Dairy Free,  Dessert,  Gluten Free,  Recipe,  Vegan,  Vegetarian

Homemade Snickers Bars (Vegan+GF)

It’s so bad you guys, I made something so bad…….

With it being October I know we’re all seeing the grocery aisles filling with extra candy and you moms are being forced to play the bad guy more than usual when you have to limit or deny the requests to buy it all every time they ask. Not only do you not want too much around for the kids to be tempted by, but admit it, when no one’s around you know you’ll remember that whole bag of fun-sized pieces and that one less won’t be detectable.

Okay, so these homemade versions of a classic aren’t exactly going on anyone’s healthy food pyramid anytime soon, but the good thing is that they don’t have tons of high fructose corn syrup and all the other crud you’ll find on those ingredient lists. Plus, isn’t it so much more fun to share candy that you’ve actually made. Although, I’m not sure if you’ll be very motivated to give any of these away.

I don’t see us getting a lot of trick or treaters here in Chile. I mean, there is some awareness of the crazy American’s customs on the 31st of the month but it’s not something that they really do down here. I can’t say I mind that though, it’s kind of nice actually. I used to like getting to dress up as a princess or something fun every year and spending time with friends at a little party. I also love watching all the classic and harmless scary movies that have plenty of good suspense. However, I’ve never liked it when people take the day to extremes and try to freak little kids out. I draw the line at the gory bloodbath movies or anything demonic. That’s just too far.

Now all the seasonal candies though, I can’t say I didn’t love that as a kid. Candy corn, and all things sour were some of my faves but my sisters always went for the chocolate. Now that I’m getting older I’d say it’s kind of a tie for me between the tart stuff and the chocolate, but if I was going to choose chocolate than Snickers would be one of my top picks.

According to certain members of my family, I have officially topped myself in the sweet department with these. They’re dangerously addictive with that perfect salty sweet balance and the crunch of the peanuts with the gooey caramel. I must warn you though, you’re going to want milk with these. A lot of it!

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Homemade Snickers Bars (Vegan+GF)

Ever wanted to make your own healthier version of your favorite candy bars?

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Chilling Time` 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 24 bars

Ingredients

Bottom and Top Layers (x2):

  • 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
  • 2/3 cup dairy free semi-sweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate

Nougat Layer:

  • 2/3 cup organic cane sugar
  • 1/4 cup almond milk
  • 1 cups gelatin free vanilla marshmallows + 2 tablespoons water
  • 1/2 cup natural creamy peanut butter
  • 1/4 cup vegan butter
  • 1/2 cup salted dry roasted peanuts
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Caramel:

  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar
  • 2/3 cup coconut cream
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons strong black coffee
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

Caramel:

  1. Combine brown sugar, coconut cream, syrup, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium low heat. Bring to a soft boil and stir occasionally, scraping sugar from sides of pan, for about 12 minutes or until it reaches 240 degrees F (115C) and starts to get thick and develop a dark amber color. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and coffee then cool for about 10 minutes. 

Bottom Layer:

  1. Line an 8x8 inch pan with parchment paper and set aside. Melt the 2 tablespoons peanut butter and 1 cup chocolate in a double boiler until smooth. Scrape out into prepared pan with a rubber spatula and spread into as even a layer as you can. Place pan in fridge to harden while you make the nougat.

Nougat:

  1. Pour the marshmallows and water into a glass measuring cup and warm in microwave for about 30 seconds. Remove and stir well until the mixture resembles marshmallow cream. Warm 30 seconds more if needed. Once smooth stir in the peanut butter and set mixture aside.

  2. Combine sugar and milk in a small saucepan and bring to a soft boil over medium low heat. Boil for about 5 minutes then remove from heat and stir in salt, marshmallows, peanut butter, butter, and vanilla until melted and smooth. Remove pan with bottom layer from fridge. Add peanuts to nougat mixture and scrape out onto bottom layer. Spread as quickly and evenly as possible. Place in fridge or freezer to cool for at least 15 minutes before adding caramel.

  3. Pour cooled caramel over nougat layer and spread gently and evenly. Place pan back in refrigerator and chill for about 30 minutes.

Top Layer:

  1. Melt 2 tablespoons peanut butter and 1 cup chocolate in the same double boiler until smooth. Scrape out onto chilled caramel layer with a rubber spatula and spread into an even layer. Place pan back in fridge and chill for at least 1 hour before cutting into bars and serving.

  2. These bars are best stored in fridge and served slightly cold or not quite lukewarm because they are a bit soft at room temp.

Recipe Notes

If you have trouble finding coconut cream at your local grocery store it's completely fine to use full-fat coconut milk and scrape the cream off of the top. Just be sure that it's cold enough to separate.



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