I may not have my costume picked out or a pumpkin carved yet (how the heck is it Oct 24th?), but the vegan candy options are a-go. That is, if they last until the weekend.
I’ve been working on these layer bars for a few weeks now. It took a bit of patience to get the thickness of the layers juuust right, but lo and behold I finally nailed something worth sharing.
Me likey. Me likey a lot.
If you are looking for a fun and incredibly tasty Halloween treat (or really, a treat for any special occasion!), I hope you’ll give these a whirl. They just about made our dreams come true.
Featuring all new, protein-packed salads, hearty toppers, flavour boosters, and dressings you'll want to drink, my new cookbook will transform the way you think about salads. Oh, and be sure to flip to the back for a surprise dessert chapter!
3-Layer Almond Coconut Chocolate Bars
Yield
18 small bars
Prep time
Cook time
Chill time
1 hour
Total time
These bars are bursting with three of my favourite flavours – almond, coconut, and chocolate! How could you go wrong? A soft and nutty toasted almond-oat crust forms the base. If you’ve made my Chilled Chocolate Pie, you can probably attest to how good this press-in crust is! The middle layer is made up of a no-bake almond butter “fudge” enhanced with rice crisp cereal for a wicked crispy texture. The bars are topped with a dark chocolate “macaroon” coating and garnished with big flakes of toasted coconut. I know.
Ingredients
For the base:
- 3/4 cup whole almonds
- 1/2 cup gluten-free oat flour*
- 1/4 cup virgin coconut oil
- 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup (or other liquid sweetener)
- 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
- 1 cup gluten-free rolled oat
For the middle layer:
- 1 cup raw or roasted almond butter (or peanut butter)
- 1/2 cup virgin coconut oil
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup (or other liquid sweetener)
- 1/2 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- pinch fine grain sea salt
- 1/2 cup rice crisp cereal
For the topping:
- 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips (use Enjoy Life brand for soy-free)
- 1/2 tablespoon virgin coconut oil
- 1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
- 1/4-1/3 cup toasted unsweetened large coconut flakes (such as Let's Do...Organic brand)*
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line an 8-inch square pan with two pieces of parchment paper, one going each way.
- For the crust: Add the almonds into a food processor and process until a fine meal forms, just larger than sand. Now add the oat flour, oil, syrup, and salt and process until combined and sticky. Finally, add the cup of rolled oats and process until the oats are chopped and the dough comes together, but the oats still have a bit of texture to them. The dough should stick together when pressed between your fingers. Crumble the dough evenly in the prepared pan. Press the dough into the pan evenly, wetting fingers if necessary to prevent sticking. Smooth out the dough with a pastry roller and use your fingertips to press in the edges until even. Poke a few holes with a fork to let air escape. Bake, uncovered, for around 13 minutes. Place pan on cooling rack for at least 10 minutes.
- For the middle layer: In a medium saucepan, stir the almond butter, oil, syrup, vanilla, and salt and heat over medium until the coconut oil is melted and the mixture is smooth. Whisk if necessary. Remove from heat. When the crust has cooled for 10 minutes or so, stir the rice crisp cereal into the almond butter mixture and pour this mixture on top of the crust. Smooth out and place in the freezer on a flat surface for 40-45 minutes, until the middle layer is completely solid. While the mixture freezes, toast the large coconut flakes (see note below). After the middle layer is frozen, remove from freezer and lift out the bar. Slice into 6 rows vertically and then slice 3 rows horizontally to make 18 small bars. Place bars in the freezer once again while you prepare the chocolate topping.
- For the chocolate topping: In a saucepan, melt the chocolate and coconut oil over low-medium heat. When half the chips have melted, remove from heat and stir until completely smooth. Stir in the shredded coconut. Remove bars from the freezer and spoon a small amount of chocolate on top of each bar. Immediately, sprinkle with toasted coconut flakes. Return the bars to the freezer until the chocolate is set. Serve immediately (bars will melt quickly, so I wouldn't suggest keeping them out too long). Store leftovers in the fridge or freezer.
Tip:
1) To make 1/2 cup oat flour, add 1/2 cup rolled oats into a high-speed blender and blend on high until a flour forms. 2) To toast the large coconut flakes, spread onto a baking sheet and toast at 350F for only 3-4 minutes, until golden and fragrant. After cooling, I crumbled the flakes up into smaller pieces for easier sprinkling. 3) For a fun twist, try making these bars using my homemade Nutella instead of almond butter!
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
By the way, thank you for your comments in my last post! It’s comforting to know that many of you have been through the same thing and it all worked out in the end. Here’s to good luck house hunting vibes for all. :)
Done and done. Can’t wait for them to get out of the freezer.
Oh my gosh! There are no words other than “YUM!”
I wish I had one of these right now. Going into my pike of recipes to try.
You mention 3/4 of whole almonds for the crust ground into a flour….how much would I require for the request if I already have almond flour/meal on hand? Thanks so much!
I wanted to do the same thing. I decided to use 1/2 cup almond meal for the 3/4 cup ground whole almonds and the crust came out perfectly. They taste awesome!
How can I not try to make this if they look so yummy?! Thanks for the no bake recipe. Love these bars.
These are insane! I’m hoping that if I stare at these pictures long enough, one will materialize in front of me.
what do the asterisks after the oat flour and coconut flakes mean?
it just means there’s a note about them at the bottom of the recipe :)
Wowowowowowow! I am obsessed over these photos! Amazing! Oh and of course the recipe looks outstanding too!
OH MY GOSH!!! Those look INCREDIBLE!!!! What an amazing recipe! <3 <3 <3
You come up with the BEST recipes! So delicious…
These looks absolutely DIVIIIINNNE. And healthy? WHAT?!
I wish I was your neighbor so I could just walk over and be like, “Hey, can I steal all the desserts from your fridge?”
WOW! Angela, you have done it AGAIN! We have just finished enjoying our second batch of your crunch bars from this month as well. This gives me another way to impress my girls and their friends. Thanks for helping me look like such a rock star mom!!! I can’t wait for your cookbook. Best of luck and happiness to you. Thank you for helping to make our plant-based life delicious!!
Hooooly moly, these sound amazing. I don’t know if you’re a fan of Friends, but there’s one episode in which Rachel tries to cook a trifle and bungles it quite spectacularly. Joey, however, loves it. At one point, he’s listing off the misbegotten ingredients (“Jam? Good. Whipped cream? Good. Beef and onions? GOOD.”) while talking about how delicious it is. These amazing bars are nothing like that trifle, obviously — but I found myself reading each ingredient and totally pulling a Joey. “Chocolate macaroon toppping? Good. Almond butter fudge? Good. Almond-oat base? GOOD.” :) Imma have to try these!
lol I remember that episode and you’re right – this recipe does warrant a Joey reaction! lol Thanks for the flashback!
These look absolutely delicious, I must make these asap!
I think my jaw dropped when I read the title, but then when I saw them– I’m just hungry now! haha. Such a great vegan halloween recipe. Thanks for sharing!
I’ve been on a bar phase and these are perfect! Coconut is so good.
Just made these! Followed the recipe to a tee. So delicious. Like a cross between a granola bar, chocolate bar, and cookie. The crust reminds me of shortbread.
Every recipe I’ve made of yours with brown rice crisps has been amazing. What is it about those little crisps?? :)
Curses! I had to make these as soon as I saw the picture! The only problem was that I did not have some of the ingredients. I guess that desperation is the mother of invention? The crust had no sugar and was a blend of oat, almond and coconut flour, coconut oil and coconut butter. To make it stick together, I blended up 1.5 tbsp chia seeds and soaked them in 10 tbsp water. My middle layer was soaked dates, coconut butter, peanut butter, vanilla and almond extract. I did toast some coconut, though! =P You are my inspiration, and at least this will be interesting. I definitely need to go shopping so that I can make the real deal.
Oh, yum. But is it possible to use another oil rather than coconut in any or all of the three layers?
You could try using canola oil, but it won’t solidify when it’s cold like coconut oil does