Chocolate Caramel Bars

 
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So the name of these amazing little squares of chocolate & caramel layered goodness don’t do it justice. I made these for my mom for her birthday & she said I should name them “better than sex bars” 😳 Nothing like that kind of conversation with you mama!

So I stuck with a basic name for this not so basic tasting bar. 🤷🏻‍♀️

There’s actually no caramel in these but the ghee combined with the nut butter in the middle layer gives them have a rich, gooey caramel flavor. The greatest thing about these bars is that there is no baking involved!

All you need is a little time & patience to get the layers perfect & then enjoy!

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Chocolate Caramel Bars

ingredients

 crust
10 large, pitted dates (4.5 ounces)
1 cup pecan halves
2 tablespoons coconut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt

caramel layer
1/2 cup smooth cashew butter
1/2 cup honey
2 tablespoons ghee (soft but not melted)

chocolate layer
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips

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directions

line an 8x8 glass dish with parchment paper, crease the paper into the corners, leaving excess paper folded over the top & sides of the dish.

place the dates & pecans in the bowl of a food processor, process until crumbly. then add in the coconut butter, vanilla & salt. process again. you want this mixture to be finely ground but not smooth.

dump the mixture into the dish & place another piece of parchment paper on top of it & press it down really firm {i use the bottom of a glass to do this because it really packs it down}

wipe out the bowl of your food processor & place the cashew butter {make sure it is not excessively oily from natural separation}, honey & ghee. process until completely mixed, scraping sides & bottom fo the bowl as necessary.

pour this mixture over the crust & evenly spread it all the way to the edge of the dish. place in the freezer 45-60 minutes.

add the chocolate chips to the bowl of a double boiler {watch this video if you don’t know how to do this} & whisk until completely melted.

take the bars out of the freezer & let them sit on your counter about 2-3 minutes, otherwise your chocolate will harden too fast to smooth it out. pour the melted chocolate over the caramel layer & quickly smooth it all the way to the edges of the dish.

freeze another 20-30 minutes. remove from freezer & lift the parchment out of the dish. using a sharp knife cut into squares while still frozen. store in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Love, Cara