When I was in high school, my dad was my chauffeur (one of many thankless jobs he did for me and my sisters). Once a week, he would pick me up after cross-country practice to drive me to my violin lesson. In the car he always had a Snickers bar.
Not a little one. Oh, no. A full-sized Snickers bar the size of an eyeglasses case. Or perhaps half a piccolo. Choose your nonsensical comparison.
You see, my dad knows Snickers is my favorite candy bar. The weekly Snickers bar tradition started because after long practices I would complain about being hungry enough to eat my violin. Since I didn’t know any better, I ate it all. Every week.
In retrospect, a candy bar once a week isn’t bad; in fact, I don’t want to hear the word “bad” in connection with any food. Creates guilt surrounding food and whatnot. As a sometimes food, Snickers bars are a tasty treat.
(Incidentally, when I finally got my driver’s license during my senior year, I was tempted to continue the Snickers tradition. But I didn’t.)
My fond memories of peanuts and nougat are what inspired this vegan version of a Snickers bar. I can’t seem to get enough of the raw vegan chocolate peanut butter cups I made recently, so when I ate the last one (mon Dieu!), I decided to make a similar dessert. Again, there are three layers (chocolate, nougat, and caramel), but if you’d prefer to simplify the recipe, make the chocolate layer and one of the other layers.
The peanuts are key for making this into a Snickers bite, so don’t skimp! You can eat these vegan bites right out of the freezer, or allow them to thaw for a few minutes to yield a softer dessert. Enjoy!
Vegan Homemade Snickers Bites
Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Keywords: dessert vegan
Ingredients (12 mini cupcakes)
Chocolate Coating
- 1/3 cup coconut oil
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup
Nougat Layer
- 1 medium banana
- 1/4 cup almond milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Carmel Layer
- 1/4 cup pitted dates
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- Pinch salt
Additional
- 1/3 cup peanuts, roughly chopped
Instructions
Soak dates in water for at least 1 hour. Once dates have finishes soaking, drain and set aside. In separate batches, blend each layer in a blender or food processor until smooth. After each layer in blended, place in a separate bowl. Arrange muffin papers in mini muffin pan or use a paper towel to spread a small amount of coconut oil in each cup.
Drizzle 1 teaspoon of the chocolate coating into each cup. If ganache is too stiff, heat in microwave for 10 seconds or over stove to soften (will need to wait for the ganache layer to cool in cups before adding additional layers).
Add 1/2 teaspoon of the nougat layer into each cup and use spoon to smooth. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon chopped peanuts in cup. Place pan in freezer for 10 minutes to harden. Add 1 teaspoon of the caramel layer into each cup and smooth. Freeze for another 10 minutes. Finally, drizzle 1/2 teaspoon of the chocolate coating over each cup. Freeze for 3 to 4 hours. Remove from pan and serve immediately or transfer to tightly-sealed, freezer-safe container for storage. Can freeze for 3 months.
P.S. This year pumpkin, guaranteed to scare away all the trick or treaters we won’t get (see this post for last year’s pumpkin):
P.P.S. Thanks for all your input in my last post about which “dietitian Jessie” picture is best! There was a clear winner: picture #3. Since there’s no way in blazes I’ll use that picture in a professional setting*, I’ll go with the second place winner: picture #1. Thanks, dear reader!
*You may see that picture again. Just sayin’.
Sarah says
October 31, 2013 at 4:21 amI think I must try this yum.
Ps my acorn bread I made is delicious. I just substituted my 1/3 cup if teff flour with acorn flour. Definitely a must try!
Jessie says
October 31, 2013 at 9:55 amYum! Did you base your recipe off another one?
Sarah says
October 31, 2013 at 1:16 pmI did I have a gluten free cookbook that has a recipe for white bread which I modified to have teff flour and flax seed in it. Some good flavour and fibre.
For my bread with acorn flour I just did that instead with some flax seed, sunflower seeds, chia seeds and hemp hearts don’t know why it got more types of seeds guess I was feeling seedy.
So essentially the bread recipe is:
1/3 cup of teff flour or acorn flour (could also use buckwheat I’m sure)
1 and 2/3 cups brown rice flour
1/3 cup tapioca starch
2/3 cup corn starch
1/4 cup “white” sugar
2 and 1/2 tsp xantham gum
1 and 1/2 tsps sea salt
2 and 1/4 tsps instant or bread machine yeast
Mix together
In a seperate bowl (or bread machine pan)
Add
2 eggs
2 egg whites
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup vehetable oil
1/2 cup milk or milk substitute such as almond milk
3/4 cup of water
Mix add dry ingredients until fully incorporated (in a bread machine as well scrape down sides and make sure flour is mixing in. I use a bread machine so it does the time for me but probably rising time will be about an hour an cooking at 350
Jessie says
October 31, 2013 at 7:33 pmThanks for typing that out – I’m definitely trying this! I’ll have to find some tapioca starch but I don’t think that will be a problem 🙂
Sarah says
October 31, 2013 at 8:15 pmYour welcome I also forgot for the seeds I do 1/3 to 1/2 cup all together.
Sarah says
November 2, 2013 at 6:12 pmI just ate one of the snicker bites I made and I keep making happy noises! So so good! So glad I made a double batch!
Jessie says
November 3, 2013 at 7:15 amYay! I’m so glad you liked them 🙂
Sarah says
November 3, 2013 at 8:08 amStill go
Sarah says
November 3, 2013 at 8:09 amStill good ftgis morning gotta have dessert sometimes for breakfast
Joanne says
October 31, 2013 at 6:41 amI’ve always been in-between snickers and milky ways as being my favorite…but I’m pretty sure you can’t argue with a homemade version. Sounds like a NEED to make. Especially to keep in my freezer for when chocolate cravings hit!
dixya| food, pleasure, and health says
October 31, 2013 at 8:51 amsnickers (esp in icecream bar form) is my absolute favorite thing in the world. I NEED to make this ASAP and i love your idea of nougat layer.
Samantha Angela says
October 31, 2013 at 10:26 amWhoa. Those look awesome.
Consuelo @ Honey & Figs says
October 31, 2013 at 2:08 pmWhat an awesome healthy twist on snickers, these look delicious! I’m in love with the ingredients list, so I’m making these asap 😉
Jessie says
October 31, 2013 at 7:34 pmThanks, Consuelo!
Andrea@WellnessNotes says
October 31, 2013 at 8:04 pmI love snickers!
I’m pinning this to make after the cleanse. 🙂
Great pumpkin!
Lucy says
October 31, 2013 at 10:06 pmThese look sooo good! I have some mini snickers sitting dangerously close to me right now…and no trick or treaters have come to claim them! Love the elaborate pumpkin also 😉
Pamela @ Brooklyn Farm Girl says
October 31, 2013 at 11:21 pmYour dad sounds awesome! I love these little snicker bites and they sound alot healthier than the bars, can’t wait to try!
rika@vm says
November 7, 2013 at 11:34 pmHaha, that sounds like my dad, he was my chauffeur, too 🙂 had to drive me everywhere, from debate team to piano lessons. But Snickers weren’t allowed in the house ;( including candies…and I remembered using my allowance to buy Snicker bars. Wow, banana as a nougat layer?! Such clever ingredient! I want to try these…they look sooooooooo good!