Chocolate nut bars with salt

Chocolate nut bars with salt

chocolate nut bars side

Duncan is off to a running camp this weekend. I am so jealous, although I am not in reality, as the kind of mileage he will be doing there is totally beyond my reach. I am just jealous of the fact that he is able to run, as I haven’t run in almost 3 weeks due a psoas injury (and the flu) and it feels like I have totally forgotten how to. Do you get that too when you’ve had to take time off? I find myself dreading going back while wanting to at the same time. It’s a very strange feeling.

So Duncan is super excited about his weekend and I am excited for him too, as this is the 2nd time he has been trying to take part. Last year a nasty cold sabotaged his plans and he had to pull out at the last minute, losing a lot of money as a result. He was devastated as he was looking forward to this camp so much, poor thing!

The only thing he is a bit concerned about this year is what he will be eating, as it’s the kind of camp where they tend to throw a carvery night on the final night, which is a pretty horrible experience for a vegan – everyone chewing on animal body parts and going on about how nice and tender they are. Eugh!

He has obviously told them that he is vegan and there is one more vegan participant apparently, so there is hope, but he doesn’t have high expectations. To help him out a little, I made a double batch of nut bars so that he can take them with him and sustain himself if things are grim in the food department. I thought you might be interested in the recipe, so here it is!

They are simple to make and delicious, yet pretty addictive unfortunately (says she while snacking on them while taking photos) and you can only get away with eating lots of them if, like Duncan, you consider 10 km (6 miles) run at a brisk pace a mere warm up.

chocolate nut bars mixing

chocolate  nut bars pressing

chocolate  nut bars baked

chocolate nut bars cutting

chocolate nut bars marble stack

chocolate nut bars marble

makes
8-10
PREP
10 min
COOKING
40 min
makes
8-10
PREPARATION
10 min
COOKING
40 min
INGREDIENTS
METHOD
  1. Line a small baking tin (I used a 2lb / 900 g baking tin*) with a piece of baking paper. Grease the bottom of the tin (lined with baking paper) with tiny amount of oil as the bars tend to get stuck to the paper.
  2. Preheat the oven to 160° C / 320° F.
  3. Place all the dry ingredients (up until vanilla essence) in a large mixing bowl.
  4. Mix vanilla essence and maple syrup in.
  5. Spread the mixture in the paper lined baking tin. Press the mixture down really well so that there are no gaps / air pockets and the bars hold together well. Use a piece of baking paper with a flat-bottomed glass on top to be able to pack the mixture better.
  6. Bake for about 40 minutes.
  7. Take out of the oven and compress the mixture again using the upside down glass trick, I also tend to weigh it down with something heavy while the mixture is cooling down. Allow it to cool down completely before cutting or applying melted chocolate.
  8. Melt the chocolate over a double boiler slowly. Once the chocolate has melted, spread it on top of the bars using a spatula. Pop the tin into the freezer for 15 minutes for the chocolate to set.
  9. Cut into equal size pieces with a sharp knife. Store the bars in an airtight container.

NOTES
*I used a 2 lb / 900 g cake tin of the following dimensions: 18.5cm / 7″ x 8cm / 3″ x 6cm / 2.5″. (I used one like this).

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NUTRITIONAL INFO
calories
179
9%
sugars
9 g
10%
fats
12 g
16%
saturates
1 g
7%
proteins
5 g
11%
carbs
16 g
6%
*per bar
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5.0
6 reviews, 20 comments
REVIEWS & QUESTIONS
Eleanor:
How long do these last in an airtight container ?
    Ania
    Ania:
    They should be fine for a week for sure. Ania
Radhika Sachdeva:
Just stumbled upon your website and tried this recipe. Finished pouring the melted chocolate, it looks delicious. Just worried about the cutting the bar hope it doesn’t falll apart. Fingers crossed! Any tips? Thanks 🙏🏻
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Radhika,
    Let the chocolate go solid, putting them in the fridge is a good idea before cutting, sharp knife and compressing the bars well before and after baking is key. Hope you'll enjoy these. Ania
Anita:
My new favourite go-to recipe for a gluten- free healthy snack. So easy and so delicious. I throw in a tablespoon or two of chia seeds. highly recommended!!
    Ania
    Ania:
    I'm delighted to hear that you enjoyed these, Anita. Thank you for taking the time to let me know. Ania
PRITI SHAH:
thank you for this great recipe. just a quick question . what temperature do you bake at please
    Ania
    Ania:
    My pleasure, I hope you'll give them a try. The temp is 160° C / 320° F (no fan setting), as per step 2 of the Method. Ania
Nancy:
This is delicious and easy to make. Can you substitute and use honey? Can you add oats instead of puffed cereal?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks Nancy, so happy to hear that. I don't use honey so I haven't tried but I don't see why it wouldn't work. Oats will make the bars far denser so yes, but they will change the texture. Hope that helps! Ania
Ritu:
Thanks for this amazing recipe Ania...I'm going to try it tomorrow but needed a suggestion...what could I replace maple syrup with ? Don't have it ready at hand and also do you think dry roasting the nuts would be a good idea ???
Thanks Ritu ( Mumbai )
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Ritu,
    Maple syrup could be replaced with brown rice syrup or agave syrup, I am pretty sure - basically any other liquid sweetener. Otherwise, you could make a sugar syrup instead. I would advise against roasting the nuts in this case as the bars get baked and some of the nuts may get burnt as a result. Hope that helps! Ania
Kim:
Ania, these bars are amazing. I have made them many times now and they are easy, fool proof and delicious! I use rice malt syrup instead of maple syrup and occasionally LSA instead of flaxseed meal and sometimes I swap out the nuts and seeds depending on what I have at the time, so it's easily adaptable . Thank you for sharing your beautiful recipes.
    Ania
    Ania:
    I'm so pleased to hear that, Kim! Thank you for taking the time to let me know and to rate the recipe - it helps me grow this blog! Much appreciated! x Ania
Vegan em:
These bars are absolutely delicious. Yummmy.. however, mine fell apart.. even following the directions to a T... #devo.. but I won't give up.. I'll try again.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Em,
    I'm glad you enjoyed them! I am sorry to hear that you had issues with them staying together. Assuming that you used ground flax and did not reduce the amount of maple syrup (they are both responsible for holding these together), I would suggest that next time you make them a little more compression would be good. I use an upside down jar over a piece of baking paper and go over the mixture many times, pressing hard, to ensure that everything is compact and stuck together before baking. Hope that helps! Ania
Elizabeth:
This look amazing!!! I'm confused by "75 ml / ¼ cup + 1 tbsp maple syrup" - sorry!! Is that 1/4 cup maple syrup and 1 tablespoon of maple syrup? Thanks
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Elizabeth,
    Yes, that's exactly what that means. I am strive to provide both metric and US measurements and 75 ml does not translate to US measurements neatly so I have had to say: ¼ cup (which is 60 ml) + 1 tbsp (which is 15 ml). Hope that makes sense! Ania
Tina H:
Hi Anita. These look delicious. I hate the taste of flaxseed. Would ground chia seeds work instead, or do you have any other suggestions? Thanks
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Tina,
    Yes, ground chia seeds would work well also. They are probably your best bet. Hope you'll enjoy these! Ania
Sprinklerbird:
Hi Ania, I just found your blog after searching for gluten free seed bread. You are very talented and I love your recipes. I'm also originally from Krakow, but I live in Canada now. I look forward to seeing more of your recipes.
papa, Ola.
    Ania
    Ania:
    That's great to hear, Ola! I hope you'll enjoy my recipes! Pozdrawiam serdecznie! x Ania
Judy:
Trying this recipe tomorrow.... I don't see a mention of the salt. Which type of salt do you like to use on top of the chocolate? These look delicious!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Judy,
    Any type you like is fine, I simply use coarse sea salt. Hope that helps! Ania
Sarah | Well and Full:
These bars look so tasty! :) Hope Duncan has a fun time at his camp!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks, Sarah! He did although he pushed it too hard and he is sick again :( (he hasn't quite fully recovered before the camp), poor thing. Hopefully, some more rest will sort him out! x
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