Being a recipe developer means grocery shopping almost every day. On my way out the door I always ask my husband if he would like anything from the store, and more often than not he says: “a treat, please”. Now, he doesn’t mean a lovely bag of blood oranges or a pint of juicy strawberries – he means a chocolate bar. Not a healthy chocolate bar. A low-vibe, sugar-laden, not-real-food chocolate bar. But I do not judge him. I just buy the thing and pick my battles (toilet cleaning and garbage disposal rank higher on my list).
Recently, standing near the cash register and cruising the candy bars like a very reluctant weirdo, I actually experienced a pang for one myself. That rich and total over-the-top decadence is not something I am often drawn to, but for whatever reason the Snickers and the Twix bar spoke to me like long lost friends. And that was the exact moment I decided that I was going to makeover my two favourites with the best whole food ingredients I could find, that would deliver both total satisfaction and nutrients. A healthy chocolate bar to end all healthy chocolate bars. Could such a dream be realized? Oh yes, the universe loves us and wants us to be happy.
The Colossal Healthy Candy Bar is three tasty parts. First, the bottom biscuit layer inspired by Twix, is a mildly sweet, vegan and grain-free cookie made with coconut flour. It is crisp when it comes out of the oven, but goes pretty cake-y once it is combined with the other ingredients. Delicious nonetheless, and a pretty important counter-point to all the richness of the other layers.
Second, the caramel-and-nut layer inspired by Snickers, but with a twist: instead of just using dates in the caramel, I balanced out the sweetness by adding a healthy dose of hazelnut butter. Wowzers. This was a very delicious decision. The caramel became far more complex, rich-tasting, and it is essential to note that this would make a fantastic spread or topping all on its own. If you do not have hazelnut butter, I recommend almond or cashew in its place (click here for instructions on how to make your own nut butter). Instead of using peanuts, I used roasted hazelnuts to sink into the top of the caramel for awesome texture and crunch – almonds could also be used here.
Lastly, each bar is enrobed in luscious, raw, dark chocolate. I usually use coconut oil in my raw chocolate recipes, but after reading the (incredible!) new cookbook Clean Cakes by Henrietta Inman I was convinced that using solely raw cacao butter was the way to go. It delivers a crisper finish and creamier texture. If you want to make things simpler and faster, feel free to use a ready-made bar of chocolate in this recipe instead of making your own. Raw chocolate is of course the healthier choice, but if you’re pressed for time or ingredients, this is a good shortcut to take.
Coconut Flour Power!
With so many diets and lifestyles focusing on gluten-free and grain-free eating, coconut flour is wonderful option for many people. Made entirely from dried coconut flesh that is pulverized into a soft, fine powder, coconut flour is a nutrient-dense alternative that is increasingly available at health food stores and even supermarkets. Score!
There are several benefits of coconut flour, my favourite being that it is remarkably high in protein and fiber. Translation: super filling and satisfying! It is low in sugar and digestible carbohydrates, and scores low on the glycemic index, so it a perfect choice for paleo eaters and diabetics. It’s also nut-free and non-allergenic.
The flavour of coconut flour is slightly coconut-y, but not overwhelmingly so. I like it in things like these chocolate bars where there are many other strong tastes going on that overshadow the taste of the flour. If you want to compliment and enhance the flavour of the flour, use coconut milk as the liquid portion of a baked good. Seriously yummy.
What’s the catch I can hear you asking. Well, there are a few downsides to using coconut flour, mainly due to its density, dryness, and lack of elasticity. It’s certainly not a flour to experiment with if you’re looking to replace wheat flour for instance, as the two behave completely differently (that goes for using coconut flour in place of almost any other flour, whether grain, seed, or nut-based). Coconut flour is also crazy-absorbent and needs quite a large proportion of liquid to solid to avoid crumbly results (I’ve read the comments below and it seems like a lot of you are struggling with this factor!) Most recipes I’ve found online remedy this by using a lot of eggs, but I used applesauce and flax seeds instead with good results. Once you get the correct ratio down it’s pretty easy to work with, but I’ve learned the hard way that it’s best to use tried and true recipes with this finicky ingredient!
Back to the candy bars. Which are insane. These truly colossal creations have everything you could ever want: tasty cookie, ooey gooey chewy caramel, crunchy roasted nuts, divinely rich chocolate, and tiny salt kisses. I am so darn proud of this recipe, and I can’t believe that such a decadent thing can exist without making me feel lousy after eating it. In fact, I’ll go so far as to say that I feel colossally healthy after eating one. Or two. Stop looking at me like that.
The Colossal Healthy Candy Bar
Makes 16 bars
Coconut flour cookie bottom
1 ½ cups / 175g coconut flour
¼ tsp. fine sea salt
½ cup / 125ml unsweetened applesauce
2 Tbsp. ground flax seeds
1/3 cup / 85ml coconut oil, melted
2-3 Tbsp. maple syrup, as needed
Date and nut caramel
1 ¼ cup / 325g pitted soft dates
1/3 cup / 80 ml nut butter (I used hazelnut)
seeds of 1 vanilla bean
½ tsp. sea salt
Roasted nuts
¾ cup /115g raw hazelnuts or almonds
Raw chocolate coating
8.8 oz. / 250g cacao butter (not coconut butter or coconut oil)
1 ½ cup / 150g raw cacao powder
¼ cup / 60ml maple syrup
pinch of sea salt
Note: raw chocolate can be substituted with two 3½ oz. / 100g bars of dark chocolate (minimum 70% cacao).
Directions:
1. Start by making the cookie bottom. In a small bowl stir the applesauce and the ground flax together. Set aside and let gel for 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. In a large bowl sift together the coconut flour and sea salt. Stir in the melted coconut oil, two tablespoons of maple syrup, the applesauce-flax mixture and blend until the mixture holds together when pressed. If not, add the remaining tablespoon of maple syrup and stir to combine.
2. Line a brownie pan with baking paper and firmly press the mixture into the pan, especially around the edges. Place in the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes until the edges are beginning to turn golden. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool at room temperature.
3. Lower the oven temperature to 300°F/150°C. Spread the nuts out in a single layer on baking sheet and roast for 20-30 minutes until fragrant and slightly darker in colour (a good way to check is to cut one in half and check the colour in the center. Instead of cream, it should be golden). Remove from oven and let cool completely. If you are using hazelnuts, rub them together to remove as much of their skins as possible. Roughly chop and set aside.
4. Make the nut caramel. Add the pitted dates to a food processor and blend until creamy. Add the nut butter, vanilla bean, and sea salt. Taste and adjust according to your tastes.
5. Spread the nut caramel in an even layer over the cooled cookie bottom. Cover the caramel with the chopped toasted nuts, and press them down so that they are slightly sunken, reserving a few for garnish. Place the pan in the freezer to firm up for at least 4 hours (frozen bars are easier to cut and coat with chocolate).
6. Prepare the chocolate. Melt the cacao butter in a double boiler over barely simmering water. Remove from heat, stir in the maple syrup and salt, then sift in the cacao powder. Whisk together until smooth.
7. Remove the brownie pan from the freezer and pull up the edges of the baking paper to remove the filling. Place on a cutting board and slice into 16 equal bars.
8. Roll each bar in the melted chocolate, then pick up using a fork, allowing most of the excess chocolate to drip off. Set on a wrack and let harden. Take remaining chocolate and drizzle across the width of the bar to create a design (this step is optional, but it makes the bars look really beautiful). While the chocolate is still wet, sprinkle with remaining hazelnuts and let set. Place all bars in the freezer to firm up. Store in an airtight container in the freezer, and remove 10-15 minutes before serving. (Note: these are okay outside of the freezer, but if you’re using raw chocolate they will be relatively soft if left at room temperature).
I hope you guys find as much satisfaction in this recipe as I have. It’s pretty rad to have a stockpile of candy bars in your freezer for when the urge strikes, and to keep you out of the chocolate aisle on your next trip to the store! For the record, if you see me there, I’m buying treats for my husband…since I’m really bad at sharing.
Show me your candy bars on Instagram: #MNRchocolatebars
Thanks for the recipe, it made me hungry!
I will try to do the same at home even if it will not be easy ^^
Hi! These look delicious. I tried making them today. However, the cookie part ended up very crumbly and dry, not tasting too good.. Reading through the comments, I see that I’m not alone. I googled the Urtekram coconut flour that I read that you used, and seems to be a flour with 66% fat. Maybe that’s why my cookie part ended up bad, as the coconut flour I used only has 9 % fat. I will try to remove the failed cookie layer, and remake it using blended desiccated coconut instead of the flour. The caramel layer was crazy good 🙂
My colossal chocolate bars – just finished coating them and in the freezer they go – I have had one already – amazing – made them bite size and layers thinner as I didn’t have the right baking pans- thanks Sarah all your recipes – so tasty – and I love your two cook books and look forward to your next one – BYW I made the apple sauce with apples no sugar or water so added more to bottom layer so it would not crumble – worked out well I made it with lots of cinnamon and just wilted the apples to a pulse really
Irene 🙂
Super food, i’m so in love with chocolate.
this a great article to be healthy person
Looks fabulous, but do you have a nut and seed free version for those of us with nut and seed allergy?
If not, do you think it would work, based on your experience, without that section (2) with the nuts and nut butter? Thank you.
Hi there,
At this point, I haven’t tried a nut and seed-free version, but you could always just make the bottom and caramel without the nuts and coat the whole thing in chocolate! I bet it would be delish 🙂 I hope you try it!
xo,
Sarah B
How long will these keep in the fridge?
Hi Amanda!
At least one month…4 months in the freezer. Enjoy!
xo, Sarah B
I just made these bars a couple days ago and they are so good! I just love them! Totally satisfy my craving and hunger. I did use peanut butter doe the nut butter as thats what I had on hand. Also, for the chocolate coating I didnt have all the ingredients so I adapted it and just melted dark chocolate and drizzled it over the top. Yum! Thanks for sharing this! It’s so hard to find a delcious recipe that is grain free and without added sugar. 🙂
Delicious bars and beautiful photography too! Keep up the great work! Have a nice day!!
We have made something similar for our employees and they loved it. I am going to have to try this next holiday that comes around.
Thank you so much for your créations!
This looks so good. I am going to make these for my Hardwood Floor Refinishing>/a> company employees. I believe they would love it. This looks so good.
If you look at these chocolate-made foods, I’m immediately reminded of my fat body. Is the type of chocolate that is safe to consume and does not make fat?
These look amazing. Can’t wait to try them – thanks!
thanks sarah but Can you tell us more about it and where to buy it?
made these today and they were amazing! I just couldn’t believe i made them myself (and ate them all for myself…). Thank you so much for your créations!
This is great post, it really is what I was looking for, thank you for sharing!
Finally made these today and they are AMAZING! I took inspiration from Mimi (in the comments) and replaced the apple sauce with eggs (2 large), reduced the coconut flour to 125g and the flax to 1Tbs (20mL) and used 2 Tbs (40mL) maple syrup. The biscuit turned out perfectly. Otherwise I followed the recipe to the letter and couldn’t believe how easy it was. The bars look just like your picture and they taste SO good! Thank you!
Threw the batch away — waste of time and awful. Complete waste of costly ingredients. The cookie crust tasted like sawdust. The caramel turned out OK, but the layer was much thinner on mine than in the pics. (I assumed “brownie pan” meant 8×8 square pan, perhaps not?) Will try a different cookie base (perhaps with eggs as one writer did or using the go to almond flour maple syrup pinch of salt basic cookie). Did salvage part of this by adding a bit more maple syrup to the left over chocolate, mixing in dried berries and nuts, very tasty chocolate bark.
my choc came out very thick, not pourable. so I kept adding more maple syrup and more cocoa butter to try to get it runny. never did. also, my cookie part looked fairly intact when it came out of the freezer but crumbled when I tried to coat it with choc. I had to hand coat them like icing as it wasn’t liquid.
cocoa butter 8.8 oz- is this by weight or in a measuring cup?
Thanks Sarah for share this info. I tried to make this cake
I’ve got one question though: brownie pans are still a bit exotic in German kitchens so could you maybe tell me the apoximate size of the one you were using here?
hmmm yummy
I want to eat HEALTHY CHOCOLATE BAR
Oh my … Looks utterly addictive ! I, myself, committed a healthy Twix bar a few weeks ago and it became the most required treat in our house. I will definitely give those a try !
Thanks for sharing
Thank you very much. I hope my wife want to make ice cream using this recipe for me.
This is looked like a chocolate that i’ve been dreaming for. Thanks mynewroots.org
These look unreal, though what can I use instead of apple sauce?
woow.. Looks very delicious, I hope my wife want to make ice cream using this recipe for me.
looks tasty, I wanted to make chocolate bars.
Sarah, thanks for recipe 🙂
that looks so yummy, thanks for sharing
very delicious … i am going to make this chocolate bar for my girl friend
thanks sarah 🙂
Looks fabulous, but do you have a nut and seed free version for those of us with nut and seed allergy?
If not, do you think it would work, based on your experience, without that section (2) with the nuts and nut butter? Thank you.
i will try it tonight. I like this chocolate
I was so excited to make these but could not get my cookie base to stay together. When I went to cut the bars, the cookie base just crumbled into powder. And it definitely held together well before baking – I added the whole 3T of maple syrup. Where did I go wrong?? I have decided to just remove the date caramel & nut layer from the crumbly base and dip them in the chocolate as is. I always was more of a snickers fan than a twix fan anyway ? 😀
hmmm yummy thanks … i am going to make this chocolate bar for my mother
thanks sarah
Hi Sarah!
In the process of making this recipe and can’t find cacao butter at any local stores. Do you know of any substitutes that could be used to make the chocolate? I really don’t want to use chocolate bars as I don’t eat any cane sugar.
Thanks so much for the help!
Hi, these bars look amazing!! Can I substitute apple sauce for anything else? Mashed banana? Thanks!!
Hi Sarah. I love this recipe, but mostly I love the way you share your excitement and pleasure in the creative process—that’s what I find most inspiring about your blog. I just wanted to let you know that I’ve used this recipe as a springboard to write about a trend in the wellness movement that has disturbed me. I want to be clear that I’m not arguing anything on your behalf, or expressing anything on your behalf, rather that I have noticed a broader hypocrisy in the movement as it becomes more and more commercial. https://darlingnowcom.wordpress.com/2016/07/17/did-deliciously-ella-borrow-a-recipe-from-my-new-roots/ Best wishes.
Ok, I’m not vegan and would like to use eggs instead of the flax/applesauce.. Any estimates on how many to use approximately? ? Thank you!!
Ok I did it! Used 4 smallish eggs from our own free range happy chickens, and only 100 grams of coconut flour. The cookie part is wonderful!! Holds together beautiful and is almost like a real biscuit ?
I’m so bummed about how these turned out! I did see others had issues with the cookie base so I decided to weigh my ingredients to see if that helped. It did not! The coconut flour mix pressed down well but it just didn’t work out. Oh well!
Agree…I threw out the entire batch. Complete waste of great ingredients. Did not hold together AT ALL. Just terrible.
These look really yummy.
Hi Sarah!
They are amazing!!!!
Um actually, I was extremely insipired by your bars, but I made them differently 😉 For the base I made a regular Scottish shortbread, then blended dried figs instead of dates with penut butter, then pressed in toasted nuts (almonds, walnuts, pekans and cashews) and finally dipped half way in 85% dark chocolate. DIVINE! Here they are: http://oi65.tinypic.com/j9svgx.jpg
My office and friends were begging me to make another batch 🙂
——
This is my first comment on your blog, but I am very inspired by some of your recipes (especially by abundance bowls that became a thing in my house, by raw slaws and fennelmin tomatoe sauce – my personal favourite).
Oh and I always wanted to say that everytime you say can’t find something in Copenhagen (like fresh curry leaves) I appreciate how lucky I am to be able to get everything here in London.
Hi Ola,
Thank you so much for commenting! I am thrilled to hear you find inspiration here 🙂
Your version of the bars sounds divine and they look great!
All my best,
Sarah B
I don’t know if I understand the instructions for the chocolate coating. Can you just substitute a dark chocolate bar in place of all the ingredients under chocolate coating?
yes, melt it in a dry bowl over steam
Always I love to eat healthy chocolate and your given tips really great for me. I just read few post on this blog and they are awesome. Thanks for the lovely tips.
I find there are a lot of blogs/websites these days that have recipes for healthy versions of naughty treats. Most of them claim to be amazing and just like the real thing but they are rarely are when you actually make them. These however are genuinely delicious and worth every second of the effort in making them. Thank you Sarah! Another fantastic recipe!
I made these today and they were amazing! I just couldn’t believe i made them myself (and ate them all for myself…). Thank you so much for your créations!
i will try it tonight.
Hello friends. Organic coconut chocolate is very good for health because they are chemical free. Organic coconut chocolate can be used to control weight and decreases the chance of diseases in our body. If you want to make very good organic coconut chocolate then you can read recipe on our website.
Hi Sarah,
thanks for coming up with such a great idea. I’m currently reducing the amount of artificial sugars more and more and this seems to be the perfect thing to soothe a craving… I’ve got one question though: brownie pans are still a bit exotic in German kitchens so could you maybe tell me the apoximate size of the one you were using here? So when I order one it is not too small or too big…would really appreciate it! Thank you so much!
Im just have a same question like lara.
Could you tell us how much apoximate size for that.
Btw Thanks for recipe
30cm x 30cm or 25cm x 25cm
This chocolate bar look so delicious ! Yummy !
I made these with almonds and sunflower butter in the caramel layer, everything else unchanged – delicious! Thank you!
Thanks so much for this recipe! Can’t wait to try these!
I just had a taste! I’ve been dying to make these and am very pleased with the results. Delicious and rich! Thanks for this recipe! I’m a type 1 diabetic and feel totally comfortable with this ingredient list! I think I should have weighed the dates however. I used a measuring cup and suspect that I ended up with a thicker and smaller batch of date caramel than I should have.
Also, I used some dark chocolate bars (70%) instead of raw chocolate and found it covered very thick. The bars also stuck to the wire rack pretty bad. Any tips for these trouble spots? Would adding coconut oil to the chocolate help?
A way that makes chocolate slightly healthier so I can eat more of it can only be an amazing thing. These bars look delicious and totally mouthwatering. Beautiful photography, too! Keep up the great work!
These look so yummy!!! I will definitely have to make these soon! This would be an amazing addition to my dessert list! Thank you for putting in the time and effort to make something unique for us gluten free, paleo peeps!
Chocolate is not a healthy thing
Hopefully this article can change my mind about it
This looks amazing! I am trying these today! All your recipes look so beautiful and inspiring…thanks for them all. I love your recipes and your blog. Thanks so much!
This looks yummy!
Very tempting to try this one out! Looks so good.
I find there are a lot of blogs/websites these days that have recipes for healthy versions of naughty treats. Most of them claim to be amazing and just like the real thing but they are rarely are when you actually make them. These however are genuinely delicious and worth every second of the effort in making them. Thank you Sarah! Another fantastic recipe!
This is such a creative recipe. Looks delicious
Wow! Sounds like a huge undertaking! I admire you for your dedication. I don’t have much time for baking. I wish I could order some from someone who makes them. 😉
OH MY GOODNESS I CAN”T BELIEVE YOU DID THIS THANK YOU. I have a problem with twix bars. I sometimes eat them when I feel upset… going to try making this instead. So excited!
OMG this is certainly a very tasty snacks for all ages!! I’m sure it will be loved by everyone!!
That’s awesome, thank you for this recipe
Wow, these sound so good, I am definitely going to make them. Thanks for the recipe! I really, really appreciate all your hard work in making recipes that are healthy and good for our bodies.
Well now I’ve GOT to try this! It looks way too delicious. What a great alternative to usual chocolatey candy bars. Thanks for sharing this!
We’ve been making something similar to this using almond flour but this sounds so much better! We’re going to have to make a batch and add this to our growing list of delicious recipes.
Dear Sarah
thank you for this great recipe! I made this last weekend and they turned out amazing. Now me, my boyfriend and friends are all addicted! I cut mine in bite-size pieces before chocolate coating though, which makes them even more indulging in my opinion 🙂
These look so divine 🙂 I want to try them but am allergic to flax seeds. Will it work to substitute chia seeds? (And does that work across the board with most of your recipes?) Thanks!
This looks amazing! I cannot wait to try it soon.
http://www.fiercefertility.com
My cookies crumbled too so I mushed it all up again and stirred some more melted coconut butter in and reshaped it onto some parchment paper on top of a chopping board. Then, when it was cool I had to slide it into the freezer from the board other wise I think it would have crumbled again but when it was frozen it stuck together really well and I’m pleased with the end result. Though it looks nowhere near as pretty as in the pictures. I just don’t have such a delicate hand I guess.
No, these definitely did NOT NOT NOT stick together well, and in my opinion there was way too much coconut flour. They ended up tasting like cardboard. Threw out the enter lot, and felt it was a complete waste of money and time!!!! Seriously – how did anyone have success with this???
That’s awesome, thank your for this recipe 🙂 I will definitely try them out, I love almonds and coconuts! Greetings from Passeier, Italy 🙂
Sarah! Love this recipe and can’t wait to try it. Miss those bastards too. I also wanted to say there’s a typo. No worries, only a small one 😉 “does of hazelnut butter” in stead of “dose”.
Thank tou for the recipe, Sarah. I had to make some substitutions, but the recipe worked for me without any trouble. Since coconut flour abd coconut oil are rather expensive in mu country, I made the flour myself in a blender using dessicated grated coconut. I also used quality sunflower oil, grated the flax myself really coarsely, and swapped maple syrup for unpasteurised honey. The cookie crust held up extremely well! Due to food sensitivities of my boyfriend, I used raw tahini of unhulled sesamme, which is a delicious alternative. The caramel was pleasantly rich and the bars were addictive!
hmmm yummy… i am going to make this chocolate bar for my dad
thanks sarah 🙂
Hi Sarah,
I will make your bars asap 🙂 but I don’t have applesauce. My question is if there is some ingredient I can replace, maybe more coconut oil?
Greetings from Poland/ Cracow:)
I’m going to get fat because of this.
That’s usually what people say when you try and hand them a chocolate bar that they know they shouldn’t have. They usually take it anyways, because, you know, it’s chocolate.
But only if they knew what real chocolate tasted like…only if they knew! I recently went to Guatemala and came across a chocolate museum that showed the steps of processing cocoa into chocolate, which is where I tried my first “real” chocolate bar.” I’m pretty sure I fell in love, no joke. They were $6 each but they were the best chocolate I had ever tasted!
Knowing with prior experience what real chocolate tastes like, I’m so excited that you’ve created this recipe! Not only that, but it’s a remix of traditional, well-loved candy bars. I hope that if I ever make these, someone will take them from my hands, sigh, and say to me: “You’re going to make me healthy, aren’t you?” while happily munching on them!
Much love!
-Anita
Oh wooow. I HAVE to try this!! I am always looking for wholesome, tasty (chocolate) treats and this recipe has hit the nail on the head.
These look amazing! Cant wait to try 🙂
“Oh yes, the universe loves us and wants us to be happy.” Ha Ha! I laughed out loud when I read that. You really are brilliant, Sarah. Found your life-changing bread last week and have been eating it ever since. We no longer need commercial bread thanks to you. Now this chocolate bar??? Just printed the recipe – just got to wave it in front of my better half. or I’ll have to make it myself. Actually I will make it myself and surprise her. Thanks again.
Hey Vic!
So thrilled to hear that! The bread changed your life too 😀 Enjoy the chocolate bars…they may replace commercial chocolate forever too 😉
xo, Sarah B
Oh my giddy aunt … they have! You are a life-saver ;0) x
The picture looked so amazing that I raced home to make them. However … the crust was ridiculously crumbly, and was way too dry in my mouth. It wouldn’t hold together in any 1″ square, despite painting coconut oil over it when cooling. Perhaps the brand of coconut flour I used? I actually threw out half of it (the date caramel only covered half of it anyway) – what a waste of good ingredients! Don’t understand how others had success with this. But the whole concept is good.
Hi Melo!
Oh no – so sorry to hear this! 🙁 I wish I could come troubleshoot with you in your kitchen…it’s a possibility that the coconut flour was behaving differently. I’ve heard that some brands are better than others but I’ve only ever used the one I have from Urtekram. I hope you try again and it works out. Much love,
Sarah B
Hi Melo, i had the other problem: way too much crust. In the end it was a bit too thick and therefore dry! My caramel covered all off it, but it was still too much crust! They were delicious and I munched them anyway, but I also helped myself with some hazelnut butter 🙂 i’m using the “Dr goerg”-brand. Its popular in Austria! They also good amazing coconut oil! Next time I’m not going to use 170g coconut flower, but probably around 100-120g! Or I’m going to use a bigger brownie pan!
I was making a different version of such a bar, but the hazelnuts make ALL THE DIFFERENCE! Could have gotten that idea myself, but thank you Sarah 😀 this combination of ingredients of your receipe is way better!
Well I like all the ingredients and sadly the batch I made did not come out well. 1. the bottom layer was very crumbly and fell apart. 2. date mixer very hard to get creamy (added a bit of water to smooth out). 3. Chocolate was a disaster due to not having cocoa powder or coca butter (substituted butter and unsweetened coco powder), very hard even when I tried to warm up. bummer as some really nice ingredients used.
oopps I also used peanut butter as i could not find any hazelnut butter… I did see the cocoa butter, but my goodness it was $34 dollars
You CANNOT substitute butter for cacao butter.
Hi
Try to read your instructions again, I think you missed the step where to add flax and applesouce to the flour.
Hi Jenny!
It’s in Step 2: “In a large bowl sift together the coconut flour and sea salt. Stir in the melted coconut oil, two tablespoons of maple syrup, the applesauce-flax mixture and blend until the mixture holds together when pressed.” Hope you had luck with these!
xo, Sarah B
What a great recipe! And These Pictures. I never tried out cacao butter. Sounds so so good. Need to try that out. xoxo Janine
These look amazing– I have the day off tomorrow and making these chocolate bars WILL happen!
Long time fan, first time I’ve left a comment. Since the comments section was so very helpful to me for this recipe, I thought I’d also add a few thoughts.
Thankfully, since a bunch of MNR recipes call for coconut flour, I was expecting the cookie to be a crumbly mess. Thanks to the commenters below, I was able to get the super helpful tip of brushing the cookie with melted coconut oil as it was cooling. Huge help.
Next is the caramel. If I attempt this again (which I bet I will, so delish) I’ll double it. For two reasons. 1) I need it to cover the cookie, as a single batch just didn’t quite go the extra mile for me. 2) it was hard with so few ingredients to get my Vitamix to actually blend it.
Finally, the coating was easy to do but the drip dry was a disaster. That cacao butter is like glue and it adhered to the cooling rack. When I went to lift them off and store in the freezer container, half the cookie was left stuck to the rack and every bar had a white bottom. Next time, I’ll place them on parchment and peel it off once solid. Oh and I had a tone of coating left. I may cut it in half or even more in the future.
The taste? OMG!!! So much more than a Twix meets a Snickers. There’s definable KitKat and even Mars bar noted. And I swear some 3 Musketeers. Unreal. Seriously unreal.
Oh I used almond butter and almonds because I had then on hand!
Hi Leanna,
Great to hear you’ve gotten help from the comments below.
I’ll say that it’s pretty frustrating hearing that things don’t always work out in other people’s kitchens due to slightly different ingredients, bakeware, cooking equipment etc, but I am glad that the bars tasted as good as they did and it sounds like you’ll be making another batch with tweaks to make them work for you! Thanks for your feedback – it means a lot!
xo, Sarah B
These are just SO GOOD I almost couldn’t read any more it was just painful. I WANT ONE (TEN) NOW!!! Coconut flour is wonderful stuff.And I’m the same with my husband, he eats junk food I would never, and that’s his choice xx
Yahoooo! Thanks for letting me know, Amy <3
I made these today and they were amazing! I just couldn’t believe i made them myself (and ate them all for myself…). Thank you so much for your créations!
So great Planete! You did it!
Drooling on my keyboard. This is the ultimate recipe. We start a new chocolate world rule. Thank you!
hello thank you love you
Hello,
I love your creativity, thank you for your continual inspiration.
I just have a couple of comments – perhaps it would be helpful if you could put an estimate at the top of your recipies with regards to how long they might take to make.
With this particular recipie, I had to use triple the chocolate to coat the bars? And double the apple sauce for the coconut flour mixture.
Also after the bars had dried on the wire-wrack after dipping them in the chocolate, when I pulled them off the bottom chocolate layer came with them! Is there a trick to stop this from happening. As I had to recoat them in chocolate.
I also found the coconut mixture quite cakey rather than crunchy. Was this the aim?
Many thanks,
Eliza
Eliza, mine stuck horribly too! Next time, I think I’m going to place them on parchment paper and peel it off once set.
Unlike you, I had an abundance of chocolate coating. I was thinking of at least cutting it in half, maybe more!
Hi Eliza and Leanna – so sorry your chocolate got stuck – parchment paper is a good idea and I’ll revise that in the recipe!
And weird about the chocolate coating…I had the exact right amount for my bars, yet some people had too much or too little? Confusing to say the least!
I hope you enjoyed the taste anyway, and I encourage you to try again with revisions that suit you both 🙂
Much love,
Sarah B
Hello!
Is raw chocolate the same as raw cacao?
Hi Brent,
Raw cacao is typically the ground raw beans and raw chocolate tends to be already in “bar” format, but it depends where you’re shopping! When I saw raw cacao here, I am referring to the powder. Hope that helps 🙂
xo, Sarah B
The coconut biscuit didn’t work at all for me – I made it twice thinking I did something wrong the first time, but it must have been the “Let’s Do Organic” brand coconut flour….it came out dry, crumbly and tasteless 🙁 So…if you’re going to make these don’t use that brand of flour!
Hi Elisabeth!
Such a bummer to hear this 🙁 Like I mentioned in the post and in the comments above, coconut flour can act differently between brands. I’ve only ever tried the one from Urtekram, and can’t speak to others. Hope you try the recipe again. Thanks for leaving your feedback here!
xo, Sarah B
Made these last night, and i could eat that whole batch of date caramel – SO good! and i didnt even use medjool dates, just the generic dried up ones. I just chopped them up, then warmed them up with 1/3c tahini (instead of nut butter which i didnt have because i just needed these made yesterday…) and blended in my magic bullet.
One thing though – the base was too thick for my liking, but any thinner and it probably would fall apart. coconut flour is so dry!
I was very lazy and instead of coating the whole thing with chocolate, i just whacked a batch of coconut-oil-cacao-powder-maple-syrup chocolate on top and refrigerated. SO GOOD!
Sarah, these are beautiful. I’m drooling. I can’t have coconut, so am going to try and experiment and make a copy coconut free version!
P.S. I love everything you do. Just sayin’.
xo
This recipe is absolutely brilliant! I think this is the sweet recipe I’ve been waiting for my entire life!
I was so excited to make these but could not get my cookie base to stay together. When I went to cut the bars, the cookie base just crumbled into powder. And it definitely held together well before baking – I added the whole 3T of maple syrup. Where did I go wrong?? I have decided to just remove the date caramel & nut layer from the crumbly base and dip them in the chocolate as is. I always was more of a snickers fan than a twix fan anyway 🙂
Hi Colleen,
So sorry to hear that! Very frustrating! There have been some cookie fails here for sure as I read the comments – different coconut flour behaves in all kinds of ways I guess. I wish I could help everyone out, but it sounds like you found a tasty solution 🙂 Hope you’ll try again!
xo, Sarah B
Since I do love a crisp cookie base, here’s my tip. If you ‘paint’ the cookie base with a layer of hardening fats: runny coconut butter, cacao butter or coconut oil, it prevents moisture from softening it, keeping it crispy for much longer!
Hey marvelous.max – thanks for this stellar tip! I’ll share it above 🙂
Hope that you enjoyed the recipe.
xo, Sarah B
wow.. it’s look delicious.. i want to try it
Just tried and ate these. They look exactly like yours and they taste like heaven! I think I will have them for breakfast 🙂
Hi Sarah, just wanted to pop you a note to tell you I have been following your blog for a while now and trying out many of your recipes from here and in your cookbook as well. I think that the photographs in this post have been my absolute favorite. I loved the second photo, so simple but absolutely beautiful. Thanks for doing what you do. I’m excited to make these!
Hi Evajean!
Thank you SO much! I really worked hard on these photos, so that means a lot <3 Hope you try the recipe and love it.
xoxo, Sarah B
We made them today, they looked too insane to let it for another day ;).
I hope that you don’t mind that I changed a little bit the recipe (in place of hazenut butter I used sunflower+tahini). Thank you for the inspiration, Sarah, I liked the add of applesauce in the bottom layer.
Omg, these look incredible! I want to make them asap!
Can’t wait to finish my work and start making these! I mean these insane bars! 🙂
You are awe inspiring.
wow! can’t wait to try these! My kids will love it for sure! thanks!
Whaaaaaa! Seriously, this is all I ever want in life <3 <3 <3
But more importantly, did your candy-bar loving husband gobble these up?
YES HE DID!!! I shared 🙂
Sarah – You never fail to amaze me!
These look fantastic. Thank you! Where do you source the applesauce from or do you make you own?
Hi Alison,
I just buy an organic applesauce the health food store this time of year. The apples are no longer in season, so it’s my best option 🙂
Hope you enjoy making them!
Best, Sarah B
Hi Sarah,
Could I ask a quick question please?
On direction #2, after the bottom mixture comes out from oven, does it go straight to freezer to cool until it’s time for caramel and toasted nuts?
On last direction, after bars are dipped and rolled in melted cacao, do they go directly into airtight container and freeze? Or wait until melted cacao stops dripping a bit?
Thank you thank you! xx
Hi Ren,
Thanks for your questions – I’ve updated the recipe to be more clear 🙂
No need to cool the bottom layer in the freezer. It will be fine at room temp.
And the bars will stop dripping quite quickly – just wait until the hazelnuts have set on top. Because the bars are frozen, the chocolate will harden pretty fast. That is why the freezer step is key! 🙂
Enjoy!
xo, Sarah B
You are barking up my tree!
I try to avoid added oil when I can. I’m going to try making these with coconut butter instead of coconut oil. Fingers crossed they come out as well as the photos above!
Hi Amanda,
Let me know how they turn out!
Thanks and enjoy <3
Sarah B
Can’t wait to try these – they look delicious!
These look amazing! I might have missed it, but what size pan did you use…an 8×8?
Hi Ali,
Yes 8×8 🙂 Enjoy!
xo, Sarah B
Genius! These look far too difficult and time consuming for me to make, but I would buy it! You should trademark the recipe and start a little factory making Sarsh B’s Collosal Healthy Chocolate Bars!
Haha! Awesome idea Catherine. Got an investor that’s interested? 😉
xo, Sarah B
Just said the same thing to my husband. I would buy these… Just saying!
You’ve done it again. Amazing! So much work that went into developing this recipe to get it to be just right. Thank you. I must try this 🙂
This looks so delicious.. yum. At first sight I would never guess this is actually something which doesn’t contain processed sugar. Definitely something worth making, thanks for the recipe.
Sarah – these look fab! Can’t wait to give them a try. It’ll be happening soon, since I already happen to have all the ingredients. Thanks for sharing such a stunning and inspirational recipe, always.
Sarah, how come you always come with such a delicious stuff:-)?!?
This will be my weekend project!
Greeting from Holland, Marcela.
O-Oh, these look veeery dangerous 🙂 Great job!
This looks better than ANY packaged candy bar out there. I mean, it combines all of the highlights of our favorite bars! I also get chocolate cravings SO often, so it’s ideal for me to have high quality dark chocolate when they hit!
Sarah these look amazing, I can’t wait to try them out! Two quick questions, can you make your own coconut flour by blitzing shredded coconut in a food processor? And two, what size pan would be best here? Thanks!
Hey Lindsey! I’m pretty sure if you run dried coconut through a food processor for a few minutes it will turn into coconut butter, not flour.
Hi Lindsey and Heather,
Thanks for your comments.
Lindsey, Heather is right…shredded coconut will turn into butter because of its high fat content. Coconut flour is very different and has much of the fat removed making coconut milk – it’s a by-product of this. SO…you need to get your hands on the real thing! If you can’t find it in stores, try online. Lots of options there!
Good luck and have fun!
Sarah B
Wow, these look incredible!
This looks like a brilliant update on the junky chocolate bars I gave up years ago. I absolutely love the idea of adding hazelnut butter to the caramel- yum.
Wow!! These look amazing!! Just found out about your blog via a friend…so glad I did!! XO
@stylemelauren
http://www.stylemelauren.com
Oh my good gracious!
I’m so tempted by candy bars–these would be so much better to keep in my fridge than to be tempted by the ones at the checkout at the supermarket.
Sarah B,
Could these be, dare I say, life changing candy bars? I will be making these tonight!
After finding out I have leaky gut and many food allergies that come along with it, my biggest challenge with diet change has been finding good recipes that satisfy my sweet tooth.
The cool thing is, I can eat almost all of your recipes, and still feel great!
You are a vision of health and an inspiration.
Best,
Nicolette
Hi Nicolette!
Wow, thank you so much for commenting. You made my day! It’s thrilling to hear form people with dietary challenges that can prevent them from enjoying the things they love, so it means a lot to know I’m creating things that work for YOU <3 Yay!
Good luck with the bars and enjoy enjoy enjoy!
Big love,
Sarah B
Healthier snacks are ALWAYS a good idea. I love this, pinned!
Wow! These look brilliant!!
Reminds me of the days I would carry around a few Kit Kat bars in my purse! Now I wouldn’t touch them – but I would LOVE to indulge in these 🙂 Yum!!
Hey Ella – dude, I was like that too. But it was with Twizzlers! They were like cigarettes to me 😉 OY. Those days are long gone, but it’s still fun to indulge. Hope you enjoy!
xo, Sarah B
These look divine. I’m always looking for a healthy way to satisfy my sweet tooth!
These look … wow … I should buy a chocolate bar bin for my freezer. 😉
Dear Sarah,
These look amazing. Can’t wait to try them! Your recipes are becoming more and more original and yummy. Hats off to you my lady 😉 Please keep doing what you do!
wow this look yummy! I need to try these
http://xoxobella.com
It looks heavenly divine!!! I am afraid though it’s a problem to find cocoa butter… Maybe online?
Thank you Sarah for sharing the recipe! And I am with you about not sharing this with my hubby (giggle!).
Hi Alfiya,
Yes, try online if you can’t get to a health food store 🙂 Enjoy!
xo, Sarah B
I absolutely need to make these right away!! These sound SO good. Especially that caramel!
all i can say is whoa!!!!
Ohhhhhh momma these look GOOD! I can totally relate to needing a rich, decadent chocolate treat that you can sink your teeth into, and I love that these won’t send me into a diabetic coma. They look sooooo marvelous and I love that they’re full of nothing but healthful ingredients. I need these on the daily!
Hey Sarah,
First off, these look divine. I’ve been wanting to make healthy candy bars for awhile and this is motivation to make the leap. A couple of questions though…
I’m not supposed to have coconut flour (oil is ok). I have a stash of almond flour… Do you have any recommendations for making the switch in the cookie recipe? I haven’t done too muh experimenting with gf baking yet.
My mom lives in the mountains and always has mini snickers with her when Nordic skiing or hiking. I’ve been wanting to make her a healthier (and let’s be honest, yummier) alternative. How do these hold up once out of the freezer for a bit?
Thanks for all you do!!!! (I’m a massage therapist and I send coworkers and clients to your blog quite often)
Love to you and yours,
Amy
Hi Amy!
I haven’t tried these with almond flour, but it would be my first choice for a sub. I just can’t guarantee how it would turn out! : [ Can you let me know if you try? Thanks!
These are okay out of the freezer, but if you’re using raw chocolate they will melt at a lower temp than “regular” chocolate – but I doubt that they would fall apart, just get squishy…yum! 😉
Good luck and enjoy,
Sarah B
Oh my … Looks utterly addictive ! I, myself, committed a healthy Twix bar a few weeks ago and it became the most required treat in our house. I will definitely give those a try !
Oh my…these look and sound amazing! I’ve never heard of cacao butter. Can you tell us more about it and where to buy it? Also, I’ve been using a stockpile of amazing raw cacao I bought in a farmers market in Nicaragua, but am sadly running low. I haven’t liked the raw cacao I’ve purchased in the past. What is your go to brand? Thanks so much for all your great ideas!
Hi Ellyn!
Cacao butter is the fat from the cacao plant, the same place we get cacao 🙂 You can read more about it here: http://mynewroots.wpenginepowered.com/2012/05/ecstatic-raw-chocolate-3/
And I love the raw cacao powder from Big Tree! http://bigtreefarms.com/collections/cacao
Hope you enjoy these!
xo, Sarah B
Looks fabulous, but do you have a nut and seed free version for those of us with nut and seed allergy?
If not, do you think it would work, based on your experience, without that section (2) with the nuts and nut butter? Thank you.
Not sure if coconut butter falls under your allergies, but that would probably substitute nicely. Also it sounds totally strange, but maybe something like cooked & pureed chickpeas/garbanzo beans or cannellini beans. It might give you a similar texture without an overpowering flavor.
Hi Gannie,
If you’re allergic to nuts, just leave them out and the nut butter as well! It will still be yummy 🙂 And thanks to Ali F for the suggestion, but I wouldn’t put beans in this. It’s a great idea, but I think the coconut butter would be best!
Enjoy,
Sarah B
OMG!
That looks amazable, your hands can do magic, it sure looking insane incredible tasty.
thanks for sharing
These look like the candy bars of my dreams!! And I love that you made the biscuit with coconut flour, that’s such a creative idea. 🙂
I just found out I’ve been waiting for this recipe my whole life.