Snickers Protein Caramel Bars
I’m crazy about these homemade Snickers bars! With caramel, peanuts, cashews. coconut and chocolate – they are even better than the original version. I can’t get enough of them.
Servings 12
Ingredients
Base Crust
- 1 1/2 cups cashews
- 1/2 cup desiccated coconut
- 2 scoops protein or collagen powder, plain or vanilla
- 1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
Date Caramel Filling
- 1 1/2 cups dates, soaked 30 minutes and drained
- 1/4 cup cashew or almond (or any other nut) butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate Coating
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1/2 cup peanuts, roasted, salted, roughly chopped
Instructions
Base Crust
- Line a 7 x 5-inch loaf pan or dish with parchment paper on the bottom and sides leaving some over hanging to act as a handle to get the bars out easier for cutting. Or use a silicon bar mold.Place cashews in a food processor and process until broken down and crumbly. Add coconut, protein powder and honey and continue to process until well combined. Be careful not to over process as its nice to have texture variance and different sized “bits” in your base crust.Press the base mixture into the bottom of your pan or dish evenly. Refrigerate while you prepare the filling.
Date Caramel Filling
- Place all caramel filling ingredients in food processor and process until smooth and creamy. Depending on the power of your blender this might take a few minutes. Stop blending to scrape the sides and continue to blend until very smooth. Pour the filling over the chilled crust and spread evenly with a spatula or the back of a spoon. Top with chopped peanuts, and place in fridge to set.Once set, remove bars from fridge and slice into 12 bars or more smaller squares.
Chocolate Coating
- Place chocolate chips and coconut oil in small dish and microwave with 30 second bursts stirring between each one until melted and smooth.Or use double boiler method - (pot of boiling water with a bowl resting on top) melt the chocolate chips and the coconut oil together.Remove the bars and after checking they are firm and set, remove from pan using the parchment paper handles and cut into 10-12 bars or pop out of molds. Once melted use two forks to hold each bite and one by one, dip into the melted chocolate, then place back on the parchment lined tray.Or hold each one with a fork over the melted chocolate and spoon it over letting the excess drip back into the bowl. Once all coated, place back in freezer to set for 10 minutes.Keep stored in the fridge for up to 1 week or place in a ziplock or freezer-safe container in the freezer for up to 3 months.