As a child, I loved going to the supermarket with my mother. She was always happy to look for bargains and never in a rush. It would be a lie if I said that this was the reason I enjoyed shopping with her, aside from the fact that I loved being around her. The end of our shopping trip, when we had finally grabbed all our purchases and walked over to the checkout line, was what I looked forward to most. The Snickers bars were right there, at my eye level. My mom let me have a Snickers bar every time I asked, not because she was a sweetie. She was. But I was persistent and always requested. I hope future mini-mes will be a bit less aggressive.
My sweet tooth always got a huge chunk of peanut-y, caramel-y goodness, and my chocolate-loving palette couldn’t be happier. The world hasn’t changed that much, but my palate is more refined.
For my teeth, and because I wouldn’t say I like processed foods, I am now looking for healthier treats. When I was trying to figure out how to organize and simplify my favorite candy bar, I needed to be creative. I began with the “nougat.”
This may seem like an overly-simplistic way to make nougat, but it really works. This bar is really about vegan caramel, chocolate, and peanuts. The base, which is not too sweet, adds to the overall sweetness. This bar only requires two ingredients. Hello, simplicity.
After three attempts, I finally got the vegan caramel sauce right. Instead of using whipping cream, I used full-fat coconut milk to make my 4-ingredient Bourbon Caramel Sauce. The result: a creamy, rich caramel with only four ingredients and no dairy.
The rest was simple.
Add the caramel sauce, peanuts, and nougat to the layer.
Dip the bars into dark chocolate, and then brush them with a coating.
Freeze.
Dee-vour.
How close are the bars to real life? Very close. Only the texture is different. All the other flavors are the same. My friends were also very happy, as they helped me finish them in less than 24 hours.
Stay tuned until Thursday, the day after my TWENTY-SEVENTH BIRTHDAY (oh my), to find out what else I do with these beauties. You’ll get a hint – it rhymes with my favorite food group, she Dreams.
Ingredients
- 18-20 pitted dates (~1 cup)
- You can also use cashews, almonds, or walnuts instead of 1 cup of raw nuts.
- 1/4 cup vegan caramel sauce (subbing coconut milk for cream)
- 1/4 cup salted roasted peanuts
- Chop bittersweet chocolate (non-dairy), 8 ounces (1 Cup)
Instructions
- In a food processor, pulse dates until small bits are left.
- Add walnuts, pulse, and mix until a dough is formed.
- Once the dough is sliced, it should yield eight small Snickers bars –strong> I only used half of the space in my loaf pan /strong> to achieve the proper thickness. The dough will yield 8 Snickers bars when sliced — To achieve the right thickness; I used only half of the space available in my loaf pan.
- Put the dough in the freezer for 5 minutes.
- Remove from the freezer and place on a cookie tray. Slice into eight rectangles.
- Add peanuts and caramel sauce. Put back in the freezer for 15 minutes.
- After 10 minutes of freezing, melt the chocolate in a bowl. Remove bars from the freezer when they are set and dip them into the chocolate, scraping off any excess with a rubber spoon. Use a spoon to drizzle generous amounts of chocolate over each bar. Then, using your finger or a small pastry brush, coat the bars in chocolate. There will be leftover chocolate.
- Place the bars on a baking tray lined with plastic wrap, parchment paper, or waxed paper and return to the freezer for 10 minutes. To keep them fresh, store them in the fridge or freezer.