When it comes to raw desserts, there’s nothing that I love making more than some form of raw caramel shortbread. I think that I’ve made so many, I could actually start making them in my sleep! They were one of the first things that I experimented with and are still something that I regularly make today. Not only are they incredibly tasty, but I think that they’re a pretty fun thing to make and there are so many flavour possibilities to play around with. These ones came about as I had a rather large tub of peanut butter in the cupboard and, being the nut butter obsessive that I am, really wanted to create something with a peanut caramel and no, I’m incredibly glad that I did!
I think on this particular day, I had previously made about 4 different types of dessert, all of which had a biscuit like base made predominantly from oats, so that’s what I went with for these. The caramel is a delicious combination of peanut butter, cinnamon and raisins; which provides a slight twist on the peanutty flavour, but also, you get a nice change in texture from the chewy raisins. Finally, what else could finish these off, but a gorgeously rich, smooth layer of raw chocolate made with raw cacao, coconut oil and some maple syrup; it’s amazing how three ingredients can create something so decadent and tasty!
These are one of my favourite things that I’ve made recently and they went down pretty well in my household too! Which I’m quite glad about, seeing as knowing that they were sitting in the fridge, waiting to be eaten, may have been a little too much temptation for me to handle today! However, things like this never last more than a few hours once my boyfriends on the scene!
Ingredients:
Base-
1 1/2 cups oats
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 heaped tbsp coconut oil
Caramel-
4 Tbsp peanut butter
1 tbsp maple syrup
A handful of raisins
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp coconut oil
Chocolate-
2 tbsp coconut oil
4 tbsp cacao powder
1 1/2 tbsp maple syrup
Method:
Place the oats into your food processor and blend these until they form an almost flour like consistency.
Add in the maple syrup and coconut oil and blend until everything starts to form a crumbly, sticky mixture. You can add more coconut oil or syrup if the oats aren’t sticking together enough. Pour this into a baking dish and firmly press everything down to create a smooth, even surface. Leave in the freezer to set.
For the caramel, in a bowl, mix together all of the peanut butter caramel ingredients and spread over the top of the base layer. Return this to the freezer whilst you make the chocolate.
Melt the coconut oil and mix this with the maple syrup and cacao powder until completely smooth. Pour the chocolate over the caramel layer and place the slices back into the freezer for 2 hours to set.
Slice into squares- you may want to use a knife dipped in hot water to help avoid the chocolate layer cracking.
