With Halloween right around the corner, I started thinking about all my favorite candy bars. I for one love me some Reese’s cups. They’re the type of candy that I could sit and eat the entire bag without batting an eye about it.
And so, I tend to stay away from store-bought Reese’s because HELLO zero self control haha! I made my own homemade peanut butter cups which tend to be way more filling and satisfying and less sugary.
But want to know the bar I buy the most? The bar that stares me down in the checkout line of my grocery store? The only candy bar I think is worthwhile to snag when my kids share their halloween candy with me. And that, my friends, is a Snickers. Instead of buying Snickers this year, I thought it would be fun to make my own stash – a healthier homemade snickers stash that I could keep around for a reduced sugar option.
This recipe is based off my homemade twix bars but I added in some peanut crunch and did a little drizzle action instead of a full chocolate layer. My favorite part? The sprinkle of flaked sea salt on top that really hits a home run with whole sweet and salty vibe. So let’s gey into the recipe and make these Healthy Homemade Snickers Bars!
Line an 8×8” square pan with parchment paper so you can easily remove the bars when they’re done setting.
In a bowl whisk together the coconut oil, agave nectar, vanilla, almond flour, and sea salt. I found it easiest to use a rubber spatula to fold everything until completely combined.
Transfer the batter to the pan lined with parchment paper. Press the dough into the bottom of your pan to create an even base and bake for 12 minutes until golden brown. While the base is baking, make your caramel.
In a saucepan, bring the coconut cream, coconut sugar, vanilla, and sea salt to a boil over medium-high heat. Whisk frequently for about 10-15 minutes until it thickens up and the color darkens. Remove from the heat.
When the cookie base is done baking, allow to sit for 10 minutes. Give the caramel one more whisk and pour over the cookie base. Sprinkle the peanuts on top of the caramel and freeze for 1 hour.
Remove the base from the freezer and cut into 12 bars. Place the bars on a cooling rack with a piece of parchment paper laying underneath to catch any drips.
Melt the chocolate (check out my tutorial How to Melt Chocolate Chips) and drizzle it over the top of your set caramel layer. Sprinkle with flaked sea salt and place it back into the fridge for 15 minutes for the chocolate to harden.
Recipe
Healthy Homemade Snickers Bars
These vegan and gluten free Healthy Homemade Snickers Bars are so indulgent & made with ingredients you can feel good about & will satisfy any sweet tooth!
Ingredients
- Cookie Crust:
- 1/2 cup refined coconut oil
- 1/4 cup agave nectar (honey, coconut nectar, or maple syrup works too)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
- couple pinches of sea salt
- Caramel:
- 1 can (15 oz) unsweetened coconut cream
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- couple pinches of sea salt
- 1 cup salted peanuts
- Chocolate topping:
- 1 cup of dairy free dark chocolate, melted
- flaked sea salt for sprinkling on top
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Line an 8×8” square pan with parchment paper so you can easily remove the bars when they’re done setting.
- In a bowl whisk together the coconut oil, agave nectar, vanilla, almond flour, and sea salt. I found it easiest to use a rubber spatula to fold everything until completely combined.
- Transfer the batter to the pan lined with parchment paper.
- Press the dough into the bottom of your pan to create an even base and bake for 12 minutes until golden brown.
- While the base is baking, make your caramel.
- In a saucepan, bring the coconut cream, coconut sugar, vanilla, and sea salt to a boil over medium-high heat. Whisk frequently for about 10-15 minutes until it thickens up and the color darkens. Remove from the heat.
- When the cookie base is done baking, allow to sit for 10 minutes.
- Give the caramel one more whisk and pour over the cookie base.
- Sprinkle the peanuts on top of the caramel and freeze for 1 hour.
- Remove the base from the freezer and cut into 12 bars.
- Place the bars on a cooling rack with a piece of parchment paper laying underneath to catch any drips.
- Melt the chocolate and drizzle it over the top of your set caramel layer.
- Sprinkle with flaked sea salt and place it back into the fridge for 15 minutes for the chocolate to harden.
- Enjoy!!
Enjoy!! xo
Did this affect Jaryd’s BS level???
If he has one he’s fine. He runs in to trouble if he has a couple…
It’s definitely a treat but not as sugary as a traditional candy bar 🙂
So easy, delish and simple. Highly recommend. Never made caramel from coconut milk before, but it was great!
★★★★★
Yay! I’m so happy you love them! xo
Such a delicious recipe! We could not even wait for the bars to set in the freezer so we ate half of them still slightly soft :). The ones we managed not to eat and let set in the freezer were incredibly close to our beloved snickers bars.
I did have to make a few substitutions as some ingredients were unfortunately missing from my grocery stores: swapped olive oil in lieu of coconut oil (it was still great, but it did give a slight olive taste to the base), demerara sugar in lieu of coconut sugar, and I only had 1/2 can of coconut cream, so supplemented with low fat greek yogurt. Likely due to these changes, my caramel turned out much lighter in colour, had a slight toffee flavour (probably the demerara sugar) with a hint of citrusy acidity (likely the yogurt). Loved it still!
Will definitely make again this weekend hopefully with the right ingredients!
★★★★★
I’m so happy you loved them!! I can totally relate to not waiting for them to set! Sending you lots of love!! xo
These were so easy to make and tasted AMAZING! Highly recommend 🙂
Yay! Thank you so much! I’m so happy you enjoyed!! xo