Have you ever heard of millionaire bars? If not, I’m sure you’ve heard of Twix bars. You know, the ooey gooey candy bars filled with chocolate and caramel that we know is bad for us but is so sinfully delicious anyway?
Well, NO NEED TO SIN ANYMORE, folks!
These tahini “millionaire” bars give you all the chewy goodness of a Twix, but better ingredients and natural sweeteners. Plus, they’re vegan and gluten-free!
who wants to be a millionaire?
If you haven’t had the pleasure of making or trying the delicious treats called “millionaire bars,”, they’re typically made by layering a gooey caramel sauce over buttery shortbread, topped with a layer of milk chocolate. And I’m not going to lie, they’re amazing. But, if you’re craving something sweet but also a little healthier, this version of millionaire bars is it.
How do you make this treat "healthy"?
Okay, when I say “healthy,” I should really be saying “healthy-ish.” These bars are still plenty decadent and involve sugar, but instead of using the typical ingredients for millionaire bars, like refined sugar, butter, and corn syrup, this recipe reaches for more natural ways to create sweetness and bind the layers. For example, we swap out regular flour for almond flour, sugar for maple syrup, and milk chocolate for dark chocolate. Still sweet, but not AS bad.
Ingredient roundup
This recipe involves some SUPER FUN ingredients. Check ‘em out!
Blanched almond flour It’s a simple enough replacement for regular flour, it’s gluten free, plus it has the added benefit of giving these bars a nice, nutty flavor
Coconut oil Like the flour, this easily replaces butter, and gives the bars a pop of coconut flavor! Can’t go wrong there…
100% pure maple syrup My absolute favorite natural sweetener! I grew up on Ohio maple syrup, so you won’t see me using that icky, corn syrupy stuff (it tastes bad AND is bad for you, IMO)
Tahini This spread made of ground sesame seeds is so delicious and gives the caramel layer a little something extra
Dark chocolate (70% cocoa) Dark chocolate is so rich, and yummy, plus it apparently has some amazing health benefits (you know, in moderation)
Pomegranate arils To give these bars some pizzazz (as if they aren’t already a little crazy), you can stir some pomegranate arils into the chocolate. These can also help make the bars a pretty holiday treat!
⟶ the recipe
vegan pomegranate tahini bars
ingredients
Base layer:
¾ cups packed blanched almond flour
2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
1 tablespoon 100% pure maple syrup
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Caramel layer:
¼ cup tahini
2 tablespoons 100% pure maple syrup
¼ cup coconut oil
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
A pinch of sea salt
Chocolate layer:
3 ounces of dark or semi-sweet chocolate (70% cocoa)
1 teaspoon coconut oil
Handful of pomegranate arils
Prep time
20 minutes
Cook time
1 hour
Total time
1 hour 20 minutes
Makes 6 bars
instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Brush the bottom and sides of a loaf pan with melted coconut oil, and set aside.
In a medium bowl, add the almond flour, coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Mix with a fork until the ingredients are well-combined and slightly crumby. Add to the loaf pan and use your fingers or a spoon to press into the bottom of the pan. Bake for 10 minutes, and then set aside to cool.
While the base layer is cooling, heat the tahini, maple syrup, coconut oil, vanilla extract, and sea salt in a small saucepan and place over low heat for a couple minutes, stirring constantly and just slightly bubbling. Pour caramel evenly over the base layer and place pan in freezer for about 15 minutes or until caramel is hardened.
After removing pan from the freezer, heat the chocolate and coconut oil in a small saucepan on low heat and stir constantly until chocolate is totally melted. (Don’t let it sit on the heat for too long, or it will be too thick to pour.) Remove chocolate from heat and stir in the pomegranate arils.
Pour chocolate evenly over the caramel layer and place in fridge for at least an hour or until chocolate is completely hardened.
Once you’re ready to serve, remove pan from the fridge and use a butter knife to cut along the edges and loosen the hardened structure. Flip the pan over and gently jiggle the structure loose onto a cutting board. Flip the entire structure over and cut into 6 bars.
⟶ modifications
- There are so many different things you can do to modify this! For one, you can use a different type of gluten-free flour, like hazelnut or oat flour
- You can also skip the pomegranate arils if you’d like or use something else to stir into the chocolate, like crushed raspberries or slivered almonds
- You can even skip the tahini if that’s not your thing, or use peanut butter instead. The sky’s the limit!
⟶ make it ahead and store it
- You can make these bars ahead of time and keep entire pan in the fridge (covered) for up to a week or until ready to serve
- Alternately, you can remove bars from the pan and store in an airtight container
- You can also wrap them a store in freezer for much longer. Just don’t let them sit out for too long or they’ll get all melty
