Adios Snickers!

Hubby has asked me to help him wean off his Snickers addiction.  It's a good thing he loves to work out.  It truly amazes me how someone who eats so much sugar is not overweight!  I've been trying out new recipes to see if we can find a winner that will help him completely forget Snickers ever existed.  Huge task, I know, but I'm up for it.

This is what I've come up with so far, and while it's not the "golden ticket" at least he likes it.  I'll keep trying though until I hit jackpot!

RawNut Nuggets 

**Advance Prep: Dates need to be soaked at least 1 hour.

NOUGAT FILLING 1 cup raw almonds, unsoaked 1 cup raw cashews, unsoaked 3 Tbsp raw local honey 1 Tbsp water, or more if needed

CARAMEL 1 cup dates, pitted & chopped juice of one half lemon Water to cover dates 1 Tbsp coconut butter ¼ tsp sea salt

CACAO COATING 1 cup cacao powder ½ cup maple syrup (or agave nectar) ½ cup coconut oil ¼ tsp dark mesquite powder ½ tsp instant coffee (optional) Pinch of salt ½ tsp vanilla

 

1.  Soak dates (for caramel) in the water and lemon juice for an hour. Reserve soaking water.  Proceed to step 2 while dates are soaking.

2.  Nougat Filling - In a coffee grinder, grind almonds & cashews into a fine powder.  Place nut powders in a large bowl. Add honey and water. Stir until mixture is a thick paste-like consistency. Form nougat into miniature candy pieces. Place nougat pieces on a plate and put in the freezer for an hour.  [I formed them into 1”x1” squares with a slight indent in the center to hold the caramel.]

3.  Carmel - process soaked dates, coconut butter and sea salt in a blender.  Using soaking water one tablespoon at time, blend until you achieve a thick creamy mixture. Spread caramel on top of nougat pieces and return the candy to the freezer while you make the chocolate.

4.  Cacao Coating - In a large bowl, whisk cacao powder, maple syrup, coconut oil, mesquite powder, instant coffee (optional) salt and vanilla together until smooth and creamy. Coat candy pieces and freeze an additional hour or until coating hardens.   Keeps well in freezer.

Yield: Approximately 20 candy pieces

Before the cacao coating.

Ready to chow down!