Coco-Peppermint Patties (Paleo, 21-Day Sugar Detox Recipe)

In the Paleo-sphere I think us die-hard followers all have that one person who immensely helped and inspired us with the in's and out's of this lifestyle. For me, it's Diane Sanfilippo of Balanced Bites. I am not exactly sure how I ran across her page on Facebook, but it may have been because of her 21-Day Sugar Detox. Either way, I am glad that I did.

You see, I have a big sugar addiction. I thought it was just a FOOD addiction, but then I realized most of the foods I was over-consuming were sugar. Bread, pasta, baked sweets, chocolate, french fries, etc. Yes, all  basically sugar once it's eaten. I did the detox for the very first time about 6 months in of eating Paleo - January 2012. I was successful, but was out celebrating with good friends on the 21st day and did allow myself a glass of wine. Since then I have completed it a few more times and each time I am surprised at how much sugar STILL has a hold on me. It's everywhere. In everything. And even after a few weeks, once little taste of that sweet stuff and I am in a downward spiral. Basically, my life should be a sugar detox 24/7.

The good news?! Diane is putting out another book and this one is dedicated to The 21-Day Sugar Detox! Her first one is New York Times bestseller (I think 19 weeks at the time of this posting?!) Practical Paleo - this is the book I tell people to get when they are starting out. It explains everything in simple terms, gives a ton of meal plans and recipes and being a lover of all things design, the layout is awesome. Can we say lamb dolmas? I dream about those things.

So go pre-order her new book, order her last one if you haven't and head on over to her Facebook pages (here and here) and show her some love.

Now on to the recipe - the ingredients marked with asterisks are my suggestions if you are not on the detox. I haven't made them with any sweetener, so you are on your own if you try my suggestions. As I made them, they are definitely NOT sweet to the average person. Just warning you!

Coco-Peppermint Patties

1/2 cup coconut butter
1/2 cup extra-virgin coconut oil
3/4 cup finely shredded unsweetened coconut
2 tsp peppermint extract
1-2 tsp pure stevia extract* (omit for 21DSD)
4 oz unsweetened chocolate (use equivalent Enjoy Life chocolate chips if not on The 21DSD)

Just barely melt the coconut butter and coconut oil (you just dont want it rock hard) and then put in a food processor and blend well. Add in the peppermint extract and stevia (if you're using it) and blend again. Pour in the shredded coconut and pulse a couple of times to make sure it's evenly distributed.

I used a mini cheesecake pan** and poured the mixture so about 1/2" tall in each cup. Put the pan in the freezer until hardened.

Once the patties are hardened, heat up the chocolate/chocolate chips in the microwave - only heat 30-45 seconds at a time to make sure not to burn the chocolate, stirring each time. Once melted, dip each patty into the chocolate and put on a flat baking sheet or plate covered in wax paper. Put the peppermint patties in the refrigerator to harden the chocolate - and then enjoy!

If you make them as above, with the sweeteners, please let me know how it came out!

**a mini cheesecake pan has bottoms that come out so you can just push from the bottom of the pan and it will release the patty once hardened - alternatively you could use candy molds or put the bowl with the mixture in the refrigerator, stirring now and then, until you have a consistency you can roll into balls and flatten into the desired shape