Everyone, (well not literally everyone) has been asking me for the recipe for the two raw desserts that I posted up on Instagram a few days ago. So why not just write a post about them so everyone (this time I mean everyone - since this blog is public) can enjoy them both! :) Win win.
I first discovered the healthy Snickers recipe on a Facebook post that a friend was tagged in. I normally don't enjoy chocolate bars like Snickers, Mars Bars, etc as they are too sweet and I'm not really a big fan of caramel (but since salted caramel has become an in thing, that's a different story...) So I was reluctant to make it, but since I had most of the ingredients I decided to give it a try.
Things I noticed:
- it says to include 1/4 cup of flax seeds. I didn't have any so I just substituted them for more almonds. It still works find with any nuts I guess.
- the recipe says to combine 1 1/2 cups nuts/seeds to 1/2 cup dates. In my experience of making raw dessert bases (all are pretty much just nuts and dates mixed together) the ratios didn't seem right to give it enough 'stick'. If you press it together between your fingers it did stick a bit, but not enough, and parts of the base crumbled which resulted in my first failed attempt at making these. So the second time I used 10 dates which is about 1 cup and it turned out nicely.
- for the 'caramel' centre it says to melt and then cool the coconut oil. I'm not sure if this means cool it completely so it solidifies, since coconut oil is a solid when temperature drops below 25 degrees or so I think (don't quote me on that). Both times I made it I let the oil cool, as it not hot but it was still liquid. When I added it to the other ingredients and mixed it, there was some liquid residue that formed. I'm not sure if this is from the coconut oil or the tahini or the natural peanut butter - since they all have natural oils. But don't worry if this happens to you, just drain it off (I put the caramel in a sieve) and it still tastes yummy!
- freezing or fridge? Up to you. I keep mine in the freezer, as I want it to keep for longer. You may just need to wait a bit for it to defrost and not be so hard. Ms Tjak put hers in the fridge and says it still tastes good and isn't too soft.
- it says to include 1/4 cup of flax seeds. I didn't have any so I just substituted them for more almonds. It still works find with any nuts I guess.
- the recipe says to combine 1 1/2 cups nuts/seeds to 1/2 cup dates. In my experience of making raw dessert bases (all are pretty much just nuts and dates mixed together) the ratios didn't seem right to give it enough 'stick'. If you press it together between your fingers it did stick a bit, but not enough, and parts of the base crumbled which resulted in my first failed attempt at making these. So the second time I used 10 dates which is about 1 cup and it turned out nicely.
- for the 'caramel' centre it says to melt and then cool the coconut oil. I'm not sure if this means cool it completely so it solidifies, since coconut oil is a solid when temperature drops below 25 degrees or so I think (don't quote me on that). Both times I made it I let the oil cool, as it not hot but it was still liquid. When I added it to the other ingredients and mixed it, there was some liquid residue that formed. I'm not sure if this is from the coconut oil or the tahini or the natural peanut butter - since they all have natural oils. But don't worry if this happens to you, just drain it off (I put the caramel in a sieve) and it still tastes yummy!
- freezing or fridge? Up to you. I keep mine in the freezer, as I want it to keep for longer. You may just need to wait a bit for it to defrost and not be so hard. Ms Tjak put hers in the fridge and says it still tastes good and isn't too soft.
Ms Tjak made these in mini cupcake moulds to bring to her workmates. They turned out so cute and were a definite hit at work. She was also a little OCD (she thought it was cute) with the placing of the peanuts. (See photo below) Hehehe :p
Now the chocolate fudge coconut bites. I found this on Facebook (as much as I don't like Facebook, it is a very powerful and useful social media tool). I follow various paleo/clean eating pages and saw this recipe. Again I had all the ingredients and it looked easy to make so I tried it out. As you can gather, I'm a non fuss/lazy 'cook'. I like minimal effort for maximum outcome. Whereas Gaffa loves to spend hours in the kitchen creating delicious food. I'm just impatient and hungry all the time hahaha.
The dates to nuts ratio were fine in this recipe (I used almonds). It's supposed to be more 'gooey' than other bases, like fudge. It does get a bit sticky though when you're trying to put it in the pan. I used a loaf tin for mine. It has a strong coconut taste since the filling is mainly shredded coconut and coconut oil. If you like coconut you'll like this.
So my dear readers, which one is your favourite? I'm torn....
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