Easy and Delicious Vegan Dessert:
Chocolate Coconut Peanut Butter Bars.
Between all the delicious snacks out there and my cravings for chocolate recently, I knew I had to find a happy middle. An amazing vegan dessert. Create something gluten-free, vegan and completely guilt-free.
Cutting out refined sugar is difficult but staying away from it for forever, is practically impossible. This recipe contains sugar, as I used some sweetened condensed milk but it’s equally delicious as it is on the healthier side.
It is vegan, dairy-free and even gluten-free.
The Healthy Dessert Movement
There has been a rise in an interest in ‘health’ in our society lately. People are finally realizing that what we’re putting into our bodies, matter.
McDonald’s and all those other disgusting fast food restaurants are starting to decline in popularity. Society is wanting healthier meal choices, healthier dessert choices, healthier everything!
Where it was once cool to eat unhealthily, it is now cool to eat a healthy and nutritious diet. Especially, healthy desserts.
We all know eating healthy is all fun and games until you get a craving and all goes down-hill. You’re going through your cupboards to find whatever it is you’re wanting; chocolate, salty foods, carbs – anything!
But then, you feel low and bad about yourself because all your hard work is out the window now that you’ve conformed to the dark side (the unhealthy eating side).
In truth, we all get cravings. It’s natural and part of human nature.
Why should desserts and other yummy foods be bad for you? Can’t there be a middle? Where delicious desserts won’t kill your diet.
Of course, and this is where the healthy dessert movement all started.
Delicious, healthy and nutritious desserts.
Just because it’s chocolate doesn’t mean it’s bad for you. In turn, chocolate is actually extremely healthy for you and should be consumed in small doses every day.
Same thing goes for peanut butter. A lot of people believe it’s unhealthy for you just because it’s filled with calories. Wrong, it’s very nutritious (and it tastes amazing).
A little more about these bars
The most important part of this recipe is the freezing process. Without freezing the bars at each step, they would fall apart and the recipe would go to waste.
After clumping the shredded coconut and sweetened condensed coconut milk together, it’s important to let the bars freeze for at least 20 minutes. This process hardens the mixture and helps it stick together.
Another important thing is making sure that there isn’t too much sweetened condensed coconut milk. If the ratio isn’t right, the mixture will stick and likely fall apart even after freezing.
Thus, make sure to properly measure out the shredded coconut and condensed coconut milk ratio in order to have a successful recipe!
The best part of making this recipe… Melting the chocolate.
To make things easy and cheap, I bought blocks of dairy-free dark chocolate and melted it myself.
To make a creamier chocolate sauce and help the melting process, I added 1 1/2 cup of coconut milk to the chocolate and cooked it on low for approximately 7 minutes. It makes your own milk chocolate without purchasing your dairy-free milk chocolate chipits that cost a ton!
I also melted the peanut butter in a separate pot for about 3 minutes. This makes it easier to smear (or drizzle) onto the already frozen bars.
After you’ve frozen the bars for 20 minutes, add a small amount of peanut butter onto the frozen bars. Place the bars back into the freezer for another 5 minutes just to help the peanut butter harden as well.
Now comes the fun!
This is when you get to decorate your bars however you’d like. As you can see, I added different designs to my bars. I drenched some completely in the chocolate, others I drizzled it on and others lightly spread it on top of the bars.
The aftermath of these vegan desserts…
I kept all my bars in the freezer. Considering I live in Australia and have no air conditioning in my home, everything melts (I mean everything – including myself). So, I recommend over the summer months especially to stick these bars in the freezer. During any other month, I recommend leaving them in the fridge but definitely not out in the open where they can lose their shape.
For more vegan food, click here.
Amazing Vegan Dessert: Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup Sweetened Condensed Coconut Milk
- 3 cups Shredded Coconut
- 1/2 cup Melted Peanut butter
- 0.16 Kg of dark chocolate blocks (Can buy at any bulk health food store)
- 1 1/2 cup Coconut Milk
Instructions
Steps:
- On a baking tray, add parchment paper. (This is essential in successful bars).
- Add the bars mixture (shredded coconut and condensed coconut milk) onto tray.
- Freeze for 20 minutes.
- Once frozen, drizzle peanut butter on top of the frozen bars then put back into freezer for another 5 minutes.
- Once peanut butter is somewhat frozen, drizzle, smear or drench bars into chocolate.
- Put back into freezer for another 10 minutes.
- Store in cool place.
The Bars:
- Mix together the Condensed coconut milk and shredded coconut. Mix well.
- With one tablespoon, evenly create rectangles on the parchment paper.
Peanut butter:
- Melt peanut butter in a separate pot. Making sure all clumps are out and peanut butter is smoothed.
- *Make sure not to over cook!
Chocolate:
- In a pot, add 1/2 tsp of coconut oil and melt. This will help the chocolate from sticking.
- Add the chocolate blocks and 1 1/2 cup of coconut milk together.
- Mix until consistency is smooth and all chocolate is melted.
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