A little while ago I was walking through the city with my boyfriend. The thing is that we started walking just for fun, but suddenly decided to go to walk to the biggest supermarket for some food which is about 30 minutes walking distance from our house. After buying some produce there we decided that we had to buy vegan cheddar, which is only sold in another supermarket (30 minutes walking from our house the other way). When we arrived there it was getting pretty close to dinner time and I was getting pretty hungry. I am normally the best in taking food with me, so I have something to eat when I get hungry, but we just decided to do a quick 10 minute walk around the block, I didn’t.
Anyways, I was at a supermarket and also hungry. And so I bought this raw cookie dough flavoured chocolate that tasted amazing! Only thing was, it was very expensive and it only contained two pieces of chocolate (I could’ve/would’ve eaten many more of them if I had the money). Anyway, this made me think; I could probably recreate the recipe somehow, or make something kinda similar. Anyway! A few experiments later I am happy to say that I can now share the recipe for cookie dough candy ‘bars’. The base is made from dates, cashews, cacao nibs and bourbon vanilla. My first time trying to make the base, I bought the wrong cashews (I got roasted cashews, instead of raw). But after trying both dry roasted and unroasted cashews, I actually preferred the roasted type, because it gives the mix a little more cookie flavour. You could totally use raw unsalted cashews for this recipe, but I like the roasted variant a little more. Just make sure the cashews are unsalted!
The cookie base is covered with dark chocolate and for the perfect dipping chocolate it is important to temper it. Tempering makes sure that the chocolate stays shiny and it has a nice snap when you bite into it. There is a way to do that that includes a sugar thermometer, but for all of you that do not own one, we figured out another way. Add 40 grams of the chocolate to a microwave safe bowl, and heat that up for 30 seconds on high. Stir. Add the bowl to the microwave on high for another 30 seconds and stir again. Repeat until all the chocolate is fully melted (this took me 1 minute). Then add the remaining 10 grams and stir until the chocolate is melted. Then you can cover the base in chocolate and let them harden. Feel free to put them in the fridge to speed up the process, but a freezer won’t be necessary.
Cookie Dough Candy Bars
8 pieces
70 gram medjool dates, without pit (about 5)
70 gram cashews (unsalted and roasted)
½ tsp ground bourbon vanilla
1 tsp cacao nibs
50 gram dark chocolate (in pieces)
In a food processor add the dates, cashews, vanilla and cacao nibs. Blend for a few minutes until the mixture sticks together and you can form it into balls. Create 8 even pieces and set aside. Add 40 grams of a chocolate to a microwave safe bowl and heat for 30 seconds, stir and repeat until all the chocolate is melted. Add the remaining 10 grams and stir until completely melted (or use a sugar thermometer and double broiler to temper the chocolate). Dip the cookie dough balls into the chocolate and let them harden on a piece of parchment paper or a grill. Let harden for about 1 hour and enjoy.
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