During my late teens and early twenties, my top 5 favourite chocolate bars were the following (in no particular order):
Chunky Kit Kat, Wunderbar, Coffee Crisp, Rolo/Caramilk, and Twix.
What about you?
For the next Halloween recipe in my Treat-a-thon series, I made a healthier version of Rolo caramels. Instead of making a traditional caramel, I processed Medjool dates into a caramel with a touch of nut butter. I really had no idea how close I could get the flavour, but I figured it was worth a shot.
Well let me tell you, we couldn’t believe how much these taste like Rolo caramels (only better of course because they are homemade). They don’t call dates “nature’s candy” for no reason!
Homemade “Rolo” Knock-offs
To email, text, or print this recipe, click here.
Yield: 18 bites
Ingredients:
- 200 grams pitted soft Medjool dates (about 11 large)
- 1/2 tbsp peanut butter (or other nut or seed butter)
- pinch of fine grain sea salt
- scant 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
- 1 tsp coconut oil
- chia seeds (optional)
The chia seeds were added for a spooky bug-like appearance and for some sneaky nutrition!
You’ll need soft Medjool dates for this recipe. My favourite brand is by Bard Valley. If you are starting with firm/hard dates, you’ll need to soak them in water until soft. Make sure to drain the water off before proceeding.
How to make:
1. Process dates with nut/seed butter until a sticky paste forms.
2. Chill date mixture in freezer for 10 minutes, then shape into about 18 small balls.
3. Freeze balls again for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, melt chocolate with coconut oil.
4. Dunk each chilled ball into chocolate. Tap off excess. Sprinkle with chia and stick with toothpick.
5. Place bites back into the freezer for at least 20 minutes to set. Bites taste best when they are firm and cold, straight from the freezer. They soften at room temp, but do not melt.
6. Enjoy!
Try them for yourself – I think you’ll be surprised by how much they taste like the real thing.
Next on my Halloween recipe list might have to be the Kit Kat bar…
In other Halloween news, I’m thinking about going as an 80’s girl this year. My inspiration came from these hot pink mesh gloves I found at Dollarama yesterday. Hot!
My mom was visiting on Monday and we were talking about my love for 80’s fashion as a child. Neon colours, side pony, teased curled bangs, spandex (neon of course), high top sneaks, leg warmers, stone-washed tapered jeans, slap bracelets, sweater clips, scrunchies….I rocked it all. There was no mistake that I was an 80’s child.
Anyone else have their costume idea decided yet?
This looks like a yummy treat for next week!
I will be making these for sure. I will be selecting a costume this week, hope the costume stores are still well stocked!
Did you use the Vitamix to mash up the dates?
Or a food processor?
Thanks
A food processor :)
LOVED them. Can I consider this a health food? ;)
I don’t have a processor so I chopped up the dates as best as I could and added more peanut butter. Turned out great:)
Thank you
So glad to hear you enjoyed them!
Just made these! I love that they are so-flippin-easy!!!!! And you are right, they taste very similar to rolos!! YAYYY!!
I’m craving something sweet right now and you’re the first one I turn to for the “yummy + healthy” combo. I’m making these this weekend!
These are SO yummy! They taste more like Milk Duds (my favourite!) to me. I may have to bring a baggie of them to the movies…
Yum! These are inspiring me to run to the kitchen right now! I am sure my kids will be happy that I did when they taste them. My husband just said, “What no caramel?” I can’t wait to serve him one. :)
I made these yesterday, and my gosh they truly taste like the real thing! My Dad will usually go nowhere near my healthy creations but he LOVED these and has nearly eaten them all! Thank you so much for creating these!
I’m going to have to make these! I can eat quite a few rolos, I love them!
I was soooo an eighties child…. I had the side pony and the neon pink skirt.
Ok, I’ll admit it- at first I thought “yea right, I bet this tastes nothing like caramel.” Well, it totally does and now I have to buy dates in bulk and experiment. Thanks, Angela!
I made these this afternoon and they came out wonderfully! Only difference was that I had to add a smidge of water to my blender to get the dates/PB to process smoothly and I mixed the chia seeds directly into the date-caramel. SO Yummy!! Thanks!
I made these and they are amazing. I think they taste better than Rolos because they don’t include the guilt associated with eating massive amounts of candy.
Made these today and we LOVE ’em!!! Thanks for another great recipe!!
The best thing to come out of this recipe is date caramel. I’ll have to try that.
I made these on Saturday and they are amazing! Thanks again for another great recipe!
I made these twice this weekend because they went so fast! They are delicious. Blew my mind :)
Angela, these were amazing! It took a while for my date paste to come together (I was getting worried about crumbly centers), but it worked out in the end. My husband is a total dried-fruit-a-phobe, but he said these tasted like Milky Ways! I’m definitely making these again :)
Oh I just bought medjool dates tonight- Yay! But I may top these with sea salt instead of the chia. I love the trader Joes dark choc caramel black sea salt bars and I’m thinking this may be very similar:)
I made these, and they are delicious! I followed the pictorial steps, and I found they are missing instructions on when to add the salt. I ended up sprinkling it on top with the chia seeds because it was too late to add it too the date blend. Still superb!
I’m lovin’ your Rolos. Pair those little cuties with a latte and suddenly a frosty morning gets a nice warm “glo” on.
Hello Angela! I want to say thanks for that yummy and sooo easy recipe. My friend at work just fall in love with those rolo bites, as I do, and I’m sending the recipe to my best friends too throught email… translated in French ;) Thanks from Sherbooke, QC. :)
Made these today and they are really good. I gave one to my 6 year old and said nothing about what they were. He took a bite and first thing out of his mouth? “mmmm, tastes like a rolo!”. Consider it a major hit if you can fool a candy obsessed 6 year old.
haha that’s awesome to hear!!
I just made these and as usual they are amazing!!! Every recipe I have tried from this site is delicious.
Hi-I see that salt is in the list of ingredients.. when do you add the pinch?
You can add it to the date caramel :)
figured but had to ask, thanks!!
Hi Ange, I just made these babies and oh my god!! They are soooo good – I literally ate 6 of these in one day! Just couldn’t resist them. It is the best treat I have had in forever. Thank you so much for this recipe :)
Glad to hear that Heidi! Enjoy :)
Wow those look delicious!! I need to try it. My favorite chocolates are Areo, Kit Kats, Coffee Crisps, Caramilks and Crispy Crunch.
I just made these Angela, they are SO good, my husband (who claims he hates dates) ate half the batch already, these are my new favorite candy! Thank you for your amazing ideas. :) Happy Halloween!!!
I’m happy to hear that! Happy Halloween to you too :)
I just made these and gave one to my niece and told her it was chocolate & caramel. She thinks she doesn’t like any of my “healthy” food (dates). She said it was a piece of heaven! I haven’t told her yet that it is really dates.
hah that’s great! Enjoy :)
Oooh, we are having a Halloween party at the library I work at and I wanted to make sure the treats I brought in were inclusive of all dietary needs. However, because of allergies, I don’t want to bring anything with nuts in it. Is there a possible alternative to the nut butter? Thanks!
I would suggest using sunflower seed butter. Enjoy!
Oh, now I see that you can use seed butter. I’ve never had that before. What would be the effect on the taste to use that instead of peanut butter?
Yum! Made these today and they’re super easy and fantastic. I found the 1/2 cup chocolate chips was enough to make two batches. I used “milk” chocolate chips (couldn’t find dark chocolate) and it was still yum. I have never had dates before this and I’ve got several ideas for their use now :) Thank you!
what do you do with the salt? does it go in the date mixture, the chocolate mixture, or do you sprinkle it on top?
I added it to the date mixture :) enjoy!
I made these yesterday in preparation for Hurricane Sandy…because yes, we’re directly in her path, and yes, I DO need chocolate to survive, That said, they’re wonderful and my kids are obsessed. You’re a genius.
I made these on the wknd, so easy and delicious! Plus they looked super pretty. I topped some with coconut, pecans, rice crispies and chia seeds before the chocolate hardened.
Thanks Angela!
Oooooo…I like your topping idea! Guess I’ll have to make them again.
Making your recipes has become a bit of an obsession and, thanks to you, I have more unique ingredients in my pantry than the local co-op. These little balls of heaven were so addictive. I fully intended to share them with my house guests. And I did mention it but maybe it was a noisy room and maybe I whispered and just maybe I didn’t mention it again. I’d like to add you to the very exclusive list of ladies I have proposed to.
bahahaha….oh man your comment just made my day. I am so honoured – and yes, I accept obviously. I will have to tell Eric in a noisy room while feeding him Rolos…
I just have to say I LOVE these. I stumbled upon your website and I have to say you have inspired me. I was looking for vegan recipes because my husband was diagnosed with cancer and I truly believe “vegan” is the way to go!! Long story short his prognosses is good and we are continuing to slowly transfer over to vegan. Let me also say I am from the midwest where meat and potatoes were always on the menu at almost every meal. This is quite a change but we are determined. If you have any suggestions please send them my way :) You are an inspiration and thanks for making our journey to “vegan” much easier than I expected. PS We also love your Veggie Burgers and Green Monsters (which my husband and parents have every morning)!!
Hi Carol, Thank you for your kind words! I wish you and your husband all my best. xo
Oh my goodness, I just made these and tried one and they are ridiculously good! Over the past week, I’ve come to the conclusion that you, my dear girl, are a geee-nius! :-) I found your blog the other day and keep sneaking back, when I really should be busy with other things, to see what else I can try out! Thank you so much for all that you do and Happy Halloween and 4th {Blog} Birthday! I am so grateful to have found you. Now… the rest of those rolos (I only made half measures, so there are already only 7 left) are sitting in the freezer and the question is, do I wait for my husband to get home and share them with him, or eat them all now and pretend they never happened?! ;-)
I’ve made these twice now to rave reviews! Love them. Now going to try your Kit Kat Bars!
Thank you. :)
They are so yummyyyy!!! Thank you so much for this recipe,it’s amazing,so easy to make and delicious! My husband and friends loved them too ;)
I’m pretty new to your blog, but loving it! Just a little tip I picked up from my mom when melting chocolate: put some water in a pan over medium-high heat and put a glass bowl over the pan (it must NOT be immersed in the water but should be a bowl big enough to perch on the pan edges). Put the choc chips in the glass bowl. The steam from the bubbling water will cause the choc chips to melt slowly. I use this every time and it’s flawless. Hope it made sense :-)
great tip!
OMG!!! The date carmel is amazing I wish I would have discovered that along time ago. My carmel has not made it to the rolo stage because I can’t stop eating the carmel by the spoonful.
I’ve already made these twice! All of my friends love them. I love this blog it makes being vegan so easy and fun!
awesome, thanks for letting me know!
Hi Angela , I love your website have told so many people about it and the awesome recipes. Made these today and instead of putting melted chocolate I mixed in cacao nibs. Really great also. I have a friend who doesn’t eat sugar so they were perfect. Love them with the chocolate also. This one is another keeper. Thanks!
Made these tonight for my sons Halloween Themed birthday party tomorrow. YOU are the best!!!! these taste just like a store bought candy bar. I’m making the Apple Bites tomorrow. Thank You Thank You Thank You :-)
These are awesome and SO easy!!! Thanks for all the great recipes!
Oof. My food processor burned out while trying to make this date caramel.
This is a dumb question…but I am out of chia seeds. Should I wait until I have them or can these be made without? (I have NO IDEA how I missed these the first time aroound!!)
These were pretty awesome. The first time I made them, though, I soaked my dates way too long so they wouldn’t freeze. It was just like a frosting texture that was smooth but refused to set up enough to ever make a ball out of it. However, thanks to that mistake, I think I am going to do the same thing over again and use this “caramel” base for my own vegan spin on German Chocolate Frosting! My plan is to use
-200g of soaked dates (I soaked mine overnight)
-1/2 tbsp peanut butter
-2 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
-1 1/2 cup chopped pecans
-1 tsp of vanilla
The best part is that there will be no added sugar or any of the other awful things you find in German Chocolate frosting. I can’t wait to see how it turns out. :)
Just made my frosting. I ended up using:
• 400 grams dates (about 30 medium dates)
• 1 cup water, divided
• 1 tbsp cashew butter (or any other nut butter, but cashew has the most mild taste that doesn’t interfere with the frosting)
• 2 ½ cups unsweetened coconut flakes
• 1 ½ cups pecan pieces
• 2 tsp gluten free vanilla
The date mixture with cashew butter and vanilla tasted even more like caramel than the date/peanut butter mixture for the rolos.This made enough to frost an entire 2 layer 8 inch round cake, and I’m betting any leftover would make great little truffles.
This looks delish and I plan on making them this week! I assume the pinch of salt goes in with the date mixture? Thank you! :)
OMG. Rolos are my fav! I love anything that combines chocolate and caramel. It’s midnight now, and I’m going to fall asleep dreaming about these. I will absolutely be making these in the morning.
These were great! I used almond butter and did not use toothpicks, but they are so delicious! I will definitely keep this “caramel” recipe in mind for slathering in the middle of a chocolate layer cake!