It’s Friday and what better way to end the week than dreaming about a yummy gooey dessert that is easy to make and unstoppable to eat!
I am sad though because I accidentally deleted a lot of the photos I had taken of this dessert {during multiple recipe trials} and I can’t test this recipe out yet again because it’s just THAT good and you can’t stop yourself from eating way more than you should. So the pictures you see are when I tested the recipe out using almonds. They were definitely good but I think the hazelnut version was even better.
The best part of this dessert is how adjustable it is. Don’t have enough chocolate on hand…no problem, just make less. {This recipe feeds a lot… you want the bars to be bite size because they are super decadent & rich!} Or did you decide to just demolish off the remaining chocolate while waiting for everything to freeze and now you have no chocolate for the top??? Don’t despair…just cut into tiny squares and devour. It’ll still be yummy!
Original inspiration for this recipe came from these homemade peanut butter chocolate cups. I was going to make them again but realized just spreading everything out on parchment paper would be way easier. Then I was testing out a different recipe and realized how much I loved coconut mixed with peanut butter. And the rest is history!
Peanut Butter, Dark Chocolate, and Hazelnut Dessert Bars with Sea Salt
Notes
This recipe is very adaptable. It can easily be halved to make less or you can make the parchment paper a bigger size so that the dessert bars are not so thick. Or if you don’t like coconut flakes, then just leave them out of the peanut butter mixture. I like it for the texture it provides, but it is not essential.
Do not try substituting a silpat liner for the parchment paper. You do not want to have any off flavors from the liner coming out in the dessert.
- 9 oz bag of Bittersweet Dark Chocolate Morsels
- 2/3 cup coconut oil
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut flakes
- 2-3 TBSP maple syrup
- 1/2 cup roughly chopped hazelnut, almonds, or any other nut you want to try
- Kosher or Sea Salt (optional)
Cut a piece of parchment paper into roughly a 9x9 size and place on top of a baking sheet.
In a glass pyrex/mixing bowl, place chocolate and coconut oil, and melt in the microwave, stopping every 20 seconds to stir. When just a few pieces of chocolate remain, stop the microwave and stir until completely smooth.
Spread 1/2 of the chocolate mixture out onto the parchment paper; reserving the other half for the top of the dessert bars. Place baking sheet into the freezer for approximately 10 minutes, until hardened.
While waiting for chocolate layer to firm up, take another mixing bowl and mix together the peanut butter, coconut flakes, and maple syrup.
Once the chocolate layer has hardened, remove from freezer and using a plastic spatula, spread the peanut butter mixture on top of the chocolate.
Scatter chopped hazelnut over the peanut butter mixture and then press the nuts down.
Return baking sheet to the freezer for another 10 minutes.
Once peanut butter has hardened, spread the remaining chocolate mixture on top of the peanut butter. Or, you can drizzle the chocolate mixture on top if you don't have as much left as you thought you would.
If desired, sprinkle a tiny bit of sea salt on top of the chocolate.
Return dessert to freezer for another 10 minutes. Once completely hardened, take out of freezer, cut into bite sized squares, and then return back to freezer until ready to eat.
This dessert will melt if left out of freezer for a long time. But normally you are eating it so quickly, it won't matter!
Enjoy!
{Day 9!!! of the #write31days challenge. I can’t believe I’ve made it over a week of writing every day. YAY!}
