Gluten and grain free, refined sugar free, vegan option

INGREDIENTS:

Shortbread Base

150g (1 + 1/2 cups) almond flour

65g (scant ¼ cup) pure maple syrup

1 Tbsp butter, melted and slightly cooled

Date Tahini Caramel

15 Medjool dates, pitted

80g (1/3 cup) hulled tahini

60g (3 Tbsp) pure maple syrup 

¼ tsp salt

60g (¼ cup) milk, at room temperature

45g (3 Tbsp) butter, melted and slightly cooled

1 tsp vanilla extract optional

Chocolate Coating

200g (1 box) Loco Love Dark Chocolate Drops

2 tsp coconut oil

METHOD:

1. Grease and line a standard loaf tin and set aside. Preheat oven to 180C.
2. Add the base ingredients to a mixing bowl and combine. The mix will feel dry at first, but keep mixing, then kneed the dough to form a ball. Press into the lined tin and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. The edges will look slightly crisp when done. Remove from heat and set aside. 
3. Add all of the caramel ingredients to a blender and blend for 1-2 minutes, or until smooth. Scrape down the blender sides half way though. Don't worry if you cant get the caramel perfectly smooth- some blenders are not powerful enough- just blend the best you can, and it'll still taste amazing. 
4. Place in the freezer for 4+ hours. 
5. Remove the slice from the freezer and mould. Slice into long bars- we made 8, but you can make 16 mini bars if you prefer. 
6. Melt chocolate and stir through oil. The chocolate should be nice and runny before you dip in the bars. Line a baking tray then dip each bar into the chocolate, allowing excess chocolate to drip back into the bowl. We find the easiest way to do this is to dip half the bar into chocolate then set in the freezer for 10 minutes, then dip the other end of the bar into the chocolate- this way just gives you something to hold onto with out getting your hands too messy!
7. Set in the fridge then place in an airtight container and store in the fridge (1 week) or freezer (3 months). 

NOTES:

To make this slice vegan, substitute butter for coconut oil and milk for a creamy plant milk. 

Recipe by: @panaceas_pantry
panaceaspantryblog.com