Vegan Millionaires Shortbread bars

I am sorry that I haven't posted on here for a while. I have been extremely busy with university and honestly haven't thought any of my new recipe ideas were good enough to post... Until now, I have come back with a banger! (if I do say so myself, lol)

I made these bars for dessert for our family Easter dinner. I wanted to try to make them slightly healthier than the conventional recipes you find, while still keeping it tasty as heck. These bars have a delicious biscuity base, ooey-gooey caramel centre, and a hard chocolate shell top. Sounds delicious right? 

If you decide to make these, please post it on Instagram and tag me in it so I can see! (@daniellas_plate)

Ingredients: 

Biscuit base: 
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 cup almond flour*
- 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 2 tbsp agave or maple syrup

Caramel layer: 
- 20 dates, pitted (if using dried dates, place in some boiled water and allow to soak until softened)
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 1/2 tsp peanut butter or almond butter
- water

Chocolate layer:
- 1 slab of dark chocolate (I mixed 1/2 a 90% dark chocolate slab and a 75% dark chocolate slab so that it wasn't too bitter)
- 1 tbsp of coconut oil
- Crack of salt

Method:

Biscuit layer:
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and line a 20cm x 20xm pan with baking paper.
2. Combine the coconut flour and almond flour, with the coconut oil, vanilla essence and syrup. Stir until everything is well combined.
3. Place the dough in the pan and spread it out into an even layer, and press it down so that it forms a solid base.
4. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until it is slightly golden brown. Remove once it is done and allow to cool completely.

Caramel layer:
1. Place the softened dates, peanut butter, vanilla essence and 1 tbsp of water into the blender/food processer and blend until smooth.
2. Keep adding 1 tbsp of water at a time until desired texture is achieved. You want it to be thin enough to spread easily but not too runny.
3. Spread the caramel onto the cooled cookie base (still in the tin to hold the shape). Then place into the freezer for 1 hour.

Chocolate layer:
1. Break the chocolate up into a bowl and add the coconut oil. Microwave it for 30-second intervals, stir in between, until fully melted.
2. Pour over the caramel layer, and spread it out evenly. Crack some salt over the top.
3. Place back into the freezer for another hour, or until serving. To serve, remove from freezer and from the pan, use a large knife to cut into bars. Then, ENJOY! It may crack while slicing, but I promise it doesn't affect the taste ;)

I keep the leftovers in the freezer to keep the chocolate firm and the caramel the perfect ooey-gooey texture.

* I used the pulp from homemade almond milk that I had dried in the oven, and it worked perfectly fine.