Relationships stress me out. And I’m not even in one. But many of my friends are, and their relationships REALLY stress me out. They’re so overwhelming at times. They like each other, then they hate each other. They complain about each other, then they can’t take their hands off each other. They’re like children. And I don’t like children.
I know for a fact my food will never complain, that’s why I’m in a relationship with it. I take good care of my food and it takes good care of me. We have a very understanding and healthy relationship. I may seem weird and kind of like a leper with the amount of time I spend in the house, in my kitchen, on a Friday night, but I’m sure as hell not fighting with my food at the bar, while others stare on with drunken eyes. I hate drunken people fights. I love watching them. Car wreck in human form.
The moral to this story is – annoying relationships suck. So get out of them if you are one of the people that fills their friends ears with complaints about their significant other. We don’t care. Your significant other obviously doesn’t care. So you shouldn’t care. And you should find yourself a new partner. Meaning paleo food. Like this recipe. Why wouldn’t you make CARAMEL BARS your new lover? I’ve done it twice now. Two times. Two times a lady, if you will.
Chocolate Coffee Caramel Bars
- Yield: 3-4 1x
Ingredients
For the crust
- 12 dried figs (or dates, if you prefer), stems removed
- 1/2 cup almond butter
- 1/4 cup Unsweetended Shredded Coconut
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch of salt
For the caramel
- 12–14 medjool dates, pitted and soaked in water for an hour
- 5–6 tablespoons canned coconut milk
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
For the topping
- 1 cup Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips or dark chocolate, melted
- 1/4 cup canned coconut milk
- 2 teaspoons ground coffee
- coarse sea salt, to top
Instructions
- First make your crust. Add all of your crust ingredients into a food processor and mix until well combined. Add the crust mixture to abread pan and push down until the mixture is flat. Like a crust. Duh.
- Now add your dates and pulse until dates have broken down (less than a minute) then add your coconut milk tablespoon by tablespoon to the dates while the food processor is still running. Then add your water as well.
- And add your vanilla extract and pinch of salt.
- Process until you get a caramel. BOOM. May take 3-5 minutes, tops.
- Pour caramel over your crust and spread evenly.
- Now you will want to melt your chocolate. You could do this in a double boiler or just the microwave. I chose the latter.
- Melt chocolate and coconut milk together in the microwave. Heating for 30 seconds then mixing well and reheating when necessary.
- Once your chocolate is completely melted, add your ground coffee and mix well.
- Pour melted chocolate over your caramel and spread evenly.
- Add coarse sea salt on top of the chocolate.
- Put in freezer to let chocolate harden. Around 10+ minutes.
- Eat!!
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More Layered Ideas For Ya:
Chocolate “Peanut Butter” Cookie Bars
Holiday Raspberry Caramel Tart
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Planning on making these tomorrow. If I sub dates for the figs in the crust should I still use 12 dates instead of 12 figs?
yes, that should work just fine!
Hey Juli,
Dying to make these and I have all the ingredients on hand except for the Medjool dates. I have regular ones that I buy to make our own lara type bars. Will these work if I soak them or does it have to be the Medjool to make it work? I know those suckers are much bigger than regular ones, so besides compensating for size difference…
Thanks!
no it doesn’t! other kinds would work!
OK Juli – Not that I am complaining – – but virtually every recipe I make from your blog is stellar! It’s just not right… Keep the stellar eats coming.
These just had too much fruity date flavor for me. I was expecting more of a rich, brownie type crust. The crust just wasn’t that chocolatey tasting, even with an extra tablespoon of cocoa powder. The only part I really liked was the chocolate layer on top. If it wasn’t such a labor intensive treat, I would try it again with less dates.
YUM! 5 Stars.
Thanks for the recipe. I can’t figure out how to post any of the pictures I took when I made them, but I posted them on my review of this recipe. In love with this recipe. In love. http://www.heyheyhoneybee.com/gooey-salted-carmel-chocolate-bars/
I came across your blog on day 1 or 2 of the Whole 30 cleanse. I have tried several of your recipes and was looking forward to these bars as my reward for completion of the cleanse. These bars were incredible. I think they rocked my world! Even my husband, who is rather finicky, liked them, too. Love your recipes and your blog–it gets me through the long afternoons at work!
THESE. ARE. SOOOOOOO. GOOD. AND easy to make. Oh I forgot to post, THESE ARE SOOOOO GOOD.
I have enjoyed many of your recipes, Juli. I made these as my reward after a Whole30 cleanse, and they were delicious! Even my picky husband liked them. I would have never thought you could make a caramel with dates. Genius! Too bad I can’t give this recipe more than 5 stars.
These are so delicious!!! Thanks so much for the excellent recipe – yet again! Your blog makes me happy!
Juli,
These are amazing, my sister and I just made them.
However, for tools like us this recipe took about an hour… where did we go wrong….
Keep the amazing, drool worthy recipes coming!