Last time I said hello to you lovely readers was three months ago and I am not even sure if you are still hanging out there with me. So that I come back and say hi to you after deserting this place for so long. Therefore, first of all, my apologies to you guys for not keeping up to date myself up here. I have been cooking, baking, trying new recipes every weekend. And I have been posting the pictures on Instagram regularly. But writing a blog post hasn’t happened in all these days. And since I realized this eventually, I am here to share this super healthy energy bars recipe with you guys, which I made a couple of weeks ago. And since I made a huge batch and I am the only one to eat them here, I still have got half of them in my fridge which I munch on as and when a hunger pang strikes me and I look for something more filling and healthy at the same time. And these bars have become my go-to snack these days. Because I have never been in a habit of keeping chips or other useless munchies in my house. I would rather eat fruits and salads than t0 eat the junk out of a bag. And my friends know this habit of mine so well. I think that’s enough talking about my eating habits. Now let’s talk about these Cacao Coconut Caramel bars. Because these are the star of the day today. If you make them, you would want to bake them again and again. Trust me these are so good! These are naturally sweetened, deliciously chocolatey and coconutty, very light on the stomach and filling too. And at the same time, these are extremely easy to bake too. Need I say more. So go hit the kitchen, fire up your oven this weekend and bake them for your family, friends or whoever you want to please with a treat.
- 150 gm whole wheat flour
- 50 gm cacao powder
- 150 gm shredded coconut, plus extra to sprinkle on top
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cinnamon powder
- 225 gm extra virgin coconut oil, melted
- 150 gm dark chocolate, 70% cacao solids
- 300 gm dates, pitted
- 250 ml light coconut cream
- Preheat the oven to 160 degree C. Line and grease a 20 x 20 cm baking pan with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, mix together 100 gm coconut oil, vanilla, cinnamon, flour, shredded coconut, cacao. Spread evenly in prepared baking pan and bake for about 10 minutes or until it looks dry.
- In a blender, blend together dates, coconut cream and 100 gm of coconut oil to make a smooth paste. Spread it evenly on top of baked flour mixture and bake for another 30 minutes or until it sets. Let cool completely in the pan.
- Melt chocolate with remaining coconut oil in microwave or on a double boiler and spread it on top of baked bars. Sprinkle extra shredded coconut on top. Let it set in fridge for about 2 hours, before you cut into slices. Store in an airtight container in fridge for upto two weeks.