Have you heard of honey joys before? Perhaps the sweet little morsels of cornflakes, sugar and butter were part of your childhood or you might have seen them at a kid’s party. This somewhat old-school treat is making a comeback, so I thought I’d try and create a slightly healthier version of honey joys.
Instead of using cornflakes, butter and sugar, I’ve combined unsweetened coconut flakes with broken banana chips, pumpkin seeds, melted coconut oil, vanilla and honey. Once baked briefly and cooled, these little nests are crispy and sweet, and will hold shape really well. You can easily add these healthy honey joys to your kid’s lunchbox (they are free of tree nuts) or enjoy with a cup of tea.
I have to say that these coconut honey joys are dangerously addictive, so I wouldn’t make too many. Enjoy mindfully as these are rich in honey. They last 5-6 days out of the fridge, but if it’s too hot, then you can also refrigerate them for longer.
Recipe Tips
- You can find unsweetened coconut flakes in most health food stores and online. Look in the baking section of the supermarket.
- I used store-bought banana chips. These are usually deep-fried sliced bananas, and although they’re probably not ideal due to the oil they were fried in, I think they’re okay in small amounts and they do add fun texture and tropical flavour to these honey joys. Feel free to omit the banana chips if you like. Add a few extra seeds and coconut flakes instead.
- Make sure to cool these after baking! They won’t hold their shape while hot.
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Ingredients
- 1/2 cup banana chips
- 150 g unsweetened coconut flakes about 1 + 1/3 cups / 5 oz.
- 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil in solid state, heaped
- 5 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or essence
- Small cupcake or muffin casings
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160 C / 320 F (conventional).
- Add banana chips to a large mixing bowl. Use your hands or something like a kitchen ham to gently break the whole chips into smaller pieces. You can do this on a cutting board or place the chips in a bag and then smash them or press down on them with something heavy.
- Add coconut flakes and pumpkin seeds to the banana chip pieces in a mixing bowl.
- Add coconut oil, honey and vanilla to a small pot. Place over medium heat, melt and stir for 15-20 seconds. Pour the honey mixture over the coconut flakes and stir through really well to coat the mixture evenly with the sweet liquid.
- Place the cupcake casings on a flat oven tray. I used 8 medium muffin cups but you could stretch the mixture into 10, if using smaller casings. I used about 2 -2.5 tablespoons of mixture per casing.
- Place in the oven, middle shelf, and bake for 8-10 minutes. Check at minutes to make sure the tops aren't getting burnt. We're after golden brown look here. Remove earlier or keep in the oven longer, depending on your oven.
- Remove the tray from the oven and allow the baked flake moulds to cool completely. They will harden and stick together, making them easy to remove from the casings. I store them in the cups in an airtight container or paper bag.
Nutrition
Got questions about this recipe? Tried it at home? Leave a comment below. Share it on Pinterest from here.
Do these really need to be baked? When we made them as a kid( same as with rice bubbles) we just set them in the fridge. Banana chips in nz are very sweet. Is that just from the banana natural sugars?
Most of the unsweetened banana chips are still quite sweet naturally. Some do have added sugar or honey, so check the label.
Oh, and baking wise, I like to bake them to get the coconut chips nice and toasted as it adds more flavour.
These clusters of goodness look amazing! Wish I weren’t allergic to coconut 🙁
You had at me honey and coconut om nom nom… I would never have thought of adding in banana chips – I bet they’re sooo good!
We call them crispy cakes in the UK but I remember making these well! So great to recreate a childhood favourite and these are great to make with children.
will this work with shredded coconut instead of the flakes?
Yes, it might be slightly different texture, probably closer to coconut macaroons.
These look so amazing and delicious. I want to go make them right now.
What lovely and tasty treats to have for anytime.
These look so good…. and so easy! Can’t wait to try them!
This nut free recipe looks so good and totally delicious ! Thanks for sharing !
I have never heard of honey joys! These sound delicious.
These tropical treats sound very yummy! Love the use of banana chips in them 🙂
I’d completely forgotten about the cornflake cookies my mom made sometimes, at Christmas she’d put in red and green candies. I love how you’ve made it completely healthy, but they still look amazing!
I have never heard of a honey joy, but these look like such a delicious and easy treat! I love how the honey caramelizes!
What a treat! I had to share these on my FB page. Just perfect!
These look like a great little snack! I’ve never had anything like it and now I can’t wait to make these! Such a great idea! I think my youngest will love them too.
These are so going into my kids’ lunch boxes this week. And mine too, no shame in saying that 🙂
Pure genius! Irena, you are amazing, well done on a brilliant recipe! xxD
Never had honey joys before, but these look so good! Can’t wait to give them a try!
They look delicious! So creative!
These are super fun! I am in a school morning snack rut for packing and these would be perfect! Thank you for the great idea! My girls will love it!
Agreed, these are great for kids 🙂