than before. Sometimes I just thought “Oh, well, it will be fine either way”, but it wasn’t in the end, when I included too much “freestyle-baking” 😉 So I hope you’ll have fun making (and nibbling) these!
Yummy, thanks for your recipe ! It looks sinfully delicious ,
I will try to do it with my kids this week, hope they will love it!
Look forward for more amazing recipes!!
Great! I really hope that your children will like them, and you too.
And sure, we all do our best to find more fancy and awesome recipes for you to try out! 🙂
This recipe seems so simple and delicious. One thing I would love to see with these recipes is substitute suggestions if you are on a strict diet. Such as for a diabetic friendly version. As it is, I just come up with the substitutes for myself when viewing these. I also think I might put a almond in the center of these. The recipe sounds similar to a Foca Roche candy I used to love and it had a nut in the middle.
The idea with the almond is great, that would also somehow remember me of a sort of sweet treat that is sold in the supermarkets here. Only homemade 🙂
Right, diabetic friendly versions would be helpful, maybe this could be a thing to focus on in specific articles and recipes too. I am unfortunately not an expert in this topic, but I understand that. I think this is definitely an area to consider for future posts! Thanks for the input.
This looks like a really simple recipe to make. Unfortunately for me, I don’t like to eat coconut at all. Although I wouldn’t mind making this as a gift for someone else. Besides,it’s nice to see white chocolate being used for a change.
Well, you could think about a substitute like finely crushed nuts or brittle chips. I haven’t experimented with this recipe right now, but I think there could be other options too. However, enjoy making them and surprising your friends or family!
Ohh, when I saw the picture I thought these were a variation on these truffles you make with condensed milk (brigadeiros, a portuguese recipe). From the recipe, it sounds like they’re just as easy to make. I have to try it.
I’m not overly fond of white chocolate, either, so I’ll probably try with both milk and white and see what works best. This isn’t because I want to eat twice as many or anything…
You know what, mixing shredded biscuits with the brigadeiros might work pretty well, too, add some crunch…might experiment next time I make them.
By the way, you mention substituting the rum with juice for a non alcoholic version. But doesn’t the alcohol just evaporate as soon as you mix in the ganache? Alcohol doesn’t really take much heat to evaporate, after all.
I had a look at brigadeiros online, and you’re right. They really seem similar, also only a few ingredients, rolled to balls and tossed. I haven’t used condensed milk for a recipe like that, so I need to try it out in different variations!
You’re right that it doesn’t take boiling temperature to evaporate alcohol, but I would have to check on the exact temperature again. However, some people might want to exclude alcohol completely, so this way, they could be 100% sure 🙂
Simple, but delicious – this is how I would categorise these chocolates. My mouth was watering at the recipe and if I could trust myself to be able to make them and not eat them all in one sitting I would do so. Alas, I just don’t have that level of self control where white chocolate is involved!
Haha 🙂 Thank you, I think that most of us can’t resist the sweet temptations in life, right? Have fun making these little morsels and enjoy one, or two, or three – 😉
I made them and handed them out with coffee after supper with some friends – they all loved them!
Awesome to hear 🙂 So I’m sure this wasn’t the last time, these sweet delights found their way into your home 😉 Enjoy whenever you’re having them
Oh my goodness this recipe is to die for. I absolutely love these these. One of my favorite flavors is coconut and this tastes so fabulous. I made these the other night and the texture was to die for. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Great! Thank you, I’m always excited when someone tried a recipe and liked it! I just can’t resist when it comes to coconut, too. And if it’s put into a sweet goodie, there’s nothing that can hold me back 😉
Totally in my dessert-to-do list!
so yummy!!!
I love coconut and chocolate, I think they are the perfect combination!
Thank you for posting this! doing it soon!
I’m happy that this combination meets your taste so well 🙂 If you like, keep us up to date how they turned out for you!
Every time I come across this page, I just say, “Mmmmm.” These look so good. I am going to have to treat myself to a batch when I get feeling better (I’m a little under the weather at the moment). I know several other people who would really like them as well.
I’m thinking about hosting a holiday baking party this season, and I think that these will be my contribution. I’m sure everyone that will come would love to have some.
Mmmm!