Sugar-free date caramel and rich melted chocolate. A healthy recreation of your favorite caramel candy bar!
OH MAN. These take me back to Middle School when the band kids sold candy bars to raise money each year. Everyone would flock around the band kids during class, in the lunchroom, in the hallways. We had to get our chocolate like the little sugar addicts we were.
And if your school sold them too, then you know. You KNOW. The first flavor to sell out was always the caramel-filled chocolate bar. No one cared about the dark chocolate or the almond. The crisp was second-best. But everyone wanted the creamy caramel that would melt in your mouth. Is your mouth watering? Are you craving chocolate yet?
Well how about a healthier option that still tastes as sinful as the rich caramel bars. I’ve got your back!
This caramel is sweet and creamy, but it’s sweetened entirely with dates! Healthy caramel, WHAAAAT? Yes. You blend your dates with coconut milk and a leetle-bet of almond butter, and voila! Healthy, delicious caramel that is just begging to be covered in chocolate.
Or maybe it’s just you who’s begging to cover the caramel in chocolate because in your heart you just know that it’s right. Some foods were made for eachother:
- Peanut butter + Jelly
- Macaroni + Cheese
- Brussels sprouts + Bacon
- Caramel + Chocolate
You see? Rollos, Carmello bars, Caramel Cadbury Creme Eggs, 100 Grand bar, Twix bars … plus a million others that I know I’m missing, they all work because the marriage of chocolate and caramel is meant to be.
A healthy recreation of those caramel filled candies is a magical thing, and that’s what I have for you here! I told you I have your back. So go enjoy your caramel cups! And, while we’re on the topic of candy, let me know your all-time favorite candy bar that you miss the most. Maybe I’ll just have to make a healthier version of that too. 
- 2 Cups pitted dates
- 2 Tablespoons almond butter (or sub any nut/seed butter of choice)
- 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of sea salt
- 4-5 Tablespoons coconut milk
- 1 Cup chocolate chips
- 2-3 Teaspoons coconut oil
- Combine all the ingredients for the caramel in a high speed blender or food processor except for the coconut milk. Blend until everything won't move anymore, then pour in 4 tablespoons of coconut milk. Blend until completely smooth. Add an additional tablespoon of coconut milk if needed to reach a smooth consistency.
- Put the caramel in a bowl and set aside.
- In a separate microwave safe bowl, add the chocolate chips. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir in the coconut oil and microwave for an additional 30 seconds or until completely melted. Stir after each 30 second increment to prevent any of the chocolate from burning.
- You can make the cups in paper muffin liners (regular or mini) or in silicone muffin liners.
- Place a spoonful of chocolate in the bottom of your liner. Spread the chocolate up the side of the liner with the back of the spoon or by tilting the liner in your hands. Only spread the chocolate as tall as you want your finished cup to be. For mini sized, this with be ⅔ of the way up. For larger, only ⅓.
- Once the bottom and sides are covered with a thin layer of chocolate, place the liner in a muffin tin.
- Roll a scoop of the caramel into a ball and flatten it slightly in your hand. Place the caramel in the center of the liner.
- Use a spoon to fil the liner with more chocolate until the caramel is covered.
- Repeat with the remaining liners until all the melted chocolate is used up. You will have leftover caramel. You can double the chocolate recipe and make more cups, or you can spread the leftover caramel on apples for a sweet snack.
- Once all the liners are filled, place the muffin tray in the fridge until the chocolate is set.
- This recipe will make 16-20 mini cups or 8-10 large.
What’s your all-time favorite candy bar that you would like a healthy version of? Let me know in the comments below!
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