These vegan Magic Bars have all the things the traditional recipe has ~ yummy chocolate, toasted coconut and pecans, but without any unhealthy ingredients.
Magic Bars make a great healthy dessert, after school snack for the kids, and are also great to take to a party or gathering.
Magic Bars, aka Magic Cookie Bars, have been around for decades. I have very fond memories of my mom making them for us when we were tots.
The traditional recipe is made with a buttery graham cracker crust, then topped with sweetened condensed milk, chocolate, coconut and nuts. But I keep my version healthier, making it gluten-free and dairy-free.
Sweet & salty & everything nice
Recipe rundown…
The ingredients:
For this recipe you’ll need the following ingredients, many you likely have in your pantry if you do any baking:
- old-fashioned oats
- medjool dates
- almond butter
- dark chocolate
- maple syrup
- cinnamon
- coconut oil
- coconut
- almonds
- pecans
Plus salt and a little non-dairy milk of choice (or sub water).
Feel free to swap out the ingredients to use your favorite. For example, use peanut butter in place of almond butter. And try walnuts and cashews in place of almonds and pecans. The variations are endless!
This version has peanut butter, walnuts + hemp seeds
Those layers though!
The magical layers…
The thing that makes this dessert/snack so dang delish is the multi-layered, multi-textural flavors. The crumbly crust, the creaminess of the salted date caramel, sweet gooey chocolate, and the crunchy nuts and toasted coconut. In short~ sweet & salty heaven!
And it all comes together in a food processor. I like this Cuisinart mini food processor.
Make the base and date caramel in a food processor
For the base layer:
The base layer is old-fashioned oats, toasted sliced or slivered almonds, medjool dates, a little maple syrup, coconut oil, cinnamon and salt.
You just pulse the oats and almonds to a fine meal, then add the rest to form a sticky “dough”. Then you press the dough into a parchment lined loaf pan, and bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes.
TIP: after pressing base into loaf pan, cover with a sheet of parchment and flatten with the side of a jar or cup to make even
Salted date caramel
For the salted date caramel:
The salted date caramel layer is medjool dates, salt, and a little unsweet almond milk. In the same food processor you use for the base (just give it a wipe with a paper towel), puree the dates with a generous pinch of salt and a few tablespoons of unsweet almond milk to create a thick drizzle caramel like sauce.
TIP: for both base and salted date caramel layers, if your dates are not super fresh and moist, soak in them filtered water for 5 minutes then drain
For the toppings:
The remaining toppings are almond butter (or your favorite nut or seed butter), coconut, pecans, and dark chocolate.
To layer, you drizzle the salted date caramel over the baked base, then add the toppings. Bake one more time at 350° for about 13 – 15 minutes. Let bars cool 30ish minutes then slice into 8 – 12 pieces.
The hardest part is waiting for them to cool down to slice! Pop in the freezer about 10 minutes to rapid chill if you just can’t wait for the deliciousness.
Those layers!
If you make these delicious Vegan Magic Bars be sure to let me know! You can comment below or tag me on Instagram.
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Toasted Walnut + Hemp Seed Brownies (vegan, GF)
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| Servings |
servings
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- 1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1/2 cup sliced or slivered almonds toasted
- 3 each medjool dates pitted and chopped
- 1 tbsp melted coconut oil
- 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 pinch ceylon cinnamon
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 6 each medjool dates
- 6 tbsp unsweet almond milk or as needed
- 1 generous pinch sea salt
- 2 - 3 tbsp almond butter or favorite nut butter
- 1/3 cup shredded unsweet coconut
- 1/3 cup chopped raw pecans
- 1/3 cup chopped dark chocolate or dark chocolate chips
Ingredients
Crust ingredients
Date caramel ingredients
Topping ingredients
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- preheat oven to 350°, line a loaf pan with parchment baking paper
- prepare crust: in a small food processor pulse oats and almonds to a fine meal, then add remaining ingredients and pulse until sticky (add another date if needed); press crust into prepared pan and bake 10-12 minutes
- make salted date caramel: wipe out food processor and puree dates with up to 6-7 tablespoons of almond milk, or just enough to reach a thick drizzling consistency; add salt and pulse again to blend
- layer bars: to baked base add salted date caramel, then topping ingredients in order as listed; bake for 13 - 15 minutes and remove from oven
- cool bars 30ish minutes then slice into 8 - 12 bars and serve; store any remaining bars in the refrigerator for up to a week, and bring to room temperature before enjoying
Recipe makes 8 - 12 bars
Store bars in refrigerator for up to 5-7 days. Bars are best enjoyed at room temp but can also be enjoyed chilled.
Original recipe created by Jerran Boyer
www.healthnutchefs.com