I had a sleepover with an esteemed member of the Global Supper Club, and she served me the most crave-worthy breakfast-on-the-go. This chocolate bar is a satisfying, salty-sweet snack that starts off cold and then literally melts in your mouth. It’s so tasty, you’d never know that it is jam packed with nutrients. I begged for the recipe, and now I happily keep a stash of these bars in my refrigerator for whenever a hunger pang, or chocolate craving, strikes.
Surprise number 1- these chocolate bars are made with dates! Pit 1.5 cups of dates, and add them to a food processor.
Follow up the dates with 2 cups of almonds, or another nut of your choice, 1/2 cup of ground flax seeds (the second surprise), 1/2 cup of unsweetened coconut, 1/2 cup of sunflower seed butter (the third surprise), or another nut butter of your choice, and 1/4 cup of cocoa powder. I LOVE the sunflower seed butter in this recipe, so use it if you can. It adds a really interesting flavor, and it keeps me coming back for more. Also, did you notice Baby Rue’s first photobomb?! Run the food processor until all of these ingredients are ground up into small pieces.
Melt 1/2 cup of coconut oil, and then add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract to it. Pour the liquid into the food processor, and run it until the mixture looks kind of smooth and comes together into a ball. Much like a homemade nut butter would.
Dump the mixture into an 8×8 inch baking dish, and use the back of a spoon to press it into an even layer. Put the pan into the refrigerator to chill. Once the coconut oil solidifies, the mixture will firm up, and you can cut it into bars. Store them in the refrigerator– they’re delicious eaten cold.
As you take a bite of a chilled bar, your mouth will melt the coconut oil, and the bar will take on an almost fudgy consistency. But the almonds and coconut will give you something to chew on, and the salt will keep everything bright and flavorful. All of the nutrient-rich ingredients in these bars should give you a jolt of energy, and even though no sugar is added, they will definitely satisfy your sweet tooth!
This recipe is adapted from Dr. Frank Lipman.
Shopping list:
- Dates- 1/5 cups
- Almonds- 2 cups
- Ground flax seeds- 1/2 cup
- Unsweetened coconut- 1/2 cup
- Sunflower seed butter- 1/2 cup
- Cocoa powder- 1/4 cup
- Coconut oil- 1/2 cup
- Vanilla extract- 1 teaspoon