Bon Bons With Coconut
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Featuring chocolate, pecans, and coconut, these homemade bon bons are an irresistible bite-sized treat or gift to make for family and friends these holidays.
I’m so excited to share my Grandmama’s coffee can bon bons with coconut recipe with you today. This recipe is in my first cookbook, along with the story of why they are so special to me. My Grandmama used to make these bon bons every Christmas and save her coffee cans all year long in which to store them. In the lead-up to Christmas, she would spend the better part of a day mixing, rolling, and dipping these precious little confections. Now you can do the same with your family these holidays.
I love these bon bons for multiple reasons, but all you need to know is that they’re easy to make and taste absolutely delicious! This treat is a triple threat, as its ingredients include chocolate, pecans, and coconut. A flavor combination made in heaven if you ask me. Just try and stop at one, because once you take a bite of these indulgent morsels, I just know you’ll want another… and another!
Recipe Ingredients
- Chopped pecans
- Butter
- Sweetened condensed milk
- Chocolate almond bark
- Sweetened flaked coconut
- Confectioner’s sugar
Melt the margarine/butter and then dump everything except the chocolate bark (which is not melted at this point) into a large mixing bowl and mix until well combined.
This is a double recipe you’re seeing here. I don’t recommend doing this in this size bowl.
Form all of your dough into balls one way or another.
What Can I Use To Scoop These Out?
Now, Grandmama and Lela (my great grandmother) rolled these all out by hand into perfect little one-inch balls. However, I am just using a cookie dough scoop for mine.
Once you have your little bon bon balls made, cover them and refrigerate for at least an hour.
After they are good and cold, melt your chocolate bark in the microwave by breaking the large pieces up in a bowl and microwaving for 45-second to 1-minute intervals, stirring in between each, until melted and creamy.
Should I Use A Double Boiler?
You can also melt this in a double broiler. I’m gun shy about suggesting folks do a lot of things in the microwave because microwave ovens vary so incredibly much so we really rely on our own judgment when it comes to using them.
Dip your bon bons in the melted chocolate.
How To Dip Into The Chocolate
There are a hundred different ways to do this and you go with whatever works best for you. For me, I just put a bon bon on a fork, dip it in, then lift it out and tap the fork on the bowl lightly to remove excess before placing my chocolate-dipped bon bon on some waxed paper to harden.
You can also use toothpicks as well if you like.
So see, Grandmama made these perfect little coffee can bon bons. But when I make them, I think we need to rename them. Christy’s Great Big Gobby Bon Bons! If Grandmama was here, she would laugh, and then pop a whole one in her mouth.
If you are making for a holiday like Christmas then store these in the fridge until you are ready to gift (or eat) them.
Storage
Store your bon bons in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. You can also store them in the for up to three months and simply thaw them in the fridge before consuming them. Some people actually prefer to enjoy them from frozen, so do what works for you.
Recipe Notes
- While you can simply snack on or gift your chocolate bon bons, you can also use the treats to decorate cupcakes or a chocolate cake to take it to another level of decadence. Alternatively, enjoy them with a nice big scoop of .
- Instead of pecans, use chopped walnuts. Or if you have a nut allergy, omit them altogether and opt for a filling using chopped dried cherries.
- Another option is to swap the chopped nuts for a cup of creamy peanut butter.
- You can also substitute the chocolate almond bark for chocolate chips, , or rich if you prefer.
- If making your coconut bon bons as snacks for the kids, you can roll them in sprinkles for a fun treat! As a bonus, why not roll them in green and red for the holidays?
Recipe FAQs
Where does the term bon bon originate?
Bon bon comes from the French word bon, which means good. They date back to 19th-century France and eventually made their way to America. Bon bons are a varied dessert and can be fruity, creamy, and nutty. They are not exclusively made with chocolate, like a truffle.
Here are more of my favorite indulgent chocolate recipes:
Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars
Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
Pecan and Chocolate Pie Recipe
Chocolate Pound Cake with Fudge Glaze
Ingredients
- 2 pounds confectioner's sugar
- 1+2/3 cup sweetened flaked coconut
- 2 cups chopped pecans
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk 14 ounces
- 1/2 cup margarine or butter melted
- 1 package chocolate almond bark for coating
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix all ingredients except the almond bark together, either with your hands or an electric mixer.2 pounds confectioner's sugar, 1+2/3 cup sweetened flaked coconut, 2 cups chopped pecans, 1 can sweetened condensed milk, 1/2 cup margarine or butter
- Form bon bon dough into balls either with hands (for smaller ones) or cookie dough scoop (for great big gobby ones). Place on a cookie sheet and cover. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
- Melt chocolate bark by heating in the microwave at 45-second intervals, stirring after each, until smooth and creamy. Dip bon bons into chocolate and place on wax paper to harden.1 package chocolate almond bark
- Store in refrigerator until ready to eat or gift.
Makes about 4 dozen, 1-inch bon bons
Nutrition
i am just tickled to death that we can now laugh about galloping horses, Christy.
This recipe looks wonderful, I might have to add this to the Christmas list!
Grace and peace to you, sweet girl.
I have a different version of this recipe that uses corn syrup instead of the condensed milk, flavored with almond extract to give it a cherry flavor, doesn’t have nuts, and you dip in melted chocolate instead of almond bark. One of my daughters is the designated ball roller because she doesn’t like coconut so she won’t lick her fingers while making them. So I make her chocolate covered cherries so she will have some to eat too. The tip for the cherries is to buy one’s with stems so they are easier to dip in the chocolate. I also have an electric fondue pot that holds the temp just right for melting the chocolate and not overheating it. My bon bon recipe is from my mother in law and my cherry recipe is from my mom. I love your story, family recipes are the best.
Thank you Susan, what a great idea using a fondue pot!!!
What did I do wrong????
I made the recipe according to the directions.. Your bon bons look to have a creamy texture; mine are dry. I measured coconut from a bag – could I have packed it too tightly? I’m so sad.
First of all, don’t be sad 🙂 It’s Christmas, you have your family and friends and blessings abound. This is just bon bons. 🙂 I don’t pack my coconut, I measure it out light and fluffy so you probably ended up with more coconut than we end up with. However, I bet they are still delicious and I wouldn’t hesitate to eat and serve them!
Your putting them outside to cool reminded me of the year 2000 when we had an ice storm here in Arkansas. We lost power for several days. I had just made a gallon of sweet tea when the power went out and didn’t want it to waste, so I put it outside on the back deck to keep cold. When I went to retrieve it, my good Tupperware pitcher it was in was gnawed good all over by a sneaky squirrel!
Oh my goodness!! Guess he just needed a little sugar 🙂
my grandma started making Christmas candy the day after Thanksgiving. Her dining room table would be loaded down with coffee cans and cool whip containers containing every kind of candy you can imagine. Down here in South Florida, and I do mean AT THE BOTTOM of the mainland, we rarely have a stick ’em outside to cool day. LOL Thank you for your stories about your grandma and bringing back memories… I wish I had fought for her candy recipe book instead of being nice and smiling till it hurt…
Oh Robbie, I wish you had fought for it too. Perhaps who ever received it would consider taking it to a print shop and making you a copy of it. I know it isn’t quite the same but at least you would have a copy.
I have watched a few of your videos today and looked at some of your recipes–you make us feel like we are your bff’s! You just bring us into your home and family like we have known you all of our lives!
This recipe reminds me of the Martha Washington candy my sister-in-law used to make. They are so good that you want to eat your fill, but so rich that you cannot! LOL
Thank you for being you…you truly are a very special person. God bless!
Thank you so much Lana, I hope you have a Merry Christmas!!!
Made these for our Christmas Eve family get together, and according to family its a keeper! Although I only used 6 cups of the powdered sugar & I got 58 out of it and had to use a little extra almond bark! It’s also fun to make my dad say Bon Bon! 🙂 Merry Christmas!