This has to be one of my most requested recipes – I wasn’t planning on it going on the blog but after I shared a (not very good) photo on my Instagram asking if anyone fancied it, the response was crazy!
It was recently my husband James’ birthday and as part of the celebrations, we had a family party at his Mum’s with his sisters, brothers and their partners. We were all challenged to make and bring something – savoury or sweet – so naturally, I opted for the latter. Knowing that James loves Lion Bars and one of his brother’s has is following a low FODMAP diet, I thought I’d try making a healthier treat that would satisfy these things.
The recipe is so easy and you can find all of the ingredients in your local supermarket. In the base, feel free to miss out the protein powder (it’s not essential) and use whatever crispy cereal/puffed rice you can get yours hands on; obviously the cereal will have added sugar in it while puffed rice from a health food store is literally just that with nothing added.
This crispy chocolate topping adds a nice crunch and works so well with the peanut butter filling and smooth chocolate base, resulting in a rich, indulgent but healthier treat. You can make this up to 5 days ahead and depending on what ingredients you use, this recipe can be gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan and contain no refined sugar – extra points! They went down a storm so I hope you enjoy them too 🙂
Ingredients:
For the base –
- 50g oat flour [whizz up oats in a blender to form a flour – can be gluten-free] (I used Flahavan’s)
- 3 tablespoons ground almonds [OR the equivalent of protein powder – chocolate or vanilla work best] (I used Vega Essentials Vanilla vegan protein)
- 3 tablespoons coconut flour (I used Cocofina)
- 4 tablespoons cacao or cocoa powder (I used Bioglan)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted (I used Aldi’s own)
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup or honey (I used Indigo Herbs)
- 2-3 tablespoons almond or oat milk (I used Alpro)
For the peanut butter layer –
- 5 tablespoons crunchy peanut butter (I used Pic’s)
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 4 tablespoons maple syrup
- A dash of salted caramel extract (optional – you can find it in Tesco)
For the crispy chocolate topping –
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 6 tablespoons cacao/cocoa powder
- 15g puffed rice or rice crispy cereal
Get making!
- First make the base: Mix together the oat flour, coconut flour, ground almonds, cacao/cocoa and cinnamon in a bowl then pour in the coconut oil, maple syrup and milk to form a soft dough. Press into a lined small tin/tub in an even layer.
- Gently melt the peanut butter, coconut oil and maple syrup then stir in the extract and salt. Pour over the base in an even layer.
- Melt the coconut oil and maple syrup then whisk in the cacao/cocoa powder until smooth and glossy. Stir in the puffed rice to coat then spread over the peanut butter to cover.
- Chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours – then pop out the tin/tub, cut into pieces and enjoy!
