Snickers Bark
One of my projects the past year, is to do a lot of healthy cooking, using easily available ingredients. Or ingredients lying around the average Indian household, at least my house! If I'm being honest, this recipe started out as an almond praline alternative. But a few mishaps in, and it looked less like praline, and more like snickers!
As a person who loves chocolates like 5 Star, Twix and Snickers, this recipe really helped me change my ways. The past few months I've been trying to eat healthy, only dark chocolate, but the most variety I had was probably cranberries in my chocolate. This recipe really helped me with my sweet tooth and keeping up my goals! I hope it helps you just as much.
And remember to use high quality and natural ingredients. Good ingredients can really elevate the recipe and the nutritional benefits. I got my almonds from my grandparents, and they really know best!
Ingredients:
2 small to medium ripe bananas (or 1 large banana)
1-2 tbsp almond/peanut butter
Pinch of salt
½ tsp cinnamon (optional)
1 tsp coconut oil (for firmness)
1 ½ tbsp honey (recommended amount, feel free to alter to your taste)
75-100g dark chocolate (I used 75%)
½ cup almonds/peanuts
Note: This recipe is highly customizable. You could substitute the bananas with dates, or do a half and half. If you want it vegan, you could maple syrup instead of honey, or sugar if neither are available. Don't be afraid to play around. Decrease the nut butter and increase the dates or bananas, even the sweetener. If you want, you could use walnuts instead of your chosen nut. maybe add your nut to the banana-nut butter base to give it some texture as well! But I suggest keeping the coconut oil, it gives a little firmness. And don't be scared to eyeball measurements. I eyeballed almost everything!
Method:
Wash the almonds or peanuts to remove dirt and starch, then towel dry them. In a pan, toast them without any butter or oil for 3-4 minutes, then leave them to cool for 15-20 minutes. In the meantime, continue with the later steps. Once cooled, you can chop them manually, or use a chopper. Personally, I find chopping nuts to be a daunting task, so I use a chopper.
In a blender, combine bananas, nut butter, salt, coconut oil and cinnamon (if using). If a blender is not available, no problem! Mash the banana and then mix in the other ingredients. Once blended or mixed, transfer to a pan and add the honey or other sweetener. I forgot to add the honey to the blender so I added it later in the pan itself.
Cook the mixture for 5-7 minutes on low heat, stirring continuously. You’re aiming for a thick, sticky, glossy texture- like peanut butter. Transfer it to a parchment lined tray in a thick layer, and flatten it out using the edge of a spatula. Once it cools, put it in the freezer. Let it freeze for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
To melt the chocolate, use a water bath. I always thought it was fancy-shmancy and kind of useless to use a water bath, but trust me, it’s not. It ensures even heating and prevents burning. And once you take the pan out of the water bath, but the chocolate hardens, just put the pan back in the warm water for a minute, it should soften again.
Now you can take the frozen base out and break it into pieces. Dip the pieces in chocolate and then roll them in almonds. This step can get pretty messy, so remember to wear an apron! And be careful, you can burn your hands in the chocolate, so use a fork to dip it in and take it out. It works like a mini strainer of sorts, like the one used when frying! If the pieces start melting or turn really fudgy, roll them into balls, dip and coat, then gently press them into disc shapes. I had to do that! It doesn't affect the taste or anything.
Return to the freezer for 20-30 minutes until firm, and enjoy! If I’m being honest, I ate like 4 of these in one day, don’t ask how I resisted a fifth!
Tasted rich!
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