These bars are delightful or should I say datelightul? I’ve seen versions of these called Snickers Bars with almonds but, personally, I don’t think the name fits. I thought of Almond Joy but there’s no coconut! These delightful bars begin with a base of almond flour (along with oat flour) mixed with almond nut butter and date or maple syrup. A date paste composes the gooey, caramel-like layer that is topped with toasted, sliced almonds and then spread with dark chocolate. Created to delight, these bars are also gluten-free and use only natural sugars. This is a nutrient-packed recipe so watch out as they are also packed with calories . . . but these bars are so rich that a small one satisfies most sweet lovers.
Almond Delights or Almond Datelights Yield: 8x8-inch pan; about 12 bars
Bottom Crust
3/4 cup almond flour
1/4 almond butter, no sugar added
1/2 cup oat flour (to make your own – add a little over 1/2 cup old fashioned or quick oats to the blender or food processor and blend until it creates a somewhat coarse oat flour
2 tablespoons date syrup or real maple syrup
Caramel Middle
3/4 cup date paste (cook about 1 cup of dates with 3-4 tablespoons of water until softened, adding more water as needed; process in a food processor until smooth
2 tablespoons almond butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
Topping
1/2 cup of chopped or sliced almonds, toasted (place in a 350° oven for 4-5 minutes or until they just begin to turn golden; watch closely)
1 cup dark chocolate chips
- Line an 8x8-inch pan with parchment paper.
- Combine almond flour, almond butter, oat flour, date syrup and salt.
- Press mixture into pan to form bottom base layer. Place in freezer.
- For middle layer, combine date paste, almond butter, and vanilla.
- Spread on top of bottom layer and sprinkle with almonds. Place back in freezer.
- Melt chocolate and spread over top to set. You can also cut into bars first and dip in chocolate to cover like a candy bar. Since these bars keep best when refrigerated, I left the chocolate off. When ready to serve, I microwaved enough chocolate chips to cover a couple of bars, and then spread it over the tops of the cut and plated bars.
Bottom Crust
3/4 cup almond flour
1/4 almond butter, no sugar added
1/2 cup oat flour (to make your own – add a little over 1/2 cup old fashioned or quick oats to the blender or food processor and blend until it creates a somewhat coarse oat flour
2 tablespoons date syrup or real maple syrup
Caramel Middle
3/4 cup date paste (cook about 1 cup of dates with 3-4 tablespoons of water until softened, adding more water as needed; process in a food processor until smooth
2 tablespoons almond butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
Topping
1/2 cup of chopped or sliced almonds, toasted (place in a 350° oven for 4-5 minutes or until they just begin to turn golden; watch closely)
1 cup dark chocolate chips
- Line an 8x8-inch pan with parchment paper.
- Combine almond flour, almond butter, oat flour, date syrup and salt.
- Press mixture into pan to form bottom base layer. Place in freezer.
- For middle layer, combine date paste, almond butter, and vanilla.
- Spread on top of bottom layer and sprinkle with almonds. Place back in freezer.
- Melt chocolate and spread over top to set. You can also cut into bars first and dip in chocolate to cover like a candy bar. Since these bars keep best when refrigerated, I left the chocolate off. When ready to serve, I microwaved enough chocolate chips to cover a couple of bars, and then spread it over the tops of the cut and plated bars.
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