A very good thing happens when carob combines with hazelnut.
Imagine a rich and solid carob heart made with hazelnut butter and coconut oil. With a smidge of shredded coconut and chopped hazelnuts for crunch. 
My hopes for a romance with carob were renewed when Janet from The Taste Space reminded me of no-sugar-added carob powder. And she introduced me to Gabby’s Sugar-Free Carob Almond Butter Cups.
Reading words like “I forget these aren’t chocolate”, I was out the door buying toasted carob powder.
Along the way, I found Madhava Organic Blonde Coconut Palm Sugar. I’ve been skeptical about it since it’s not a traditional sweetener.
The manufacturers claim it’s gentler on the glycemic index (GI of 35). I bought a small container to see how my body would respond.
Using only 2 tablespoons in this recipe, I don’t notice a drop in blood sugar or fuzzy head. And after doing ALOT of tasting while baking, I continued to feel good.
Of course, mixing it here with hazelnut butter helps balance the sugar.
On the first bite, I can smell the distinctive carob smell. But by the last bite, I feel like it’s chocolate and am just plain satisfied.
As for the Coconut Palm Sugar, I’m cautiously optimistic and I plan to continue researching it.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on it. How do you feel about Coconut Palm Sugar? How does your body respond to it? Leave me a comment below to share.
Note: This recipe was shared with the following blog communities: My Meatless Monday, Make your Own Monday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, Allergy Free Wednesday, Gluten-Free Wednesdays, Wheat-Free Wednesday.
Hazelnut Carob Hearts
From PartTimeHealthNut.com
Makes: 8 hearts, 1 T. each Cook time:10 minutes, Chill time: 30 minutes in freezer
Ingredients
- ½ cup raw hazelnuts plus 2T. lightly chopped hazelnuts
- 1 T. unsweetened shredded coconut
- ¼ cup plus 2 T. coconut oil
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- ½ tsp. salt
- 2 T. organic blonde Coconut Palm Sugar
- 2 T. toasted carob powder
- ¾ tsp. cinnamon
Directions
- Add 1/2 cup raw hazelnuts to food processor with shredded coconut and blend to a paste, scraping from the sides as you go.
- Place coconut oil in a small pot and heat over medium-low temperature. Once melted, stir in hazelnut butter, vanilla, salt, coconut palm sugar, carob powder and cinnamon. Stir well.
- Lightly toast remaining hazelnuts in a small skillet over medium heat. Remove, lightly chop, and stir into mixture.
- Place your heart mold on a cookie sheet. Drop mixture by a tablespoon into the heart mold. Place in freezer and chill for 30 minutes.
- Pop hearts out of mold. Store in refrigerator.
Nutrition information:
Serving Size: 1 heart, Calories: 162, Carbohydrates: 6.4g, Protein:1.2g, Fat:15.3g, Fiber:0.9g
Please note: Nutritional information is not guaranteed and will vary based on the ingredients used.
These look delicious Marya! I use coconut sugar all the time and have never felt negative with it. I’m not sure about the trees discussion above…I’ve never heard of such a thing! Are trees damaged when maple syrup is extracted too? Great recipe, regardless!
Hi Lauren,
I’ve been feeling good with it too. I don’t think trees are damaged when maple syrup is extracted. Fingers crossed. Thanks and I hope you are well. =) Marya
Ooh, I love hazelnut! Thanks for the recipe – the carob hearts look delicious!
The hazelnut and coconut oil make it a rich heart. =)
Thank you for your submission on Nourishing Treasures’ Make Your Own! Monday link-up.
Check back tomorrow when the new link-up is running to see if you were one of the top 3 featured posts!
Marya you are exactly right about the Trees being ruined by tapping them for their sap and there in is the reason I will not use any coconut palm sugar, however I really enjoyed reading your post and awesome photography, what an inspiration you are and I am over the moon for you to hear that you satisfied your taste buds while holding your ground and you did not have to surcome to chocolate to do it !!! Way to go!!! Thank you for sharing the lovely beautiful treats you created:)
Thanks for confirming that, Kathy! Aw, and thanks for the supportive words.
You’re so welcome, if you’d like to read more about the damage gathering the sap causes to the trees when making of Coconut palm sugar, Tropical Traditions has wonderful information on their site giving a great explanation of the damage it causes and saying that is why they will NOT sell it. I love Tropical Traditions I have found them to be extremely trustworthy in everyway.
Yes, I think that’s where I read it! =)
Yayaya! Your hearts are so gorgeous and filled with all good things. So happy to hear of your carob success and eager to see what you make next.
Thanks, Janet! And thanks again for suggesting carob powder. Yum!
Have you seen Hungry for Change the movie or read the book? I got both from the library. Anyway, Jon Gabriel (i think his book is in The Gabriel Method) is in both, and his recipes use coconut palm sugar, which surprised me because i thought he’d be totally sugar-free. do you know anything about how sustainably harvested it is? i think i’ve seen it in the indian food stores here in the quad cities.
Hi Anne, I haven’t seen or read it, but I’ll have to look into it. I’m curious to see what he has to say about it. OK, from what I read about sustainability, once a tree is used for the sap, it no longer produces coconuts. Boo. =(