No-Bake Chocolate Bars (Gluten Free +Vegan)

Are you drooling yet? These No-Bake Chocolate Bars make the tastebuds and the soul happy. Naturally sweetened with dates, the inside is creamy, caramel-like, with a chewy, crunchy base, and everything is coated in yummy dark chocolate with a hint of coconut. You really can’t go wrong biting into one of these. 

My Picky Husband is over the moon for these vegan chocolate bars and he doesn’t typically like dark chocolate. I wanted to call these “vegan mars bars” but he said they didn’t quite taste like mars bars (I haven’t had a mars bar in probably 10 years) so I took his word for it. So maybe not a mars bar, but they definitely hit the spot.  They store really nicely in the freezer and you don’t even have to wait for them to thaw to enjoy. These no-bake chocolate bars have the perfect texture right from the freezer into your mouth.

The hard part with these creamy, vegan chocolate bars is the waiting time. They are actually quite simple to make, it’s waiting for them to harden in the freezer that will take all your self control. Good Luck.

With just a few weeks left of summer (although everyone seems ready for fall now that September is here), these raw vegan chocolate bars are the perfect way to say goodbye to summer. A great treat to enjoy the last bit of summer before we start to bundle up and only consume warm things in the months to come. So here’s to one last hurrah. ♥

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No-Bake Chocolate Bars

makes 10 |time to make: 5.5 hours (mostly freezer time) 

base ingredients

• 3/4 cup ALMONDS
• 3/4 cup PECANS
• 12-13 soft DATES
• 1 teaspoon CINNAMON
• pinch of SEA SALT
• 2 tablespoons HEMP SEEDS  (optional)

filling ingredients 

• 10 DATES (soaked in hot water for 10 minutes, to soften)
• 5-7 tablespoons WATER
• 1/2 cup ALMOND BUTTER
• 1/4 cup melted COCONUT OIL
• 1 teaspoon VANILLA

chocolate coating

• 70 g DARK CHOCOLATE (~3/4 cup)
• 2 teaspoons melted COCONUT OIL

directions for no-bake chocolate bars

1. Soak the 10 dates for the filling in hot water for ten minutes, to soften. Remove from the hot water after ten minutes and squeeze out any excess water. Set aside.
2. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper, set to the side.

3. Prepare the base ingredients. Using a food processor add the pecans and almonds and pulse. Add in the dates and the rest of the base ingredients. Pulse until thoroughly combined and the mixture sticks together. If your mixture isn’t sticky enough, add 2 more dates.

4. Pour the base ingredient mixture into the loaf pan and press it firmly into the pan. Place in the freezer for ten minutes while you prepare the filling.
5. Add the soaked dates from step 1 into the food processor and begin to blend. You will need to add the 5 tablespoons of water along with it. You are looking for a date paste to form (no chunks). Blend and scrape the sides for about 2 minutes or until it is mostly smooth. Add in the rest of the filling ingredients.
6. Take the pan out of the freezer and pour the smooth filling mixture onto of the base mixture. Spread it out evenly.

7. Freeze for 3 hours.

8. Once the 3 hours are up. Leave the pan in the freezer and begin to prepare the chocolate coating.
9. Melt the coconut oil in a saucepan over low heat. Once the coconut oil is mostly melted add in the chocolate (I chopped the chocolate first). Once the mixture is nice and smooth, bring out the bars from the freezer. Remove the bars from the loaf pan. You may need to cut around the outside, or the parchment paper may just lift nice and easily out of the pan.
10. Place on a cutting board and cut the bar mixture into 10 equal pieces.
11. One at a time, dip all sides of each bar into the chocolate mixture. Have a plate or tray with parchment paper available to place the newly coated chocolate bars on to. Once all the bars have been coated, (option to top with sea salt) place back in the freezer for 1-2 hours.
12. Chocolate Bars are best stored in a sealed container in the freezer.
13. ENJOY!

 

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