Halloween and Bonfire Night have both passed, which means there are limited weeks left until we go a little crazy and turn the country into a Santa’s Grotto Christmas extravaganza! Which is why I’m trying to create as many autumnal recipes before the hard-core Christmas baking kicks in!

This week I’m sharing these yummy gluten free almond butter caramel bars. Perfect for snacking on at work or enjoying as an after dinner sweet treat.

For some reason, this year I feel a little bit hesitant to get into the Christmas spirit. I have this fear every November that if I start celebrating too early, I will be fed up of Michael Bublé songs, mince pies and Christmas baking by mid December! Obviously that hasn’t happened yet, as I could never be fed up of Christmas, but the fear is real!

HOW TO BUILD THESE ALMOND BUTTER CARAMEL BARS

With three delicious layers, these gluten free almond butter caramel bars have plenty of flavour, textural contrast and mouthwatering goodness! They are made up of the following components:

Baked Cinnamon Base
Made up of gluten free oats, almond flour, cinnamon, mashed banana, almond butter and coconut oil. This base is baked in the oven to intensify the flavours and help glue the ingredients together. Therefore ensuring it doesn’t fall apart when you take a bite (nobody wants that!) Simply mix all of the ingredients in a large bowl, transfer to a lined baking tray and press down with the back of a spoon. Bake for 15 mins, then remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Almond Butter Date Caramel
With only two ingredients – medjool dates and almond butter – this caramel is super simple to make and tastes delicious! Top tip: if you don’t have medjool dates, simply cover dried dates in boiling water and leave for 10 mins to soften. Drain the water (saving it for yummy porridge) and use the dates as normal. To make the caramel, add the dates and almond butter to a strong food processor/blender and blend until smooth. Add water gradually if needed. Spread on top of the base and set aside.

Marbled Chocolate Topping
Now for the fun bit – the marble chocolate topping! Melt dark chocolate and white chocolate in separate bowls and add spoonfuls of each chocolate over the caramel, then swirl to create a pattern with a wooden skewer. Chill in the fridge until set, around 30 mins. Cut into bars and serve!

INGREDIENTS

BASE
100g GF rolled oats
100g almond flour
1 tsp cinnamon
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 tbsp almond butter
1 tbsp coconut oil

CARAMEL
250g medjool dates
3 tbsp almond butter
2-3 tbsp water

TOPPING
50g dark chocolate
50g white chocolate*

RECIPE

1. Preheat your oven to 180c/160 fan and line a rectangle baking tray with parchment paper.
2. Mix all of the base ingredients in a large bowl, stirring well to combine.
3. Transfer to the lined baking tray and press down with the back of a spoon.
4. Bake for 15 mins, then remove from the oven and allow to cool.
5. While the base is cooling, start making the almond butter caramel. Place the dates and almond butter in a strong food processor/blender and blend until smooth, adding the water in gradually if needed.
6. Spread on top of the base and set aside
7. Break the dark and white chocolate into separate bowls and heat in the microwave until melted, or heat over a small pan of boiling water.
8. Add spoonfuls of the chocolate on top of the caramel, then swirl to create a pattern with a wooden skewer.
9. Chill in the fridge until set, around 30 mins. Cut into bars and serve!

Sophie x