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Let Us Make A Case For Making Your Own Chocolate Bars This October

Author:

Eliza Sullivan

mbg Nutrition & Health Writer

By Eliza Sullivan

mbg Nutrition & Health Writer

Eliza Sullivan is a food writer and SEO editor at mindbodygreen. She writes about food, recipes, and nutrition—among other things. She studied journalism at Boston University.

Image by Ciarra Siller / Contributor

We carefully vet all products and services featured on mindbodygreen using our commerce guidelines. Our selections are never influenced by the commissions earned from our links.

With Halloween only a few weeks away, we have chocolate on the brain—but have you ever imagined making your own candy bars?

Maybe it seems like an unnecessary practice when there are plenty of amazing chocolate bars you can buy, but the benefits of making your own treats is you can add healthy ingredients to make them something you can enjoy while also giving your body some nutrients.

"There is quite a combination of health and luscious chocolate packed into each of these crunch bars," writes Ciarra Siller in her new cookbook Vegan Chocolate Treats. "These treats make a perfect snack, dessert, or quick, indulgent pick-me-up all while using simple and natural ingredients."

With only eight ingredients, two bowls—and a little help from the microwave—you can have these incredible vegan crunch bars ready to go in an afternoon.

Chocolate Crunch Bars

Makes 10 bars

Ingredients

For the crunch:

3 cups rice cereal
1 tablespoon chia seeds
⅓ cup natural peanut butter
7 tablespoons maple syrup
3 tablespoons coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the coating:

1 cup vegan chocolate chips
2 teaspoons coconut oil
Culinary-grade rose petals, crumbled, for topping

Method

Line an 8-by-8-inch pan with parchment paper, leaving some overhang so you can easily remove the bars.
Place the cereal and chia seeds in a large mixing bowl and set aside.
In a microwave-safe bowl, gently melt together the peanut butter, maple syrup, coconut oil, and vanilla on 50 percent power for about 15 seconds, then stir until smooth.
Pour the mixture into the bowl with the cereal and use a large wooden spoon or rubber spatula to stir until all of the cereal is well coated.
Press the mixture into the bottom of the pan and pack it down tightly. Place the pan in the refrigerator and chill for 30 minutes.
Remove the pan from the refrigerator, use the parchment-paper handles to remove the block of bars from the pan, and cut them into 10 evenly sized bars. Place them in the freezer while you melt the chocolate.
To make the coating, in a microwave-safe bowl, melt the chocolate and coconut oil on 50% power in 15-second increments, stirring in between, until smooth. Cover the rice bars in the chocolate and chill in the freezer until solid, 10 to 15 minutes. Sprinkle with the rose petals before serving.

Reprinted with permission from Vegan Chocolate Treats by Ciarra Siller, Page Street Publishing Co. 2020. Photo credit: Ciarra Siller.