With Valentine’s Day around the corner, it’s important to have a sweet treat or two up your sleeve to spoil your sweetheart with! Use this bark recipe to create a homemade present that shows how much you care. The caramel is actually almond butter, dates and maple syrup, so it’s the perfect way to gift candy without totally wrecking your loved one’s healthy eating plan. The best part is that it’s shareable, because it’s so good that you’re definitely going to want some too!
Ingredients
4 cups dark chocolate chunks
2-4 Tbsp. maple syrup, add more as needed
1/4 cup Medjool dates, pitted
3/4 cup smooth almond butter, or nut/seed butter of choice
Coarse sea salt
Toasted coconut chips (or topping of your choice)
Directions
- Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In blender, pulse dates and almond butter, adding maple syrup a tablespoon at a time until smooth.
- In microwavable glass bowl, melt chocolate in microwave, mixing every 30 seconds. You can also melt chocolate in a double boiler over medium-low heat, if you prefer.
- Stir three quarters of almond butter caramel into melted chocolate and spread mixture onto the parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Blend remaining quarter of almond butter caramel with additional maple syrup to thin it.
- Sprinkle coconut chips (or alternate topping) and sea salt over the chocolate as desired and drizzle with the thinned almond butter caramel.
- Refrigerate 10 to 15 minutes to solidify. Break into pieces and store in refrigerator in airtight container for up to two weeks.
Tip: For almond butter caramel, consistency should be molasses-like. Adjust amounts of dates, nut butter and maple syrup accordingly. Adding the dates one at a time can help control thickness.