Instructions

1. In a large bowl, mix the coconut flour, collagen, and cocoa well.
2. Add in the maple syrup or honey and stir well. At this stage it will be clumpy and still very dry.
3. Add coconut milk in, starting with ¼ cup at first. Mix well and assess how much more coconut milk it needs. Add coconut milk gradually until a very thick and dense dough is formed. I like to switch to using my hands to mix it up once I add the first ¼ cup of coconut milk and knead it like I would with pizza dough until it’s all mixed up. That way I can really feel when the dough is dense enough and ready to go.
4. Press the dough into a small baking dish (I used an 8×8) until it is completely flat and uniform in thickness. If you want a thicker protein bar, don’t use up the whole pan and just mold it into your desired shape and thickness.
5. Place the pan in the fridge while you prepare the cream layer.
6. Over very low heat, melt your coconut butter and coconut oil together until fully incorporated. Remove from heat and stir in maple syrup and vanilla (if using). If your coconut butter and oil are in a melted state already, as mine were, you can just stir all of the cream ingredients together in a bowl.
7. Remove pan from fridge, spread the cream in an even layer on top of the cookie portion using the back of a metal spoon, and place back in fridge for 30-45 minutes until the cream and cookie have hardened.
8. Remove the coconut protein bars from fridge, cut into desired bars (I cut mine into 6 bars). Store bars in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.