Peanut Butter Caramel Crunch Bars
These crunchy peanut caramel bars are to die for! They are a fun treat to make for the holidays, as an alternative to shop-bought chocolate bars and are so much nicer and healthier.
They make a great fridge-raider snack for your tribe when they are seeking out something sweet an you want to get them out of the habit of shop-bought junk. I bet your older kids and teens will enjoy making this yummy chocolate caramel recipe themselves.
Delicious and gooey in the middle, they contain sweet, caramel-tasting Medjool dates which are native to Morocco and have been crowned ‘the fruit of kings’ throughout the Middle East as they can alone sustain Bedouin travellers for days. Not surprisingly as they are bursting with selenium, copper, potassium, calcium and magnesium as well as iron.
Get our lovely Healthy Bites newsletter each week!
Each week, you’ll get an amazing recipe, a useful health tip, and an ingredient to jazz up your shopping basket! We don’t share your details with anyone else.
Peanut Butter Caramel Crunch Bars
Ingredients
Base
- 65 g Oats
- 6 Medjool Date
- 1.5 tbsp Water
- 0.25 tsp Salt
Caramel Centre
- 150 g Medjool Dates (soaked, if not soft and chewy)
- 100 g Peanut Butter (smooth)
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 tbsp Maple Syrup
- 0.25 tsp Salt
- 2 tbsp Water
- 70 g Peanuts
Chocolate Coating
- 225 g Chocolate (dark or milk cooking chocolate)
- 1 tsp Coconut Oil
Instructions
- Prepare two small (eg. 25cm x 12cm or 1lb) loaf tins, or one small square baking tin (I use one 20cm square) by lining them with greaseproof paper.
- To make the base, whizz up the oats in a small blender to create an oat flour. Add the dates, water and salt, then blitz again. Squish into the prepared tins to create a thin layer. It will probably be about 5mm deep.
- For the caramel, blitz the dates, vanilla, maple syrup, salt and water in the blender. Smooth evenly over the oat base in the tins. Spread the peanut butter over the caramel topping. Sprinkle with the peanuts, and press them in a little. Pop the tins onto a flat shelf in the freezer to set the first two layers for a couple of hours.
- When it is cool and set, melt the chocolate (add coconut oil if needed) in a Bain Marie (small saucepan of boiling water, with a pyrex bowl on top which holds the chocolate), and prepare a flat baking tray with a sheet of greaseproof paper.
- Cut the caramel and oat base into evenly sized rectangles, and using two forks, dip them into the melted chocolate. Turn to fully coat in the chocolate and place onto the prepared baking tray to set.
- Drizzle with a little extra melted chocolate to decorate. The chocolate should set very quickly as the base is so cold, but if not, pop them back in the freezer or fridge for a few minutes.
Notes
- Use the best quality organic peanut butter and chocolate, if possible, to make this a totally memorable as well as nutrient-dense snack.
- For an extra touch, toast the whole peanuts in a dry pan and set aside to cool before adding to the caramel.
- Dairy-free you can try a good quality vegan dark or “milk” chocolate for the coating such as Rhythm 108.
- Gluten-free use gluten-free oats or ground almonds in the base.
- Nut-free switch the peanut butter and peanuts to tahini (sesame paste) and sunflower seeds.
Looks yummy. Will definitely try these.
Did these with my 6 year old so they were a bit ‘rustic’. He really enjoyed it. We made mini ‘cups’ rather than bars but still tasted great!