My (Not Quite) Raw Caramel Slice

There are oodles of recipes for raw caramel slice swimming around on the internet, so I can’t claim to be creating anything terribly innovative with this recipe. However, I do believe that this is one of the simplest and cheapest to put together!

Several years ago, a good portion of my “baking” started to take place not in the oven, but in the food processor. After coming home from a whole day of baking cake and cookies, I had a desire to make something different for myself. Given the fact that I have an undying sweet tooth, it is my preference (no, requirement!) that I have desserts to nibble on should the urge strike. Considering that I often hit my limit of refined sugar and butter filled desserts during the day at work, in the evening I want something that is a bit more nutritious. (If only by just a little,ha.)

You might be wondering why this caramel slice is “not quite” raw. If I wanted this to be fully raw, I would have to use raw almonds, raw cocao powder, and raw nut butter. I choose to use roasted almonds because I like their deeper flavor, and I use cocoa powder and roasted nut butter because I like to save money! *wink wink*

Without further ado, let’s embark on a quick walk through of this recipe! I find it to be helpful when there are photos of the various stages of a recipe as you progress through each step, so here is a peek at the components of the bar as they come together.

After you pulse almonds into fine crumbs and add dates, your crust will look something like this after mixing.

When you have pulsed your dates and added the coconut oil, peanut butter, and salt, the resulting mixture is this gooey caramel!

Once you have pressed your crust into the pan and spread the caramel out on top of it, you will have a shiny, delightful, two-thirds of the way finished bar like this one.

Now all that is left is to spread some chocolate on top and give it a sprinkle of sea salt!

The result it quite spectacular, if I do say so myself! Now, I know that you are already scrambling to gather your nuts and dates, so here is the recipe so that you can start on your own amazing caramel slice!

Print Recipe

(Not Quite) Raw Caramel Slice

Prep Time30 mins

Total Time30 mins

Keyword: caramel

Ingredients

Crust:

• 1 cup roasted and lightly salted almonds
• 1 cup Medjool dates pitted

Caramel Filling:

• 1 generous cup Medjool dates pitted
• 1/4 cup smooth natural peanut butter
• 2 tbsp coconut oil melted
• 1/4 tsp salt

Chocolate Topping:

• 3 tbsp coconut oil melted
• 3 tbsp cocoa powder
• 2 tbsp agave nectar more or less to taste
• sea salt for garnish

Instructions

• Pulse almonds in food processor until they reach a fine crumb.
• Add pitted dates and process until mixture sticks together when pressed.
• Transfer mixture to a bread pan, spread evenly, and press firmly to the bottom. Place in freezer while completing the caramel.
• For the caramel, process dates until they begin to form a ball. You will want a smooth texture.
• Add peanut butter, coconut oil, and salt. Process until mixed.
• Remove crust from freezer and spread your caramel on top. Return to freezer.
• In a bowl mix melted coconut oil, cocoa powder,and agave nectar.
• Retrieve bar from freezer, and spread chocolate topping evenly. Sprinkle with sea salt.
• Chill at least 10 minutes in fridge before eating, if you can wait that long! If you want a slightly firmer, easier to cut bar, chill for an hour.

Notes

It helps if your dates are at room temperature, so leave them out an hour or so before you begin! Also, if you are having issues with your crust sticking together(depending upon dryness of dates), you can add a small splash of coconut oil or extra dates.

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