No Bake Vegan Snickers Bites

This post is a paid collaboration with iChoc.

Although there are a ton of vegan options in supermarkets now, it's not likely that you'll come across a vegan snickers bar. These used to be one of my favourite types of chocolate and I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about them over the past three years.

After making these peanut butter bliss balls that I used as a topping in my smoothie bowls post, I soon realised how much I wanted to create my own snickers bar recipe.. or in this case snickers bites. As someone who loves peanut butter and chocolate, nothing could top this for a delicious weekend treat.

These also require no baking, so perfect for a hot day when you want something yummy, but don't want to spend much time near an oven!

- VEGAN SNICKERS BITES - 

You will need:

For the oat base

- 2/3 cup oat flour (just blend oats in a high speed blender and you're ready to go)

For the caramel layer

- 2-3 tablespoons of peanut butter
- 1 cup pitted dates (I used Whitworths chopped dates but I think medjool dates would work even better)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- a pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup, optional

For the chocolate layer

- 1 bar of iChoc Classic
- 1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts

Method:

Start off by blending the oats in a high speed blender to create a smooth flour (obviously skip this step if you already have oat flour to hand) leave this to one side.

Place the dates in a bowl, cover with water and place the bowl in the microwave for around 70 seconds. This allows the dates to become softer so they blend better! Once they're done, drain the water from the bowl and place the dates in a high speed blender along with the peanut butter, vanilla extract, salt and maple syrup. Blend until it reaches a smooth consistency.

To make the base layer firm, pour out the caramel into a bowl and place the oat flour into the blender along with a small amount of the caramel (around 1/4 cup will do) blend this until a slight dough consistency is formed.

Line a baking tray with parchment paper and place the oat layer onto the tray. Pat it out until an even layer is formed and smooth the edges with your hands so that the sides are also even, making sure it's not too thick but also not too thin.

Use a spatular to spread the caramel layer over the base and smooth it out until it's all even.

Sprinkle the peanuts on top of the caramel (leaving a small handful aside for the top layer), poking them lightly into the caramel so that they stick.

Place the baking tray in the freezer and leave to cool for 90 minutes.

Once the layers look firm enough, remove from the freezer and cut into squares. Mine made 8 bite size squares and although they may appear small, they certainly are filling!

Return the bites back to the freezer and start on the chocolate layer (aka the most exciting part). Break the iChoc Classic bar into small pieces and place in a heat proof bowl in a saucepan on top of the stove. Make you sure you pour a small amount of boiling water into the saucepan, not touching the chocolate, so that the chocolate doesn't burn. Stir the chocolate on low heat until it's completely melted.

Once the chocolate has melted, remove the bites from the freezer and drizzle the chocolate over all of them. Alternatively you could cover them entirely rather than just a layer on top, but this could be quite messy and you would definitely need to melt another bar.

Once each of them are covered with chocolate, grab the remaining peanuts and chop them into tiny pieces before sprinkling them on top!

The chocolate sets really quickly so you'll only need to place the tray back into the freezer for around 10 - 15 minutes before you can devour them.

If there are any leftovers, make sure you keep them in the fridge so that they don't melt.

What is your favourite snack during the summer?

Love Always,

Shannon x