CARAMEL CHOCOLATE BARS

 
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Recipe & Photo by Sophie Mackenzie WHOLEHEARTED EATS

AUTHOR NOTES

Sometimess there are days when you just need to treat yourself. You may have had a bad day at work, a poor performance on a test, or just one of those days when nothing goes the way you want. When things like these happen, I often find myself wanting something sweet, something chocolatey, and something bad for me. Yet, when I give into to temptation and eat something junky, I often feel worse (about myself and my body) and the whole thing turns out bad. To avoid any guilt, any bad feelings, and any toxic ingredients being put in my body, I decided to make up a bunch of naturally sweetened, raw, and vegan, chocolate bars. While this recipe makes a lot, it is nothing to fear. Once the bars are set, they should be sliced into servings, wrapped, and frozen for those times when you need a little something. They will last in the freezer for months.

SERVES:   Makes 18ish

DIETARY CONSIDERATION:  Raw, Vegetarian, Paleo, Sugar Free, Dairy Free, Soy Free, Gluten Free

INGREDIENTS 

Base:

  • 1 1/2 cups Brazil Nuts

  • 1 1/2 cups Medjool dates

  • 1/2 cups Almond Butter

  • 1/2 cups Honey (but if you are vegan you can use Agave or Maple Syrup)

  • 1 cup Desiccated Coconut (not sweetened)

  • Pinch of Sea Salt

Caramel Sauce:

  • 2 cups Medjool Dates (soaked for a couple of hours…be sure to reserve soaking water)

  • 1/2 Lemon

  • Pinch of Sea Salt

  • 1 tsp Vanilla

Chocolate Topping:

  • 1/3 cup Solid Coconut Oil

  • 55 g Cacao Butter

  • 1/4 cup Honey (Agave, or Maple Syrup)

  • 3/4 cup Raw Cacao Powder

  • 1 tsp Vanilla

  • Pinch of Sea Salt

 EQUIPMENT 

Food Processor

DIRECTIONS

Base: Using a food processor, puree the nuts and dates until they begin to break up. Add the coconut and puree again until the mixture starts to come together. Add the honey, almond butter, and salt and puree until the mixture is fairly consistent. Press the mixture into a parchment lined 9 x 13 pan, and place in the freezer to set.

Caramel Sauce: Once dates are soft, combine them in a food processor with lemon juice, salt, and vanilla. Slowly add some of the water that the dates were soaked in, until the mixture reaches desired consistency ( I like my caramel fairly soft, so I used about 1/2 cup water). Puree until the mixture becomes light and smooth. Spread the mixture over the base and return to the freezer for 30 minutes.

Chocolate Topping: Melt cacao butter, coconut oil, salt, and vanilla in a double boiler. Once the cocoa solids are melted take the mixture off the heat and slowly add the cocoa powder. If your mixture is lumpy, you can always put it through a sieve. Pour mixture over caramel sauce layer and return to the freezer until set, approximately 30 more minutes.

When ready to cut, bring bars out of the freezer and let sit for 10 minutes at room temperature to soften. Using a hot knife cut the bars into serving size pieces (I cut them into 18, but use your own judgement here). Wrap the bars in parchment or waxed paper and store them in a container in the freezer. That way, you can have a chocolatey bar whenever you feel that you need a little something.

 
Stacey Christie