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Raw-Vegan Snickers® Bars

by LIVING HEALTH on August 2, 2016

Nuts are an amazing source of Omega-3 fatty acids, protein and fiber. Upon discovering that so many childhood treats were ridden with harmful and poisonous ingredients, I set out to reproduce some of them with organic, fresh, and healthy ingredients, especially nuts.

Snickers® bars, for instance, are one of those treats that you don’t let go of easily. Perhaps the nougat inside, topped with caramel makes it harder. After a few trial and errors, adapting other people’s recipes, this particular raw version came to fruition and it can be a wonderful gift. Enjoy!

Prep Time: 20 mins. | Cook Time: 2 hrs. | Servings: 16 | Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

Nougat:

1/4 cup hazelnuts

1/4 cups walnuts

2 tbsp. pistachio meat

1 tbsp. maca powder

2 tbsp. tahini

2 tbsp. honey

2 tbsp. almond butter

1 pinch of Celtic sea salt

Caramel:

2 1/2 cups medjool dates, pitted

1/3 cup coconut oil

2 tbs. cup of freshly squeezed lime juice

1/4 cup of freshly squeezed orange juice

1 tsp. Vanilla

1/4 tsp. Apple Cider vinegar

150 g of raw almonds

1 pinch of Celtic salt

Cacao Coating:

1 cup coconut oil

3 tbsp. raw cacao

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/2 tsp. Vanilla

1/4 tsp. Apple Cider vinegar

1/2 tsp. of coarse Celtic sea salt

Directions:

Nougat:

Grind the walnuts, the hazelnuts, the pistachio, and a pinch of celtic salt in the food processor, to a coarse texture. Add the honey, the tahini, the maca powder, and the almond butter, and pulse it. Put this mixture in a bowl.

Caramel:

Break down the almonds a little bit in the food processor, so that they are crumbled but not ground. Place the pieces of almonds in a second small bowl.

Now put the medjool dates, the lime and orange juice, the coconut oil, the vanilla, the apple cider vinegar along with a pinch of Celtic salt in the food processor to create the caramel — dates are nature’s caramel. Pulse this mixture in the food processor until it becomes a ball of goo. To make it more like caramel, move this mixture to the high-speed blender and add 1 tbs. of flitered water.

Move the sticky goo to a third bowl, add the almonds and mix them in by hand.

First Assembly:

Line a glass rectangular tray with a sheet of parchment paper, knead the nuts as the first layer, then the sticky goo with the almonds as the second layer. Place it in the freezer for 1 1/2 hours.

Cacao Coating:

Blend the coconut oil, raw cacao, maple syrup, vanilla, Apple Cider vinegar and coarse Celtic salt until it has a thick liquid consistency, and pour it in a fourth bowl.

Remove the two-layer snicker bar from the freezer, cut them into rectangles, lift from the parchment paper and dip each rectangle into the cacao layer, coating both sides.

Second Assembly:

Line a platter with parchment paper and place each coated rectangle on it. Put the platter on the freezer for 1 hour or in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

Serving:

Cut the excess chocolate so that the Snickers® bars look better. You can have fun and wrap your snicker bars in cellophane paper, tie bows at each end, or even use cling wrap to accomplish the same thing, which is what I did after shaving some of the excess cacao layer off to make it look smoother. For storage, keep left overs in a sealed container, in the refrigerator.

You Will Need:

1 high-speed blender

1 food processor

2 small sheets of parchment paper (or from the roll)

2 spatulas (to remove nougat, caramel and cacao from food processor / blender)

5 glass bowls (medium to large size)

1 rectangular glass container (freezer safe)

1 glass platter (freezer safe)

1 covered storage container