Peanut Caramel Slice

Phoebe Thorburn -

It's no secret I love having a sweet little something for those morning/afternoon/dessert moments when you want a delicious exclamation-mark to go with your cuppa or evening meal. These were originally made one evening when my mind was wrestless and the kitchen was a dark, cosy, safe cocoon for my racing mind. Somehow amidst the cacophany of anxious-thoughts these turned out stella-first go. Which besides being a small ego boost, is actually quite irritating. I should be at my A-recipe-developing-game when I'm highly focused - not totally out of it?! Exhale, but what can you do. Making these was a reminder that cooking has the most impressive transformative abilities.

a note on the recipe: these are excepionally good! Like a traditional caramel slice, except less sweet, because of the grounding peanutty note. Not as overwhelmingly peanuty as a Snickers bar, but along that wavelength. Bliss.

Ingredients

Base

  • 1 1/4 cup almond meal/flour
  • 1 1/2 tbsp refined coconut oil, melted
  • 2 tsp maple syrup/brown rice syrup/golden syrup
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Caramel

  • 1/2 cup almond butter (or smooth unsalted peanut butter if not using powdered peanut butter)
  • 1/4 cup refined coconut oil, melted
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup (or brown rice syrup, melted)
  • 2 tbsp powdered peanut butter (optional)
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • pinch salt
  • optional add-ins: maca powder, medicinal mushroom powder, ashwagandha powder.

Top

  • 120g dark chocolate (you can use as little as 80g, although coverage will be on the light side), melted
  • 1 tsp refined coconut oil, melted (optional - it will assist in neat, frustration-free slicing, though not crutial)

Method

  1. Line a 15cm/6inch square tin with a loose sheet of baking paper. Set aside.
  2. Mix all your Base ingredients together in a bowl with a spoon, then switch to your hands to work the oil into the almonds. The mixture should hold together when pressed - if it doesn't, add a little more coconut oil. Press into the base of the tin, and smooth over with a spoon to level. Set aside in the fridge.
  3. Whisk your first three Caramel ingredients together until smooth. Add the vanilla, salt, powdered peanut butter & optional add-ins (if using), before whisking again to combine. Pour over the refrigerated base, giggle to level, then refridgerate to set.
  4. After 20 minutes (minimum), whisk the melted chocolate with the coconut oil (if using) until fully incorporated, then gently drizzle over the caramel and smooth out into all corners using a spatula. Return to the fridge for an hour (minimum) before slicing & tucking in. When not enjoying these, simply store in the fridge. These will last a couple of weeks (technically speaking).