Finally, a chocolate covered dessert that is good for your health! Sweetened with maple syrup, this all around healthy treat is also vegan/dairy-free. This is one of our absolute favorite healthy dessert recipes. And to top it all off, this recipe is gluten-free, grain-free, and gut-friendly.
So the next time you are in need of healthy dessert ideas, forget the bowl of ice cream. Those empty calories do not serve your best life or bring you vibrance. Instead, enjoy these divine dark chocolate peanut butter bites of heaven. Of course, you can even use one of the more nutritious nut butters like cashew or almond butter.
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Typically when you search for easy healthy sweets all you come up with is sleepy apple crisp. There are no oats--nut butter and cacao are the superstars of this recipe. So ditch the heavy inflammatory cream cheese frosting and grain-filled cakes and enjoy biting into these.
Now, there are 3 easy layers to this healthy treat and each one is an easy minute or two of prep. First, there is a layer of almond flour shortbread, then a peanut butter caramel middle, and topped with a dark chocolate topping. You won’t believe these treats are naturally sweetened, vegan, and gluten-free!
What’s even more exciting is that you only need a few staple ingredients: blanched almond flour, organic maple syrup, organic unsalted creamy peanut butter, organic coconut oil, and Lily’s dark chocolate baking bar.
Healthy Peanut Butter Millionaire Shortbread Bars (Vegan + Gluten-Free)
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Serves: 12-16
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Ingredients:
For the Almond Flour Shortbread:
1 ½ cups blanched almond flour
4 tablespoons of melted organic coconut oil (make sure its cooled off a bit)
2 tablespoons organic maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon of Himalayan sea salt
For the Peanut Butter Caramel Layer:
⅔ cup organic unsalted peanut butter (or any nut butter of your choice)
⅓ cup organic maple syrup
¼ cup organic coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon of Himalayan sea salt
For the Final Dark Chocolate Layer:
1 bar of Lily’s Dark Baking Chocolate Bar
1 tablespoon of organic coconut oil
Instructions:
Step 1
Preheat your oven to 350º F. Line a square 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper. Please note the size of the pan matters for the layers to level out right.
Step 2
Mix all your ingredients for the almond flour shortbread in a bowl. So that would be your almond flour, coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and salt. Mix together with a spoon until it forms a crumbly wet texture. Then pour into your parchment lined pan and press with your spoon to pack it down.
Then bake for 10 minutes and let cool before adding the peanut butter caramel.
Step 3
Next to make the peanut butter caramel layer. Add all the caramel ingredients into a medium pot. Place on medium heat for a few minutes until the caramel starts to bubble. Pour over a slightly cooled crust.
Step 4
This step is crucial, so don’t rush it. Place your crust and caramel layer in the fridge or freezer for 1 hour to completely harden the peanut butter. This layer must be hardened so you are able to cut perfect bite-sized squares.
Step 5
Once hardened, add your Lily’s Dark Chocolate baking bar and coconut oil to a medium pan on low heat.
Step 6
Once your chocolate and coconut oil is melted and mixed, pour over your caramel shortbread. Tilt the pan from side to side to evenly distribute the chocolate layer. Place in the fridge or freezer for 30 minutes to 1 hour until bars are completely hardened and cooled.
Step 7
Remove bars from pan and cut into 12-16 squares. Again, before doing this, make sure all 3 layers have hardened. Cut in half, then in half again to get 4 long 1” bars — then you can cut into 12 or 16 pieces.
You can keep these nutritious bars in your fridge for up to 1 week. Or you can freeze for up to one month. You can find a link to a retailer above for Lily's chocolate if you can't find it at your local grocer.
We hope you enjoyed this week’s sweet wellness blog article. Make sure to join the BeachCandy Swim Club’s email list to stay in the mix. Follow BeachCandy Swimwear on IG and become an official BeachCandy babe.
Sending you love and light.
xx brit
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