Healthy Twix Bites (vegan)
These healthy Twix bites are made with a simple almond flour shortbread crust, gooey date caramel center, and, of course, chocolate topping. Just three simple layers with only 8 ingredients. They are the perfect little treat for when the candy craving hits, but you don't want the laundry list of ingredients that comes with a Twix bar.
Servings 24 bites
Calories 109kcal
Equipment
- 1 Mixing bowl
- 1 24-cup silicone mini muffin pan
- 1 food processor
Ingredients
For the Shortbread Base
- 1 cup loosely packed almond flour (115g)
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
Ingredients for the Date Caramel Layer
- 10 large pitted Medjool dates (215g) (or 1 ½ cups small/medium dates- see notes)
- 2 tablespoons drippy, natural peanut butter (make sure the peanut butter is drippy)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
For the Chocolate Topping
- ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Soak the dates in a bowl of HOT water while you are making the crust.
- Make the shortbread crust by mixing together the almond flour, melted coconut oil, maple syrup, and salt. Evenly divide the mixture between the 24 cup muffin pan. You'll use about 1 teaspoon of the mix per cup. Using your fingers, evenly push down the mix to form the crust layer in each muffin cavity (get your hands wet so the mixture doesn't stick).1 cup loosely packed almond flour (115g), 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted , 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup, ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Bake for 7-8 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown. The centers may still feel soft. They will set as they cool. Allow shortbread bases to cool before adding the date caramel.
- While the crust is baking, make the caramel layer. Remove the dates from the water and add the soaked dates, peanut butter, vanilla, and salt to a food processor. Pulse on high until dates are smooth. The mixture will be thick, but spreadable. Add more hot water, one tablespoon at a time, if it needs to be thinned.10 large pitted Medjool dates (215g), 2 tablespoons drippy, natural peanut butter, 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract, ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Evenly divide the date caramel mix on top of the cooled shortbread bases. Using the back of a small spoon, or your fingers, gently spread the date mixture to make the caramel layer (get the spoon/your fingers wet to prevent sticking). Make sure to leave enough room on the top for the melted chocolate.
- Melt the chocolate chips and coconut oil in a microwave safe bowl in 45-second increments until chocolate is almond fully melted. Stir to continue melting chocolate. Spead chocolate on top of each twix bite.¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, 1 teaspoon coconut oil
- Allow to set at room temperature, or place in the fridge to speed up the process Once set, push up from the bottom of each muffin cavity to remove the Twix bites.
Notes
- I use Joolies dates when I make these, which are on the large size. When using large dates, 10 seems to be the perfect number. I measured them using smaller dates and it's about 1 ½ cups of smaller dates. If you have a kitchen scale, you can weigh them and you'll use about 215 grams of dates.
- Do NOT skip soaking the dates as the will not blend to the right texture if they haven't been soaked in hot water.
Nutrition
Calories: 109kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.005g | Cholesterol: 0.3mg | Sodium: 25mg | Potassium: 111mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 18IU | Calcium: 21mg | Iron: 1mg
