Snickers Bars :chocolate_bar:

Snickers (and Twix but that's my next project) used to be my favourite chocolate bars. I tried a store bought vegan version but unfortunately it was very disappointing. So I thought I'd take matters into my own hands and make them from scratch :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

Since I was going through the trouble I wanted to keep it relatively healthy and most of the recipes I read were very fatty and heavy. I went through many recipes but I didn't like any of them in their entirety, so I mixed and matched :grin:

For the nougat base I used the recipe from lovingitvegan.com

2/3 cup oat flour

1/4 cup virgin coconut oil

3 tbsp maple syrup

1/8 tsp sea salt

After mixing well, I spread in a lined tray and placed in the freezer while preparing the next layer.

For the caramel layer I decided to make date caramel. I've seen so many people rave about it so I had to try! The texture and appearance was spot on. Unfortunately for me it didn't taste at all like caramel but just of blended dates which I'm not the greatest fan of :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes: I didn't really follow a recipe, here's what I used.

8 medjool dates (stones removed)

4-5 tbsp water (add slowly and adjust)

1/2 tsp caramel flavouring

I spread the caramel over the nougat layer and topped with salted peanuts. I put back in the freezer for 30 minutes.

While I was waiting for the caramel to solidify I melted the chocolate in a bain marie and allowed it to cool down to almost room temperature.

200 g dark chocolate (I used 55% so it would be as close to the original as possible)

1 tbsp virgin coconut oil

Now that the caramel and nougat had solidified, I removed from the tray and sliced in bar size pieces. You can make these as small or large as you'd like.

I used a spatula to dip them in the melted chocolate and then placed on parchment paper to set. This was a rather messy process and I ended up with chocolate droplets all over my counter! Lesson learnt :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

The final result was actually really good. The chocolate lost some of its gloss and it melted quickly to the touch but the flavour was spot on despite feeling dubious about the date caramel. The nougat was amazing, even though the ingredients were a bit unconventional, it tasted so close to actual nougat. After a day or two in the fridge the flavours blended very nicely together and it was even better. Next time I think I'll cut the pieces smaller to make it easier to handle and eat :blush: