Healthy Homemade Snickers

What would you do for a healthy Snickers bar?

If you asked me what I’d do for a healthy Snickers, you’d learn what I’m willing to do for dessert. As a kid, if the dishes needed doing before the cake was sliced or my mom needed help carrying groceries in before I got my treat from the store, I was on it. If good food is the prize, you don’t need to ask me twice. Great news with these candy bars – I’m not going to ask much of you. You won’t need to schedule out three hours, a babysitter and special candy equipment to make these. Why? Because they are plain easy and come together in less than 20 minutes!

A few Octobers ago, we had literally just made our blog public and we wanted a “wow” recipe to kick-start our little project. Our dad is obsessed with Snickers so we could just imagine what he’d say if we showed him sugar-free Snicker candy bars! We tried a recipe for Snickers but they didn’t turn out so pretty. We remedied the situation with just-like-Dairy-Queen Blizzards. We loved that treat, but a genuine homemade Snickers recipe still lurked in the back of our minds.

Now here we are today with these genuine tasting HEALTHY Snickers! Our problem the first time may have been we were over thinking it! We’ve simplified the recipe to be easier and healthier! Now, it’s not a lot to ask of yourself to make these candy bars. They are bound to keep you feeling great while feeding any Halloween candy craving! If you love chewy caramel, dense nougat layers and rich chocolate with that perfect crunch of peanuts, you are in the right place.

Healthy Homemade Snickers Bars (gluten-free and vegan)

Chocolate Base & Top Coating:
2 1/4 cups Sugar-Free Dark Chocolate Chips, melted, divided

Line a 9 x 9 inch baking dish with parchment paper so that some hangs off the sides.  Spread the melted chocolate on the base of the pan and set in the freezer.

Nougat Layer:
1/3 cup Coconut Butter
1/4 cup Milk (fuller fat like oat, pea, coconut work well)
1/3 cup Maple Syrup or Agave
¼ cup Natural, Creamy Salted Peanut Butter
1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
1/2 cup Gluten Free Flour blend or Oat Flour
Heaping 1/2 cup Roasted Peanuts (non-salted)

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the coconut butter, milk, sweetener and peanut butter. Mix until totally smooth. You can beat with beaters if coconut butter or peanut butter is too firm. Add the vanilla. Mix in the flour until totally smooth. The filling should be like a shiny play-dough, but not super sticky! Add an extra tablespoon of rice flour or coconut milk to reach this consistency. Spread onto the hard chocolate base. Sprinkle the peanuts over the nougat layer and very gently pat. Return to the freezer.

Caramel:  ** See Note Below **
2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil
1 cup Coconut Sugar

1/2 cup Maple Syrup
1 Tablespoons Water
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract

In a small heat safe bowl, combine the coconut oil, coconut sugar, maple syrup and water together. Heat in the microwave for 2 minutes, stirring every 15 seconds. The mixture will bubble up in between heatings. That’s okay, just keep stirring and heating.  After the 2 minutes, stir in vanilla. The caramel should be a creamy caramel sauce. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes in the fridge. Pour the cooled caramel over the chilled nougat filling and return to the freezer.

When the caramel filling has firmed, pour the remaining melted chocolate topping over the caramel. Return to the freezer for another 10-15 minutes, or until the chocolate has set. It’s easiest to cut these when they are chilled but not frozen. Store leftovers in the fridge or freezer – they are delicious frozen!

**Caramel Notes**

-This caramel sauce can be made on the stove if desired.

– Triple this raw caramel sauce using dates for a healthier treat! This doesn’t yield a true nostalgic snickers flavor but creates a tasty treat!