Peanut butter cups
These are inspired by the Reese’s classic but are slightly more grown-up in flavour – they will keep for five days in the fridge or three months in the freezer
Chocolate, peanut date bars
Makes 15 bars
Easy
Prep:
Cook:
plus freezing
Sticky, nutty and packed with chocolate, these are the ultimate pick-me-up. Try them frozen in summer with flaky salt – it’s a total game-changer
Skip to ingredients
- 75g jumbo or rolled oats
- 300g pitted Medjool dates
- 4 tbsp smooth peanut butter
- 1½ tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 80g unsalted roasted peanuts
- 175g dark chocolate(at least 75% cocoa solids), broken into small pieces
- 2 tsp coconut oil
Method
step 1
Line a 20cm square cake tin with baking paper with plenty of overhang. Put the oats in a blender or food processor and blitz to a fine flour, then tip into a bowl.
step 2
Put the dates in the blender or food processor (no need to clean it) with the peanut butter, vanilla and salt. Roughly blitz, then gradually add 75ml of water until a smooth, thick paste forms – be sure to scrape down the sides occasionally. Remove 300g of the mixture to a bowl.
step 3
Add the oat flour to the blender or food processor with the remaining date mixture and pulse a few times until combined. Tip the mixture into the base of the lined pan and use wet fingertips to spread it into a smooth layer that fills the tin.
step 4
Spread the remaining date mixture on top, smoothing it with a spatula. Evenly sprinkle over the nuts, pushing them in a little. Put in the freezer for at least 6 hrs or ideally overnight until frozen and firm.
step 5
Lift the frozen slab out of the pan and slice into 15 bars. Line a baking sheet with baking paper.
step 6
Put the chocolate and oil in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water and heat until just melted, stirring to combine. Alternatively, heat in a microwave on the lowest setting in 30-second blasts, stirring between each, until just melted. If you have a cooking thermometer, the chocolate is ready when it reads 45-50C.
step 7
Working one at a time, submerge the bars in the melted chocolate, using two forks to turn them. Lift out of the bowl, allowing the excess chocolate to drip off, then transfer them to the lined sheet. Once all the bars are coated in chocolate, return the sheet to the freezer or fridge for at least 15 mins until the chocolate is set. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two weeks or in the freezer for up to four weeks.
