Dark Chocolate-Caramel Cookie Bars

Today I’m super pumped to have a guest post from cookbook author, Josh, of Slim Palate, who many of you are familiar with, and for those of you who are not, make sure you head over to his awesome blog for good eats.

Photo from Josh Weissman of SlimPalate.com

 

But of course not before you take in this grain-free, gluten free Dark Chocoalte-Caramel Cookie Bar—think of this as the healthy version of a Twix Bar. Sure I do a fair share of indulgent treats around, but indulgent treats that are Paleo and/or gluten-free friendly is always something I love working into my rotation of baked goods.

With that, let’s do this . . .

Photo from Josh Weissman of SlimPalate.com

So I’ve always been a huge fan of Naomi’s blog so this is a great honor to be able to guest post here. I knew that I had to create something sweet to match the style of this blog so I whipped something up that I think everyone can thoroughly enjoy. I’ll give you a hint: it’s Twix inspired

Photo from Josh Weissman of SlimPalate.com

So maybe I gave it away with that one but I don’t think anyone can complain. It’s a lot easier to make than you think, and it’s entirely gluten free, grain free, and refined sugar free. Despite lacking all of these things it still happens to have the familiar crumbly shortbread base, the sweet and salty caramel, and rich chocolate in every bite.

Photos by Photo from Josh Weissman of SlimPalate.com

This is all possible with the power of science, and by science I mean simply subbing honey and coconut sugar in place of the regular sugar and corn syrup.  You can always use sugar and corn syrup if you’d rather but I think that might take away some of the magic behind this recipe. The idea that healthier foods/ingredients don’t taste good is a fallacy and I’m here to eliminate that thought.

Then again, it’s still a treat that still has lots of sugar in it. Which is probably why it tastes amazing. Oh it also has like a ton of butter in it so, yeah. I have no regrets.

Photo from Josh Weissman of SlimPalate.com

Sugar fiends and health nuts unite, enjoy the crumbly, buttery, ooey gooey candy that are my Dark Chocolate-Caramel Cookie Bars. You won’t regret it.

Dark Chocolate-Caramel Cookie Bars

Ingredients:

Shortbread Base:

• 2 cups almond flour
• 1 cup tapioca flour
• 1 cup softened butter plus extra for greasing
• 2/3 cup coconut sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Caramel Middle:

• 3/4 cup coconut sugar
• 1/2 cup honey
• 3 tablespoon butter or ghee
• 3/4 cup heavy cream or coconut milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Chocolate top:

• 10 1/2 ounces dark chocolate, roughly chopped (anywhere around 70%)

 

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