Snickers Layer Bars

Melt in the mouth chocolate, creamy luscious raw cashew fudgy goodness, sweet date caramel and toasted cashews for a final crunch…the snickers layer bar that has it all!

Now you really can have your candy and eat it too! Four layer, refined sugar and dairy free snickers bars…made paleo by using cashews instead of peanuts! It’s luscious, it’s dreamy, it’s positively out of this world, totally irresistible. I for one love them!

They have acquired quite a few fans over the past week..so much so that they are likely to feature on the new Happy Pear evening dessert menu. A hefty whole food sugar hit…a delightful afternoon pick me up or post dinner slice…

Kids will love them, though I think these are something to save for the adults. They’re not the cheapest treat in the world to make. Truly indulgent in every sense of the word but totally worth every penny.

Showing up to party with a tray of these (double the recipe, they’ll disappear before you get your hands on one yourself!)… you’ll pretty much be the party! If you don’t fancy making more you could easily get away with slicing them in to smaller squares. 16 as opposed to 8 goes a hell of a lot further.

If you make a batch and find it difficult to restrain from eating them all in one fell swoop stick a few in the freezer. Thaw them for 10-15 minutes of a rainy day when you need a bright shining treat to lift your mood and delight your taste buds.

Ok so they don’t taste like a traditional snickers but they were born out a desire for one, and created with them to the forefront of my mind. They are and will always be a snickers in my mind…a 100% more awesome, indulgent and irresistible than any candy bar you could possibly unravel from a packet.

Firm straight from the fridge, they will soften up at room temperature especially as we come in to the summer months..though it’s no real travesty, holding them in your warm hands should come with a post finger licking warning!

I’m only sorry I didn’t take my own advice…with only one stored in the freezer I don’t see it making it past the end of the week.

What’s you’re favourite candy bar? Ever tried recreating it with a few healthy tweaks and twists?

Snickers Layer Bars

by Michelle Hunt

Prep Time: 2 hours 3 hours to set

Keywords: carob powder cashew butter dates raw cacao powder

Ingredients (8 bars)

Chocolate Base

• 1/4 cup (55g) coconut oil melted
• 1/3 cup (40g) raw cacao powder
• 2 tbsp (30ml) honey or maple syrup
• 1 tbsp maca powder
• 21g (1.5 tbsp) raw cacao butter

Nougat Layer

• 1/2 cup (120g) super smooth raw cashew butter
• 1/4 cup (60g) coconut butter (not oil!)
• 2 tbsp (30ml) honey or maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Caramel Layer

• 3/4 cup (130g) pitted Medjool dates
• 1/4 cup (60g) smooth roasted cashew butter
• 2 tbsp (28g) coconut oil melted
• 1- 2 tbsp lukewarm water
• Pinch of Himilayan Rock Salt

Topping

• 1/4 cup (30g) roasted salted or unsalted cashew nuts

Instructions

For the Base

Place cacao butter and coconut oil in to a jug. Place jug in to a large bowl of boiling water and leave to melt slowly, whisking occasionally.

Once fully melted whisk in honey/maple syrup, cacao powder and maca powder.

Pour mixture in to a lined 6inch square tin – ideally loose bottom.

Place in the fridge to set for 45 – 60 minutes.

For the Nougat

Place all raw cashew butter and coconut butter in to a large jug. As with the chocolate leave to sit until the coconut butter has melted.

Whisk in honey/maple and vanilla extract.

Be sure the chocolate is set, quickly pour over the nougat and return to the fridge with haste; you don’t want the base to melt!

Leave to set for at least one hour. Alternatively you can place it in the freezer to firm up for 30 minutes.

For the Caramel Topping

Blend dates, salt and roasted cashew butter to a smooth paste in your food processor. Add in melted coconut oil and blend to combine. It will look like they’re not going to combine…be patient and add in 1 tbsp of water.

Blend again until smooth, add another tbsp of water if necessary to create a smooth thick caramel consistency. You need it to be spreadable, not pour-able!

Spread caramel over the nougat base once it has set.

Roughly chop roasted cashews and sprinkle over the top, pressing them lightly in to the caramel. Return to the fridge for 2- 3 hours before slicing in to 8 snack sized bars!

Store in the fridge for up to two weeks in a seal tight container or the freezer for up to one month.