I’ve been looking forward to sharing this fun recipe with you. Bracken and I have been making these candies together and they are so good, our whole family loves them! We made them for our Christmas candies and I thought with Valentine’s Day coming up, it would be a great time to make them for someone you love. (Though you don’t need a holiday for an excuse, we’ve been making these regularly around here.)

This recipe came to me when I was wanting to find another way to add more coconut oil into our diet. (I’m always looking for ways to add more coconut oil to our diet. Here is an article that talks about some of the reasons why coconut oil is so amazing.) These candies are simple to make and only require three ingredients, all given away in the title. (You can also add a berry in the center of each, which I think makes them even better.) I started out with coconut oil and carob powder and Jeff had the idea to add the cordyceps. I’m so glad he did! It took the health benefits to a whole new level. Have you heard about athletes consuming cordyceps and breaking world records? It talks about that in this article:

“If you’re a close follower of the Olympic games, cordyceps may ring a bell for you. At the 1993 games, 3 female Chinese runners broke 5 world records. Predictably, the officials insisted on testing the runners for anabolic steroids, but the results proved negative. The women had ingested absolutely nothing illegal—the only performance booster they used was cordyceps.

This incident spurred talk of banning cordyceps in professional athletic competitions due to its tremendous effects. But the U.S. Olympic Committee has officially ruled cordyceps to be legal on the basis of its strong safety record and outstanding health benefits. Many successful endurance athletes now use cordyceps routinely—including, it is believed, Lance Armstrong’s Team Postal during their record-breaking 7 Tour De France wins.”

Beyond giving energy and increasing oxygen intake, cordyceps has anti-cancer properties and boosts immunity, as well as many other health benefits. (On the Mountain Rose Herbs site, it says there are no known precautions. Edited to add: a reader mentioned not serving these to anyone with an autoimmune disease because they need to avoid anything especially immune-boosting. There are different schools of thought on that. The research I’ve done on cordyceps has shown that it is actually an immune system regulator, boosting the immune system or calming it according to what the body needs. That being said, always do your own research. The cordyceps can be left out of this recipe if you are most comfortable with that and these candies will still be just as delicious.)

Onto the making of these candies: you’ll need candy molds to make them. I bought two in different shapes at a local kitchen shop, they are silicone molds that have 15 candies per mold. They are similar to this one.  This recipe makes enough for my two candy molds when I fill them about 1/3 – 1/2 full, to leave room for a berry in each one. Before you start to make your recipe, put your coconut oil in a warm place beforehand so it will be melted completely. I place a jar of coconut oil on the stove top if I’ve got something baking in the oven, next to the crock pot, or near the wood stove until it’s melted and then begin making these candies.

Coconut Oil Carob Cordyceps Candies

1/3 cup Coconut Oil

1/3 cup Toasted Carob Powder

1 tsp. Cordyceps Powder

Blueberries or Raspberries, optional

 

Directions:

Mix your coconut oil, carob powder, and cordyceps powder until the mixture is completely smooth, with no clumps. I simply use a spoon to mix it up and it is creamy, velvety, and ready to pour in no time. I have a glass measuring cup with a pour spout which is really convenient for pouring the mixture into the candy molds. If you have something with a pour spout, use that. Pour the mixture into the molds slowly, leaving room for a berry in each if you want one. (I fill them about 1/3 -1/2 full, the berries can make them overflow if you’ve filled them too full.)

If you have a little kitchen helper, they will enjoy being the one to lick off the spoon and lick out the container as well! Bracken loves to be the one to put a berry in each. Our favorites are frozen blueberries or raspberries. Fresh berries work too. Place your candies in the freezer. When they have fully hardened, they’re ready for you to eat and enjoy! We leave a container of candies in the freezer and then savor them.

With the miraculous coconut oil (I consider it miraculous), the health-promoting and energizing cordyceps (I could go on and on), the carob powder (which many consider an incredible health food), and the antioxidant-rich berries, these candies are incredibly good for you. You’ll be amazed how delicious they are! And so healthy at the same time, it’s hard to believe they could be that good.

A note on ingredients:

-Use the best quality ingredients to make these candies, organic is always best.

-I’ve used toasted carob powder to make this recipe. I love the taste of it. I haven’t made it with raw carob powder. The taste would be different, and not as sweet. If you prefer chocolate, you could use cocoa powder in this recipe, but might need to add a sweetener because it wouldn’t be as naturally sweet as the carob and a bit bitter without something to sweeten it up.

-We get our cordyceps mushroom powder from Mountain Rose Herbs. It’s organically grown in the United States.

-My favorite coconut oil is from Tropical Traditions. (Full disclosure: I am an affiliate with their company and if you purchase something from Tropical Traditions for the first time, through my link, I will receive a gift certificate which my family greatly appreciates. I promote them because I truly love their high-quality coconut oil.)

(Looking for more sweet and healthy treats to make? Or wanting to add more coconut oil to your diet? Have you tried making my Paleo Pudding yet? It’s one of my very favorite dessert recipes of all time.) 

If you make these candies, please let me know what you think! I’d love to hear your variations.