Snigger Bars

So I had a rare evening with no plans and despite getting home late from work, decided to dedicate my last remaining hours of brain functionality to my passion. The kitchen. Snigger Bars Loosely based on the famous 'Marathon' or 'Snickers' Bar I grew up with whether it was pre-swimming practice or post-country walk snack but this time, it's better... I made mine with almonds, but feel free to use peanuts or cashews, or... any nut of your choosing!

Ingredients:

The Nutty Bit:

65g Buckwheat Flour

80 ml Agave Syrup

150g almonds (I use whole, but sliced works well!)

The Squidgy Bit:

15 dates- pitted

Water

Vanilla essence

Pinch of salt

2 tbsp of melted Coconut Oil

The Chocolatey Bit:

60ml melted cacoa butter

30g cacoa powder

60ml Agave or Maple Syrup

Method: Using a blender or food processor mix the flour, with the roughly chopped nuts and syrup. Grab little handfuls and roll in to shapes. Sausage shaped or balls -it's totally up to you. Place on baking parchment on a dish and whack in the freezer.

Whilst your shapes are chilling, whizz up 15 dates, a dash of vanilla essence (say 1/2tsp) and the melted coconut oil. Add water sparingly until you have a creamy caramel. I was lazy and used the larger bowl and blade on my mixer to save washing up so it was chunkier than usual! We love diversity though, so whether you like yours as smooth as cashew butter or chunkier like crunchy peanut butter, it's a-okay with us! You should be able to spread the date mixture over the chilled nutty bit. I find it is quite easy to 'roll' the spread over the nut shapes for even coverage.

Place your snigger shapes back in the freezer whilst you make your raw chocolate. It is as easy as melting the butter, stirring in the powder and the syrup. As always, feel free to swap the cacoa butter for coconut oil and swap the syrup for a sweeter of your choice, whether it maple, pomegranate, date, agave etc... Evenly coat the snigger shapes with the melted chocolate and chill again... or at least try to, before devouring.

I like to play around with the textures and consistency of these Snigger bars. Pulse the nuts a little more or less whilst making the 'nutty bit' for a smoother or crunchier texture. Likewise with the 'Squidgy Bit' date caramel.