These Healthy Candy Bars are basically your favorite – but healthified! They remind me of a Twix meets Snickers. They have a chewy, nutty base, gooey date caramel, a little crunch, and a thick chocolate top. They’re SO good! Perfect for a sweet snack or post-dinner treat without the added sugars.
SERVING SIZE: ~10-12 BARS
THE RECIPE:
Line an 8×8 inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving some overhang so you can easily lift out the bars later.
Soak the dates in hot water for about 10 minutes while you prepare your first layer. They need to soak just long enough for them to blend into a smooth, sticky caramel later 🙂
In a bowl, mix together the nut butter, maple syrup, and almond flour until it forms a thick dough-like mixture.
Press this mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. It will seem at first like it breaks apart, but press until it’s a great base. This is your chewy, nutty base.
Drain the dates, reserving some of the water (about 1/4 cup).
In a blender or food processor, blend the dates with a splash (about 1/4 cup) of almond milk or the reserved date water. Blend until smooth and creamy.
Spread this caramel evenly over the nut butter base.
Roughly crush the graham crackers and chop the peanuts. Sprinkle them evenly on top of the date caramel, gently nestling and pushing them in so they stick.
Freeze for at least 1.5 hours so these layers get secured.
(I didn’t do it this way, but I feel like melting the chocolate and pouring over now would be a quicker way to make these bars. I wanted to cut them up so the chocolate coats entire bars, but they were just as good with chocolate only covering the top!)
As the layers are almost done freezing, melt the chocolate and coconut oil together (either in a microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring in between. Or, over a double boiler).
Carefully lift the bars out of the baking pan and cut into even rectangles.
Spread the melted chocolate evenly over each bar using a spatula, or dunk each bar in the chocolate to get the FULL candy bar effect!
Place bars back in the freezer for 1 hour at minimum.
Top with flakey sea salt. ENJOY!
Healthy Candy Bars
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup dates pitted and soaked in hot water
- 1/4 cup almond milk optional, you can use reserved date water
- 1 1/3 cup almond flour
- 1 1/2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/2 cup nut butter of choice
- 3 graham crackers crushed
- 1/2 cup peanuts chopped
- 1 1/3 cup chocolate melted
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- flakey sea salt to top
Instructions
- Line an 8×8 inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving some overhang so you can easily lift out the bars later.
- Soak the dates in hot water for about 10 minutes while you prepare your first layer. They need to soak just long enough for them to blend into a smooth, sticky caramel later 🙂
- In a bowl, mix together the nut butter, maple syrup, and almond flour until it forms a thick dough-like mixture.
- Press this mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. It might seem crumbly at first, but press until it's not. This is your chewy, nutty base.
- Drain the dates, reserving some of the water (about 1/4 cup).
- In a blender or food processor, blend the dates with a splash (about 1/4 cup) of almond milk or the reserved date water. Blend until smooth and creamy.
- Spread this caramel evenly over the nut butter base.
- Roughly crush the graham crackers and chop the peanuts. Sprinkle them evenly on top of the date caramel, gently nestling and pushing them in so they stick.
- Freeze for at least 1.5 hours so these layers get secured. (I didn't do it this way, but I feel like melting the chocolate and pouring over now would be a quicker way to make these bars. I wanted to cut them up so the chocolate coats entire bars, but they were just as good with chocolate only covering the top!)
- When the bars almost done freezing, melt the chocolate and coconut oil together (either in a microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring in between. Or, over a double boiler).
- Carefully lift the bars out of the baking pan and cut into even rectangles.
- Spread the melted chocolate evenly over each bar using a spatula, or fully dunk each bar into chocolate for the full candy bar effect. Place the bars back in freezer for at least an hour.
- Top with flakey sea salt. Enjoy!!
