Homemade Heavenly Hunks Recipe

Craving Costco’s addictive Heavenly Hunks? Try making your own at home with this delicious oatmeal dark chocolate chip copycat recipe. Just 8 easy ingredients, less sugar, an added protein option, and they taste JUST like store-bought!

I didn’t grow up in a Costco household. But when I met my now husband he quickly introduced me to this magical place, and the thing I remember most about my first trip was Heavenly Hunks. I tried one as soon as we got to the car, and then instantly regretted putting the bag all the way in the back because I NEEDED another asap.

They are still a regular on our grocery list and we almost always have a bag in the fridge (does anyone else prefer them cold?), but 4 years and so many bags later I thought it was time to create a DIY version. The ingredient list is right there on the back of the bag, but getting the ratios and technique just right to create that oatmeal-cookie-meets-granola bar texture took a few tries. I am truly not exaggerating when I say this recipe NAILS it. Do the side-by-side for yourself and you’ll see – taste, texture, distribution of chocolate chips – it’s as if you pulled them right out of the bag. But you didn’t, you made them yourself with just 8 simplified ingredients and the power to customize too!

Benefits Of Making Your Own Heavenly Hunks

I’ll buy store-bought snacks occasionally, I’m not super strict about it, but if I can make my own I prefer it. There is some famous health advice along the lines of “eat anything you want, just cook it yourself”, and I think there is some truth to that. Getting to choose and understand everything that goes into your food is powerful. For this Heavenly Hunks recipe specifically, here are a few of my favorite reasons to DIY:

1. I haven’t done the cost per ingredient per ounce math to tell you for sure if they’re cheaper homemade or not, but most of the ingredients are simple things you likely already have in your pantry (with one exception, but I included a swap don’t worry!).
2. We also get to skip a few ingredients like natural flavors, palm oil, and vitamin E (a preservative) which I personally would prefer not to be consuming all the time.
3. I wasn’t intending to healthify the recipe, but when I read through the ingredient list on the bag three different forms of sweetener (brown rice syrup, cane sugar, brown sugar) felt excessive. So I tested a version with two, and then eventually decided one was plenty. And as you’ll see this homemade version comes in at 6g of sugar per square vs 9g like the original. And I promise they taste plenty sweet!
4. The fun of customization possibilities is my favorite reason to follow this recipe: white chocolate chips instead of dark, dried fruit or nuts mixed in, add protein powder or collagen for some extra nutrition, cut them into bars or roll them into balls if you prefer, add cinnamon or peanut butter for a different flavor profile…and so many more!

Heavenly Hunks Ingredients

So let’s break it down ingredient by ingredient, and hopefully you already have everything on hand to whip them up immediately…

• Oatmeal. I recommend rolled oats even though we are going to run them through the food processor, quick oats will become flour too fast and not have enough oaty chunks remaining. I used gluten-free sprouted oats for optimal digestibility, but that’s up to you.
• Unsweetened shredded coconut. A critical ingredient in the original Heavenly Hunks, you definitely need this to get the flavor right. Or if you hate coconut, this is your chance to make a coconut-free version (I’d try swapping in hemp seeds!)
• Tapioca flour. The original use a mix of sorghum and tapioca flour, but I’m guessing the majority of people don’t just have sorghum hanging out in their pantries so I eliminated that and just used tapioca. It’s a pretty small amount, so other flours could be swapped in (as long as they are safe to consume raw) like brown rice or cassava or arrowroot. I do not recommend almond or coconut here.
• Salt. A must for any chocolate chip cookie or cookie-ish hunk.
• Agave or maple syrup. I used agave because it has a more neutral flavor, but both would be delicious. And easier to find than brown rice syrup.
• Coconut oil. Instead of the palm oil in the original, plus it helps them set into firm squares too. Melt it before mixing.
• Cacao butter. The original hunks contain cocoa butter, and while I realize it’s an annoying ingredient it is a REALLY delicious ingredient that I didn’t want to skip. So I highly recommend springing for it if you can find it at a local health food store or order on amazon, the flavor is rich and vanilla-y and dessert-y in the most unique way. But if you don’t want to bother, more coconut oil will be fine too.
• Mini chocolate chips. Dark chocolate like the original, or semi-sweet will be fine too.

Step By Step Instructions

The technique is essential to achieve proper Heavenly Hunk texture, I tried just mixing by hand and while delicious they felt way too much like a chewy granola bar. You need a food processor or blender and to follow the blending times very carefully to avoid over or under mixing.

Blending The Oatmeal

This is the most crucial step to get right. Over process and your oats will be like flour, under process and your oats will be too chunky like a granola bar. I found 10 seconds to be just right, but it will vary slightly depending on your food processor. The ideal texture is a mix of coarse flour and small chunks of oatmeal. If you don’t have a food processor, do this step in the blender and then the rest of the mixing in a bowl.

Making The Dough

Next we are adding the remaining dry ingredients and mixing very briefly just to combine. I found 5 seconds to be just right, or even pulsing to make sure you don’t mix is an extra safe option. Again you don’t want to turn it into flour.

And then comes the wet ingredients, melted in a separate bowl and cooled back down to room temperature. It’s best to do this step first so it can be cooling while you prep the dry ingredients. If you are using the cacao butter, you will need to get it hotter to fully melt than if you are just using coconut oil. And yes, you can pop it in the fridge to speed up the cooling for 10 minutes or so as long as it doesn’t start to re-harden. I like to stream in the wet ingredients with the food processor running, and keep processing until everything is clumpy and wet and sticky.

Then all that’s left is the best part: the chocolate chips! And the reason why cooling the agave + coconut oil mixture is so important, if you don’t the chips will melt and turn the entire dough chocolate (heavenly brownie hunk anyone??). Pulsing them in in the food processor works best, just to evenly distribute you don’t want to mix to the point where the dough starts to form one big ball.

Pressing Into The Pan And Chilling

Another important step, compressing the mixture firmly into the pan is key to non-crumbly hunks. The best technique is to place another similar sized pan on top (sheet of wax paper in-between), and heavily press down with as much body weight as you can muster. I used a small baking dish about 9×5″ in size, but a large loaf pan or similarly sized food storage container is perfect. Make sure to line it fully with wax or parchment paper for easy removal. After you have pressed the dough in as firmly as you possibly can, chill in the refrigerator overnight or for at least 6 hours before slicing into squares.

Tips For Storage And Variations

Since these hunks are homemade without any preservatives, storing them in the fridge in an airtight container is best. They will be fine at room temperature for an hour or so if you want to take them as an on-the-go snack, but otherwise in the fridge. They will last 1-2 weeks if stored right.

I already discussed a few variation and customization ideas above, but one that I haven’t touched on yet and love is…

Add Protein!

While I don’t recommend loading this recipe up with protein powder as it will affect the taste and texture, swapping out the flour for protein powder to add a little extra nutritional boost and make them a more well-rounded snack is a great idea. I like to use an unflavored protein powder personally, but a lightly sweetened vanilla would be fine too.

More No-Bake Snack Recipes You’ll Love

• Easy chewy no-bake oatmeal balls made with my favorite seed butter
• The perfect muesli bar with a sneaky sweet chocolate dip
• The ultimate protein bar that tastes like candy bar recipe
• Your favorite crispy cereal treat with a protein boost

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