Homemade almond coconut bonbons are a rich, decadent, and easy gourmet dessert perfect for gifts, parties and showers, or date night desserts! A simple filling with easily-available ingredients is portioned, chilled, and then dipped in chocolate melting wafers for an impressive yet beginner-friendly bonbon recipe: no tempering chocolate required!

Homemade almond coconut bonbons in paper liners on a tiered serving plate.

This post was originally published in 2016 and updated in 2026 for length and clarity. The recipe has also been updated for better flavor.

My family loves to stop in the French chocolate shop downtown and look at all the bonbons — literal eye candy behind the glass. They’re as pretty to look at as they are delicious to eat, and the number of fillings and flavors available is impressive.

They’re also $2.50 a piece, so they’re definitely an occasional treat, and we might get one bonbon each.

Making your own bonbons might seem unattainable — I mean, they’re so pretty and professional, right? But you actually can make your own, and — spoiler — it is actually SUPER EASY. You don’t have to buy any special tools either (although you can, if you want to buy a silicone candy mold and make fancy shapes: see the tips and tricks section).

These almond coconut bonbons are a perfect beginner bonbon recipe, with a simple filling made mostly from butter, powdered sugar, nut butter, and coconut. After mixing the filling (either in a bowl or a mini food processor for a smoother texture), you portion out little balls, firm them up in the refrigerator, and dip them in chocolate melting wafers. If you happen to be comfortable tempering chocolate, you can do that instead.

Chocolate bonbons displayed in a metal bowl.

A tiny drizzle of chocolate and some crushed almonds and sea salt on top not only looks beautiful, but hides any lumps and bumps that may have occurred in the chocolate coating process. These look and taste like something you’d buy in a shop.

And the best thing is, you end up with like twenty of them. Yessss. These make perfect gifts for friends or sweethearts, or you can have a few for dessert after an at-home date night.

I originally wrote this recipe in 2016 as a way to highlight the unique flavor of some Brazil nut butter I had gotten without using too much of it. These bonbons are truly a great way to showcase unique nut butters like macadamia butter or cashew butter.

I’ve revised the recipe to call for almond butter, which is much more easily available and is a pantry staple for many people, but if you have something more unique, go ahead and use that instead! Peanut butter also works!

Labeled ingredient image, including powdered sugar, butter, chocolate melting wafers, shredded coconut, almonds, almond butter, salt, coconut cream, and vanilla extract.

Ingredients

Unsalted butter: This provides the buttery base for the bonbon filling. It will firm up when chilled, giving the filling more structure and allowing you to scoop it into balls.
Almond butter: You can use unsweetened natural almond butter or any other gourmet nut butter you want to showcase. The tropical flavor of Brazil nut butter is delicious with coconut! Peanut butter also works too. Try to use something unsweetened, since there is a lot of sugar in this recipe.
Coconut cream: You can buy a can of coconut cream, or you can buy full fat coconut milk. Do not shake the can, and when you open it there should be a thick layer of cream above the thinner coconut water. Use a couple tablespoons of the cream. Then you can use the rest of the coconut milk in another recipe like my coconut curry chicken soup!
Powdered sugar: I use 1/3 of a cup here, but you can taste the filling and add more if you like it sweeter.
Unsweetened shredded coconut: There is already plenty of sugar in the filling, so unsweetened coconut is best here.
Vanilla extract
Kosher salt
Dark chocolate melting wafers: I find the Ghirardelli wafers taste like *real chocolate:* much less artificial than many “chocolate-flavored” melting wafers — plus, they’re readily available in the baking aisle at the grocery store.
Finely chopped almonds and flaky sea salt: These will decorate the top of your bonbons. If you are using a different type of nut butter, use those nuts on the top instead! The sea salt helps balance the sweetness of the bonbon filling.

How to make Almond Coconut Bonbons

These bonbons are super beginner friendly to make and don’t require any special equipment! Just parchment paper, some toothpicks, and a zip-top baggie for drizzling chocolate.

Mix the filling. Mix together butter, almond butter, coconut cream, shredded coconut, powdered sugar, vanilla, and kosher salt. For a smoother filling (great for smaller bonbons or bonbons made in a mold), puree the filling in a mini food processor. Chill.

Make small balls of filling. Scoop the filling into 1/2 tablespoon portions and roll into balls with clean hands. Your hands will end up buttery. The filling will have softened up again by now, so chill it again in the fridge until you're ready to coat them.

Chocolate covered coconut truffles with Brazil nut or almond butter are a rich, decadent, and easy gourmet dessert perfect for parties (or for treating yourself)! Best of all, you can make this recipe in advance! You can also use cashew butter or macadamia nut butter. | www.pinchmeimeating.com

Dip in melted chocolate wafers. Melt chocolate wafers according to the package directions (or prepare some tempered chocolate if you know how!) Take the filling balls out of the fridge about 3-5 at a time and roll them in melted chocolate wafers. Scoop coated bonbons up with a fork, drip off excess chocolate, and push gently onto parchment paper with a toothpick. After the chocolate hardens, fill in any little holes in the chocolate with more melted chocolate on a toothpick or fork.

Drizzling homemade bonbons with additional chocolate.

Add toppings. Drizzle bonbons with additional chocolate and quickly add finely chopped nuts and sea salt before the chocolate hardens. If you want, you can drizzle with a little additional chocolate to help hold down the toppings.

Enjoy! Eat either chilled or at room temperature. These make great gifts!

A homemade bonbon cut open to show the coconut almond filling.

Tips & Tricks

Make sure the balls are entirely coated in chocolate — filling will leak out of any little holes in the filling as it comes to room temperature! After your initial coating, before you add the drizzle on top, check for any little holes in the chocolate and fill them in with additional chocolate.
Mini muffin liners make great bonbon liners.
If you are comfortable tempering chocolate, do that instead of using chocolate melting wafers!
Refrigerate, don't freeze: Freezing the filling balls before coating them in chocolate may cause the chocolate coating to crack. Refrigerate instead, and just remove them a couple at a time to coat so they are firm enough.
Using a chocolate mold: Instead of making filling balls and then coating them in chocolate, you can make chocolate shells and fill them instead. First, fill a silicone chocolate mold with chocolate and drip out any excess to form a chocolate shell. Use a zip top baggie to pipe the filling (not chilled) into the chocolate shells, leaving a little room at the top for additional chocolate.

Tap the mold gently on the table to allow the filling to settle into the chocolate shells so there are no air bubbles. Add chocolate to fill the molds to the top and clean up any excess with a spatula.

Once hardened, pop the bonbons out of the molds and add chocolate drizzle and toppings. These look super professional!

An overhead view of homemade coconut almond bonbons in paper liners.

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