Ingredients
For the Bottom Layer
- 3/4 cup (90 g) chopped walnuts or walnut pieces
- 3/4 cup (180 g) packed, soft and moist pitted dates
For the Middle Layer
- 1/2 cup (120 g) packed, pitted dates
- 1/4 cup (60 g) almond or peanut butter
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
For the Chocolate Layer
- 1/2 cup (90 g) dairy-free chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate
- 2 tsp melted vegan butter, coconut oil or olive oil (optional, see notes)
Instructions
- Place the dates for the middle layer in a bowl and cover with hot water.
- Line a standard-sized loaf pan with parchment paper.
- Add the walnuts and dates to a food processor and mix for 30-60 seconds until it forms a crumbly dough. Firmly press the dough into the lined loaf pan.
- After 20 minutes, drain the soaked dates and add them to the food processor with the almond butter and sea salt. Process into a thick dough then evenly spread it over the bottom layer in the loaf pan.
- Melt the chocolate in the microwave in 15-20 seconds increments or using a double boiler. Stir until completely smooth. Using a spatula, evenly spread the melted chocolate over the other two layers in the loaf pan. Shake it back and forth to help distribute and flatten the chocolate, you can also drop it on the counter top from an inch or two to help spread it around. Sprinkle with a little fleur de sel or Maldon sea salt, if desired.
- Place the loaf pan in the freezer until the chocolate has hardened.
- Once the chocolate is hard, pull the bars from the freezer and let them set sit a room temperature for 10 minutes. Lift out of the pan and onto a cutting board. Run a sharp knife under hot water for 20 seconds, then wipe excess water off and use it to score the chocolate, running the knife over the score lines a few times until you’ve almost cut right through the chocolate layer. This will help prevent it from cracking when you slice it. Heat the knife under hot water again, dry and then follow the score lines to gently slice the bar into 16 small bars (you can do 8 large ones if you want).
- Store the bars in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Notes
See tips in post to prevent chocolate from cracking when you slice the bars. You do have the option to add a little butter or oil to the chocolate to prevent cracking. I don’t add any to mine though. As long as you let the bars sit at room temperature so the chocolate can soften after freezing and you score the chocolate first with a hot knife, it shouldn’t crack when you slice the bars.
Keywords: treat, salted, raw, candy