These date caramels are deadly. Covered in an espresso + chocolate coating, topped with sea salt and loaded inside with delicious raw caramel. Wowzers. Don’t let the size of these caramels fool you, they are loaded with so much goodness, it’s truly hard to stop at just one.
vegan treats for Halloween
With Halloween just around the corner, these treats are perfect to have in your freezer. I used to get a little envious of all those mini chocolate bars that friends would munch on in front of me. But honestly, I don’t miss them anymore. I have found there are so many fun vegan chocolate bar recipes out there. You don’t feel like you are missing out on anything when you are biting into one of them.
Need more Halloween treat ideas? Try these Mini Vegan Peanut Butter Cups or these No-Bake Chocolate Bars.
I am a big fan of caramel, espresso flavoured things and chocolate, which is how these chocolate coffee date caramels came to be. I also knew I’d want to be munching on some chocolate goodness on the 31st so I’m making a batch of these and popping them in my freezer for that purpose. Unfortunately, I feel like it is illegal (or very frowned upon) to hand out homemade candies to the kiddos when they come trick-or-treating, but that just means more for you!
here are a few reasons why I love these espresso caramels, so listen up!
- These are naturally sweetened! Dates are the best when it comes to sweetening desserts, naturally. They give off an already caramelly flavour, which is perfect when you are making date caramels…
- My Picky Husband isn’t a huge fan of dark chocolate, so when I got him to try them I was expecting him not to like them. But he was on board with this vegan dessert! He LOVES coffee flavour anything, so I think the coffee-chocolate definitely played a role in his approval. But the caramel is so creamy it’s hard to turn your nose up at that.
- These caramels are a perfect treat to have at a Halloween party. Your vegan friends will be happy, your non-vegan friends will be happy and there are no wrappers involved in these salted caramels! So that is a big score for our environment and should make everyone happy.
- These only take 20 minutes at the most to make! The hard part is the freezer downtime. It’s such a bonus that you don’t have to be in the kitchen for too long preparing these. So grab a book and a glass of wine while you “patiently” wait for these treats to be ready.
I hope you are salivating over these date caramels. You need these. October needs these. And your Halloween needs these. A rich creamy, coffee flavoured coating, with to-die-for date/cashew filling that will have you doing somersaults for. Don’t let the constant ringing of your doorbell get to you on Halloween, have these caramels prepared, and all will be well.
chocolate coffee date caramels
Ingredients
date caramel filling
- 1 cup medjool dates pits removed
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 2 tbsp cashew butter
- 1 tbsp warm water
- 1 tbsp coconut flour
chocolate coating
- 1 tsp coconut oil melted
- 1 cup dark chocolate chopped
- 2 shots espresso (2 ounces)
- sea salt to top
Instructions
- Before you start, it is important to note that your dates need to be soft and gooey for the caramel to be smooth and creamy.
- Add all the date caramel ingredients together in a food processor and process until smooth. The batter should be sticky and gooey but holds together.
- Measure out 2 tsp of the batter for each square. I found wet hands worked best here to mould the caramels. Roll them into a ball and then press down and form a square shape. Continue to mould the caramels until no batter remains. The batter should divide into at least 18 caramels. Place the caramels on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and place them in the freezer for 1 hour.
- Once the caramels have been in the freezer for 50 minutes, begin to prepare the chocolate coating. In a saucepan over low heat, add the coconut oil. Once melted, add the chocolate and the espresso shots. Whisk together until the chocolate is silky smooth.
- Remove the caramels from the freezer. You can take a moment here to reshape the caramels as they are easier to handle after being in the freezer for a little while. Next, add one caramel to the chocolate pan and using a fork, fold the chocolate over the caramel. Then scoop the caramel up with the fork and tap the fork on the side of the pan to remove excess chocolate. Place the caramel back on the parchment paper. And continue to coat the caramels one at a time.
- Once all the caramels are all coated, sprinkle sea salt on the top. Next, place the coated caramels back in the freezer for 2 hours. Then enjoy! Caramels are best stored in a sealed container in the freezer. Let thaw for a few minutes before eating them.
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These look so good…