Peanut Caramel Slice
It's no secret I love having a sweet little something for those morning/afternoon/dessert moments when you want a delicious exclamation-mark to go with your cuppa or evening meal. These were originally made one evening when my mind was wrestless and the kitchen was a dark, cosy, safe cocoon for my racing mind. Somehow amidst the cacophany of anxious-thoughts these turned out stella-first go. Which besides being a small ego boost, is actually quite irritating. I should be at my A-recipe-developing-game when I'm highly focused - not totally out of it?! Exhale, but what can you do. Making these was a reminder that cooking has the most impressive transformative abilities.
a note on the recipe: these are excepionally good! Like a traditional caramel slice, except less sweet, because of the grounding peanutty note. Not as overwhelmingly peanuty as a Snickers bar, but along that wavelength. Bliss.
Ingredients
Base
- 1 1/4 cup almond meal/flour
- 1 1/2 tbsp refined coconut oil, melted
- 2 tsp maple syrup/brown rice syrup/golden syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla
Caramel
- 1/2 cup almond butter (or smooth unsalted peanut butter if not using powdered peanut butter)
- 1/4 cup refined coconut oil, melted
- 1/2 cup maple syrup (or brown rice syrup, melted)
- 2 tbsp powdered peanut butter (optional)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- pinch salt
- optional add-ins: maca powder, medicinal mushroom powder, ashwagandha powder.
Top
- 120g dark chocolate (you can use as little as 80g, although coverage will be on the light side), melted
- 1 tsp refined coconut oil, melted (optional - it will assist in neat, frustration-free slicing, though not crutial)
Method
- Line a 15cm/6inch square tin with a loose sheet of baking paper. Set aside.
- Mix all your Base ingredients together in a bowl with a spoon, then switch to your hands to work the oil into the almonds. The mixture should hold together when pressed - if it doesn't, add a little more coconut oil. Press into the base of the tin, and smooth over with a spoon to level. Set aside in the fridge.
- Whisk your first three Caramel ingredients together until smooth. Add the vanilla, salt, powdered peanut butter & optional add-ins (if using), before whisking again to combine. Pour over the refrigerated base, giggle to level, then refridgerate to set.
- After 20 minutes (minimum), whisk the melted chocolate with the coconut oil (if using) until fully incorporated, then gently drizzle over the caramel and smooth out into all corners using a spatula. Return to the fridge for an hour (minimum) before slicing & tucking in. When not enjoying these, simply store in the fridge. These will last a couple of weeks (technically speaking).