These Chocolate Salted Caramel Bars are raw vegan. They contain no dairy and require no baking. All ingredients are natural, even the sweetening agents. The base of the bars are made up of a chocolate, oat, coconut and cashew combination. I wanted the base to be like a cookie, but with no flour. Growing up, my mother would sometimes make chocolate macaroons, so this is where I got my inspiration from. The next layer is a decadent and creamy salted caramel filling. It is made from primarily dates, peanut butter and almond milk. When I first tested this recipe my initial thought was how much it reminded me of dulce de leche. So yummy! To top it all off, I melted some chocolate, poured it over top of the bars and set it in the freezer. For the best and easiest results, a food processor is ideal, but if you don’t have a food processor a high speed blender is the best alternative. I promise you will not be disappointed by these deliciously decadent bars. It’s hard to believe they are vegan!
*Note – in order to make this recipe fully raw vegan, the cashews cannot be roasted and the cocao has to be the raw, cold-pressed, unroasted version. The roasted version is referred to as cocoa. It’s a subtle difference of switching the “o” and “a” but it is a big difference in the way the product is produced. Cocao power contains more nutrients and antioxidants as the cocao bean has not gone through a heating process. If you don’t care about keeping this recipe raw, then you can use roasted cashews and regular cocoa powder (which is a lot more price friendly).
Learn more about the difference between cocao and cocoa here.
Ingredients
Chocolate Cookie Layer:
- 1 cup raw unsalted cashews*
- 2 cups oats
- 2 cups coconut flakes (I like to use these large ones)
- 1/4 cup raw cocao*
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 2 medjool dates, de-pitted
Salted Caramel Layer:
- 1 cup natural peanut butter, unsalted (other nut butters will work too)
- 10 medjool dates, de-pitted
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1/2 cup almond milk (or other dairy-free milk)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Chocolate Layer:
- 3/4 cup vegan chocolate chips
- 1 tablespoon virgin coconut oil
Directions
*Note – if your dates are too hard, you can soak them in warm water for a few minutes before adding them to the blender to soften them
- Line a small brownie pan with parchment paper
- In a food processor or high speed blender – blend your cashews on high until broken down into small pieces
- Add the oats, coconut, cocao and salt to the blender, mix on high for about 30 seconds until all ingredients are well incorporated and broken down
- Add the maple syrup and dates to the blender, blend on high for another minute – you may need to stop the blender every so often to mix with a spoon as the batter is quite sticky at this point and can get stuck up on the sides of the blender
- Pour the cookie batter into the base of the pan, on top of the parchment paper, flatten evenly with your fingers or the back of a spoon
- Place the cookie layer in the freezer for about 20-30 mins.
- In the meantime, add to a clean food processor/blender all of the salted caramel ingredients – peanut butter, dates, almond milk, vanilla, sea salt. Blend on high for about a minute or more until the caramel is smooth and creamy. You will need to stop the blender and scrape down the sides every so often to ensure everything is being blended evenly.
- Evenly spread the salted caramel sauce over top of the chocolate cookie layer and place in the freezer for another 20 minutes
- Melt the chocolate and coconut oil in the microwave at 30 second intervals to ensure the chocolate is not being burnt or overheated. Mix until smooth.
- Pour the chocolate sauce over top of the salted caramel layer and place back in the freezer for an additional 20 minutes
- Remove from the freezer, cut into large squares and enjoy!
I like to store my Chocolate Salted Caramel Bars in the fridge or freezer. It makes the salted caramel chewier and the chocolate layers crunchier, along with preserving the freshness!