Homemade fudge bars are made with four healthy ingredients, including dates to form a no bake energizing bar that is soft and fudgy with a snappy chocolate coating.
Line your mold with parchment. I used a financier mold, but you can use any bar mold. A silicon mold won't need parchment.
Make your date paste. Use my date paste recipe or blend 10 pitted dates with ⅔ cup water.
Make Fudge Bars
Add the date paste, cocoa, flour and nut butter to a bowl and mix with a hand-mixer or food processor. Add vanilla and salt if using.
¼ cup cocoa, 1 cup almond flour, 1 cup date paste, 2 tablespoon nut butter
Press the dough into each mold opening. Or if you don't have a mold, press into a parchment lined loaf pan.
Freeze for 15-30 minutes. You want molded bars stiff enough so you can remove them and yet still be able to insert a toothpick or skewer to allow you to dunk them. If you used a loaf pan, freeze until you can slice cleanly.
Chocolate shell
Melt the chocolate chips and coconut oil in a pyrex-measuring cup in the microwave at 1 minute, and then 15 seconds more if need be. Stir until smooth.
1 cup chocolate chips, 1 teaspoon coconut oil
Allow the chocolate to cool and pour it into a narrow tall glass.
Dunk each chilled bar into the melted chocolate. Allow it to drip clear, and them set it on a cooling rack, with a catch parchment underneath.
Set the coated bars
Refrigerate the coated bars for 30 minutes or freeze for 10 minutes.
Storage
The bars last one week refrigerated in a sealed container and up to three months frozen.
Video
Notes
1. Swap the date paste for date syrup or even maple syrup but double the flour.2. Swap the almond flour for coconut flour or oat flour, although use twice as much because those flours are more absorbent than almond flour.3. When you freeze the filling for the bars, only do so for 30 minutes or enough so they are stiff enough so you can remove them and yet still be able to insert a toothpick or skewer to allow you to dunk them.Storage. The coated bars can be kept refrigerated or frozen. If you keep them refrigerated, be sure they are not piled on top of each other because they will be soft and could become dented. If you keep them frozen, expect to thaw them for about one minute to soften enough to bite. They will last a week refrigerated, and three months if frozen.