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Homemade healthier snickers with date caramel and oats

Healthier Snickers Bars

Homemade healthier snickers with date caramel and oats
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Makes: 8 to 10 bars
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Ingredients
  

  • 200 gms seedless dates
  • 3 tbsp creamy peanut butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 cup finely ground oats (from 1 cup instant oats)
  • 1/2 cup roasted peanuts, I like salted
  • 200 gms dark chocolate, finely chopped (I like 75% dark but a milder chocolate is ok too)
  • Optional: sea salt

Instructions

  • Add the dates to a bowl and cover with boiling hot water. Set aside for 10 to 20 minutes, until soft. Drain the dates but save a little of the water.
  • Add the warm dates, peanut butter, vanilla and salt to a food processor fitted with a sharp blade. Blitz till you have a smooth and thick 'caramel'. If needed, add a couple of tablespoons of the saved soaking water to help it along.
  • Scoop the caramel out into a bowl, then add the ground oats along with 1/3 cup of the caramel back into the food processor. Blitz until a soft and thick dough forms that holds together when pressed between your fingers.
  • Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf tin, then line it with non-stick baking paper (greasing helps the paper stay in place) leaving an overhang for easy removal.
  • Now press the oat dough into the base of the pan, packing it down firmly and evenly. It will seem like it won't fill the base, but it will, just keep using your fingertips to spread it out.
  • Now spread the remaining caramel over the base, then scatter the peanuts all over it. Press them in lightly. Place the pan in the freezer for 2 hours.
  • After this base is firm and very cold, slice into 8 equal sized bars. To make the coating step easier, I prefer to cut each bar into half again to make mini Snickers.
  • Place the sliced bars on a baking tray lined with the same sheet of paper, and stick the tray in the freezer for 30 minutes.
  • Now melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl in a double boiler, or in the microwave in 10-second increments. Don't let it overheat. If there are still a few lumps of chocolate, stir gently to help them melt down.
  • Dip each frozen bar in it, using a fork to turn it over, coating all sides. This is messy work but worth it! Lift it out and let the excess chocolate drip off as much as possible, and place back on the lined baking tray.
  • Once all the bars are coated, sprinkle the tops with coarse salt, then place in the freezer for 30 minutes before digging in. I prefer to store these in the freezer at all times where they will keep for a few weeks without becoming rock-hard. Happy Snicker-ing!

Notes

Shop this recipe: Dark Chocolate, Peanut Butter, Dates, Baking Paper
*Prep time does not include freezing time.
*Original recipe by From My Bowl