Need an easy to make homemade treat? Homemade Mounds Bars are easy to make and are the perfect treat for the holidays.
I love to make homemade versions of the foods that we enjoy. If you have read my site for long, I am sure that you already know that.
Making homemade versions of our favorite foods is one of the things I love to do. I enjoy the challenge of figuring out how to make the copycat version taste like the real thing.
Why I like to make Copycat Mounds Bar
Homemade versions are not always healthier, but most foods cost less when you make them at home, especially if you are making them in a large batch.
This recipe today fits this category. It is easy to make a large batch to serve a crowd or give away as a food gift during the holidays.
I certainly can’t call these healthy or even healthier than the real thing, but these are so good and so much cheaper than buying the candy bar version.
I have made these so many times for my family over the years. I first shared this recipe way back in 2010. My daughter made a double batch of these over the weekend and I knew it was time to share the recipe again.
My husband’s staff loves it when I send these to work with him. Over the years many of them have asked for the recipe so they could make them for the holidays.
I have also taken these to so many church dinner, potluck, and holiday gatherings over the years. Almost everyone that loves coconut loves these.
Many recipes for homemade mounds bars or homemade almond joys have you dip the filling into melted chocolate. I like to make things easy. Dipping things in chocolate is not hard, but it is time consuming and messy.
I simplified this recipe and made them into a bar that you can cut into pieces. It doesn’t look quite like the real version, but it makes them so much easier to make.
These are like a mounds bar, but if you prefer an almond joy then I would stir in a few almonds or even toasted almonds, into the coconut mixture.
What do you need to make this recipe? Just a few simple ingredients.
- coconut
- sweetened condensed milk
- butter
- powdered sugar
- chocolate
If you love coconut and chocolate these are a must make for the holidays!
Need other homemade candy recipes? Try one of our favorites.
Homemade Mounds Bars
A copycat version of mounds bars is easy to make at home with this homemade mounds bar recipe.
Ingredients
- 2 -14 ounce bags of coconut
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1 lb powdered sugar
- 3 cups of chocolate chips
- 2 teaspoons of butter
Instructions
- In a large bowl mix together the coconut, sweetened condensed milk, 1/2 cup butter, and powdered sugar. Mix to combine well.
- Spread mixture onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper ( I like to my silicone baking mat.) Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- Melt 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips and 1 teaspoon of butter in the microwave stirring every 30 seconds until melted. Spread over chilled coconut mixture and chill until chocolate is set.
- Flip bars over and carefully peel or parchment paper. Melt remaining chocolate and butter. Spread over the coconut layer. Chill.
- After firm, bring to room temperature and then cut them into pieces. If the chocolate is solid these will be hard to cut. I bring them to room temperature to cut them, and then put them back in the refrigerator to store them.
Notes
If you want to make an almond joy style bar add almonds to the coconut mixture.
This is how I spread them into bars and cover them in chocolate.
Spread mixture onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper ( I used my silicone baking mat on the ones in the picture). Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Originally posted March 2010. Updated December 2019.
These sound really good, especially with almonds added in. Of course, when I make this, I will need to 1/4 or 1/8 the recipe. 🙂
yea!! I haven’t had one of these in years… nor has my hubby. He’s already thanking you 🙂
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Are you using the sweetened flaked coconut? I get all confused, there are so many different types of coconut available when I got to the store now.
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@flora, Yes, I used sweetened flaked coconut because that is what I had, but this is plenty sweet with the condensed milk in it, so I think you could use other kinds.
Those look really yummy! I think y’all should move to San Diego. 😉
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Oh, Mounds are my very favorite candy bar. I am so going to try these! Thanks!
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Mounds is one of my favorites! And I have all the ingredients for this recipe. Hurray! 🙂
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@Emily, I hope you like them! Let me know what you think of them and if they are close to the real thing.
My daughter loves Almond Joy candy bars, I can’t wait to make some of these to surprise her.
You can’t go wrong with coconut and chocolate! YUM!
Thank for helping me locate a recipe for my dad’s birthday — he LOVES Mounds bars, but I’d hate to just buy him a bag and call it good. He’s really appreciate these, and I really appreciate the recipe. :o)
Do you think you could roll the mixture into bite sized balls and then dip them in the chocolate or it it too sticky? I am for sure gonna try these!!
@Moxie, I think these would dip fine as long as the coconut mixture was cold and firm.
They dip very well…that’s how my hubby likes them best, completely covered in chocolate.
Yum! These look so good. Mounds and Almond Joy are at the top of my favorites list.
Do you have to keep these refrigerated?
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Oh Lynn, I am totally making these for my husband–probably tonight! Thanks!
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Adding coconut to my grocery list… can’t WAIT to make these!!!
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I cut the coconut layer into bars and dipped them in chocolate. I used way more chocolate then the recipe called for, but they were GREAT!! Next time, I’ll add almonds before I cool the bars in the frige.
hi, i am all set to make these, but it occurred to me that there are different sized cans of sweetened condensed milk. i have a 14 oz can. which size did you mean??? thanks!
@melissa, Yes it is the 14 ounce can. I hope you enjoy them.
perfect! thanks for your quick response!! i am making them for my mom for mothers day- = she is a mounds FAN!!
thank you for posting!
Well, I made these today, with 6 oz. (about 1 1/4 cup) of toasted almonds thrown in. My hubby is the big Almond Joy lover, and he thinks they’re FANTASTIC and really taste like the real thing! Thanks!
@C. Beth, I am so glad that you liked them. If my daughter was not allergic to almonds I would try them that way. I figured they would be very good with almonds added in. Thanks for letting me know.
a lifetime of lusting — after MOUNDS BARS of course,,,, will finally be SATISFIED, .ROUNDING UP THE INGREDIANTS NOW. THanKS
I’m thinking about a shortbread base, then your coconut layer and maybe one dark chocolate layer.
I would love to hear how that turns out if you try it. It sounds good.
Would unsalted butter be better or not?
I usually prefer unsalted butter for baking, because than you can control the salt, but really either would work.
I came over from your homemade Nestle Crunch Bars and had to know how you made homemade mounds bars. I think you have a great base – but I was thinking, you could probably scoop them with a mini or medium cookie scoop, freeze them and than dump the chocolate on top of them to completely cover the bar and save yourself a step! Just make sure to put them on wax paper so they peel off! Thanks for posting and sharing – and if you wanted to make them Almond Joys – switch the chocolate to milk chocolate and put an almond onto of your cookie scoop! Gotta try these out soon!
Tried these over Christmas and cut them before the chocolate. I dipped them in melted chocolate instead. They were very tasty either way. They almost didn’t get dipped the kids liked them without the chocolate lol Thank you!
Thanks for letting me know how much you enjoyed them.
14oz is equal to How many grams in coconut?
How Much Coconut is used for the Recipe (as in cups). Thank-You!!
Can you use flaked or medium coconut?
Yes, I think either of those will work fine.
Hi 🙂
Love this recipe, and I’ve added something to it which really brings out the deliciousness even more…a tsp of coconut extract. My mother-in-law loves this recipe so much she refuses to actually take the recipe, because she’s afraid she will make them all the time and eat them all at once, and my sister-in-law specifically requested that I make some for Christmas.
I am so glad your family enjoys them. I ate way too many last time I made them as well! They are so good.
Oh yeah…the Mounds shredded, sweetened coconut is awesome in these…it has so much flavor!