The very popular flavor combination of salted caramel and chocolate is kicked up notch in these delicious gluten-free spiced dark chocolate salted caramel bars with a little touch of cinnamon and a itty bitty pinch of cayenne pepper. You get a delicious taste of spice mixed with rich dark chocolate that tastes even better once it’s combined with the smooth homemade salted caramel.
There are three layers that make these bars delectable in both flavor and texture. The bottom layer is the crispy crust made of oat flour, coconut oil, and coconut sugar. The middle layer is so simple to make and it tastes like the traditional version of salted caramel – you know, the kind where you simmer water and white sugar until it browns – but totally not healthy. For obvious reasons, I didn’t make it that way. Instead, I discovered a way to make homemade salted caramel that’s easy, delicious, and made with 3 ingredients –dates, coconut oil, and a pinch of salt. The top layer is good quality melted dark chocolate.
If you want to be festive and create little shamrock treats, you can use these shamrock cookie cutters to make the shamrock treats (make sure they’re at room temperature before making them or the crust will be really hard to cut through). You could also use these shamrock molds and not deal with the cookie cutters.
If salted caramel is your jam, you may want to check out these yummy treats (they all have homemade salted caramel in the recipe made from dates): Sweet Potato Cheesecake with Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce, Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Oatmeal Cookies, and Homemade Salted Caramel Chocolate Cups
Vegan Spiced Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Bars (Shamrock Edition)
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cup gluten-free oat flour
- 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 2 cups dates, pitted and soaked in water for 30 mins
- 1 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 cups dark chocolate - (see note)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9x13” baking dish with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the crust ingredients until well combined. It should feel a bit oily from the coconut oil – if it feels dry, either add more coconut oil or a bit of water until it holds its shape. If it’s too oily and not holding its shape because it’s too thin, add little bits of oat flour until it holds its shape.
- Spoon crust into dish and gently flatten it down, creating a thin layer covering the bottom of the dish.
- Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes, or until lightly golden. Remove from oven and let cool.
- While the crust is baking, drain the dates and put those along with the 1 cup of melted coconut oil and salt in the food processor or blender. Mix until smooth, stopping to scrape the bowls a few times. This process takes some time to get it completely smooth – around 8-10 minutes.
- Once the crust is cool, and as gently as you can, spread the date mixture on top of the cooled crust until its even and smooth.
- Melt the chocolate and pour on top of date mixture.
- Let it cool in the fridge until chocolate hardens. When ready to eat, slice into 24 even squares. Or, if you’re feeling festive, use clover molds for St. Patty’s Day 🍀
Notes
- Choose chocolate chips or a chocolate bar made with unrefined ingredients, like these HU Dark Chocolate Bars.
- I used these shamrock cookie cutters to make the shamrock treats (make sure they're at room temperature before making them or the crust will be really hard to cut through). You could also use these shamrock molds and not deal with the cookie cutters.