These Peanut Butter Cacao Fudge Bars are silky, decadent, melt-in-your-mouth delish.
Ribbons of creamy peanut butter ripple and swirl with rich coconut oil peanut butter fudge. Hints of banana, maple and cinnamon too. Bold crunchy raw cacao nibs on top and a thin layer of soft hemp seeds as the crust. Cravable. And oh so easy.
Fast Treat. It took me only about five minutes to prepare this fudge. And then about fifteen minutes to sit back and twiddle my thumbs while the mixture chilled in the freezer. No baking. No fuss. Just blend, chill, slice and serve.
Seriously, look at how easy this recipe is! ..(and lets chat coconut oil)...
Peanut Butter Cacao Chip Fudge
vegan, makes about 9 squares
1 cup + 1 tablespoon unrefined coconut oil, virgin organic cold-pressed (measure at room temperature state - fluffy form, not melted)
1 cup creamy peanut butter, organic salted at room temperature (or warm to soften)
⅓ cup maple syrup
½ banana
½ teaspoon cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon salt (dash)
crust: ¼ cup organic hemp seeds
topping:
1-2 tablespoon creamy peanut butter, softened to drizzle-able state
1-2 tablespoon raw cacao nibs
Directions:
1. Add all the ingredients to a blender (high speed works best.)
2. Blend until smooth and creamy.
3. Spread crust hemp seeds over bottom of a glass dish (anything about 7"-10" inches square - or close to it - will work.)
4. Pour the blended mixture right over top the hemp seeds.
5. Warm the peanut butter topping (microwave a few seconds) and drizzle over top the mixture. Swirl it with a toothpick for pretty designs. Sprinkle the cacao nibs over top.
6. Place dish in freezer for about 15-20 minutes - or until the center of the mixture has firmed - enough to slice into bars. This may take longer or shorter depending on how thick your bars have been poured. If you are not serving the bars for a few hours you can just place the dish in the fridge. Store leftover bars in fridge.
Serve!
Easy, right?
The Good Stuff. Now like I said - this dessert is rich! You can easily just eat a tiny fudge-sized nibble and feel like you have treated yourself. Peanut butter and coconut oil makes for a rich treat. But hopefully those antioxidant-rich cacao nibs and protein-rich hemp seeds will make you feel a little better about indulging. The hemp seeds just bind to the bottom of the fudge..
And this is an almost raw recipe.. the peanut butter was roasted. But actually, to make it raw you could use raw peanut butter or another raw nut butter.
The secret to this vegan fudge is the virgin coconut oil. Coconut oil has literally transformed the world of vegan baking and desserts. Even the mainstream baking crowd is falling in love with this versatile ingredient - for example, you can find coconut oil in the Sprinkles vegan red velvet cupcakes.
Just for fun lets look at the nutritional analysis (per half pb fudge bar) 18 servings per recipe above..
calories: 217, fat: 20g, protein: 4g, carbs: 8g, iron: 3%
Not to go all nutrition-y on you in a dessert post - but I want to chat about this crazy coconut oil stuff, since there is so much of it in this recipe…
Coconut oil has the amazing ability to firm up at when chilled (stick it in the fridge and it becomes a solid block - waxy almost - yet coconut oil stays soft and pillow-y at temperatures at about 66-75 degrees. Anything over 75 degrees and the oil turns liquid. I have seen it used in a wide variety of raw recipes including vegan cheesecake, energy balls, truffles, cookies and more.
Now the tricky part, for me, about coconut oil is that there is still some controversy as to whether or not it is a nutrition powerhouse or a healthy fat dud. You can find virgin coconut oil in the "nutrition and supplements" section of Whole Foods (and the oil section) - and I often see it for sale at nutrition stores like The Vitamin Shoppe.
But here comes the tricky part. If you skim the virgin coconut oil label you will find a lot of fat. Not surprising. But 13g out of the 14g of fat per tablespoon are saturated. Bad, right? Well maybe not. Simply explained, the saturated fat in coconut oil is actually quite unique and possibly really good for you!
Fat burning fudge bars??? Lets investigate..
Dr Mercola says this about it.. (and I've found that a wide number of experts agree with his stance)
"It may be surprising for you to learn that the naturally occurring saturated fat in coconut oil is actually good for you and provides a number of profound health benefits, such as: Improving your heart health. Boosting your thyroid. Increasing your metabolism. Promoting a lean body and weight loss if needed. Supporting your immune system. Coconut oil even benefits your skin when applied topically and has been found to have anti-aging, regenerative effects."
His reasoning, "Coconut oil is also nature's richest source of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs), also called medium-chain triglycerides or MCTs"
He continues to explain how MCT's are easily digested by the liver and burned as fuel. And while eating too many calories of anything will contribute to weight gain, coconut oil as a whole food is actually beneficial to us - and may even help our bodies burn fat. Sounds too good to be true, right?
These fudge bars may be weight loss bars!!! 🙂
Read more of his explanation on Huffington Post
For me, I am staying on the "everything in moderation" side for coconut oil. How about you?
Carie says
The measurements would be different if you start off with melted coconut oil. If yours is already melted, just pop it in the fridge for a few minutes before using it in the recipe.
Sherlock Veteran says
Maybe it's just me but why can't the coconut oil be in melted form already? If it's got to be pourable and melted after mixing it all together and pouring it into the pan why can't it be melted first of all? I would like to make this but I'm holding off because I don't want it to come out
fruitlush says
Wow, these are really something to crave for..This recipe will surely help a lot in preparing something sweet for the family.
Guest says
These bars taste delicious, but I'm having some trouble getting them out of the pan in one piece. Any suggestions?
Carie says
This won't help you now, but if you make the recipe again it might help to use some parchment paper in your dish before putting the mixture in. Then you can lift it out.
Ch112 says
First, I love your blog!
As for coconut oil, personally I find it very heavy. But unrefined oil is really nice in dessert recipes as it brings a beautiful coconutty scent to anything. Enjoyed the health discussion at the end of this post.
Vanessa says
I made this with PB2 and it turned our great, I'm going for a mango fresh ginger on my next round!
Beth says
I made these and they were as yummy as any fudge I have ever had. In fact, better! Thank you for helping my transition to a vegan diet so easy!
We plan to try this with almond butter next!
Mel says
Kathy, I love your recipes! But this one jsut did not work for me 🙁 Something happened while I was blending the peanut butter, coconut oil and other bar ingredients. It started out all right, but then the oil sort of liquified and completely seperated itself from the peanut butter-maple-banana mixture! It was kind of a mess. I still went ahead and froze it and we did eat it. It tasted good (I can tell the recipe would be delicious if I had gotten it right...) but it was all weird and separated and the liquified coconut oil made the hemp seeds float around so they ended up all over the place... Any tips for next time? Should I heat the bar mixture so that it is well combined before pourring it on the crust?
Kathy Patalsky says
I always make this recipe using a fresh jar of room temp coconut oil. It should be the consistency of a thick cream - in a whippable state. Too oily or too hard will not work. That is the trick. Finding the right temperatures of the oil and peanut butter. The peanut butter also has to be room temp. It should only take about 60-90 seconds in the vitamix to blend the ingredients. You don't want to over blend.
Also, you may want to try another brand of coconut oil. I have used several brands and the bars have come out differently for various brands. Odd but true! And make sure your peanut butter is a super creamy brand. Anything too hard or dry will not work. The pb should almost be able to pour out.
Hope that helps!!
Mel says
Thanks Kathy, that does help. The ingredients had been sitting on the counter for a good hour to get them to room temp, but I think the problem was the coconut oil was not the right consistency. I should have either let it soften even more or try another brand. Also, although my peanut butter was very creamy, it was not pourable. I should probably find one that is runnier for this recipe. Thanks for the tips!
smckercher says
I just attemped this and it was a major fail! The coconut oil melted as it warmed in the blender and it never incorporated into the other ingredients. I ended up with a lumpy peanut putter mixture in a bunch of oil. Far from smooth and creamy. What did I do wrong???
Kathy Patalsky says
Were you using a high speed blender? It should be very "melted" when you pour from blender - but also lump free..
Then chill in freezer for about 25 min for perfect creaminess
Michelle says
This looks so delicious. But what else could I use instead of hemp seeds ?
Cheryl Anne says
I used crushed cacao nibs for the crust. 🙂
Sarah says
I love this recipe as I like to add Hemp seed to anything I can to reap the nutritional benefits and I love peanut butter. Now I enjoy coconut oil as well. I used pure maple agave nectar instead of maple syrup and I doubled the cacao nibs on top, but I crushed them into little crunchy sprinkles. Turned out delicious. Thanks!
Raquel says
I too have recently discovered the amazing baking benefits of coconut oil. Only downside is the cost. It unfortunately has a high price tag. It's a cost that I am willing to bear and am fortunate to be able to do so. Are you aware of any differences among brands? I use spectrum, but I am curious as to what the Vitamin Shoppe might be selling, we get a lot of coupons from them.
Halleyah says
Vitacost! $21 for 64oz I believe....organic
Lisa says
If I have an aversion to all things banana, what would you suggest substituting? Applesauce?
Joanne Barker says
I'm confused by the word "leftovers" 🙂
Kathleen Richardson says
I discovered the fine qualities of coconut oil several months ago. I'm always ready for a recipe that combines it with chocolate--any kind of chocolate. Yummy looking bars and a whole bunch of excellent photos!
india-leigh says
Coconut oil is my BFF! Kathy, this dessert looks so seductive. This recipe will be downloading itself in the UK v. soon. Food teleportation!
Natalie says
I agree with you about the whole "everything in moderation" approach to food - including WHOLE, natural, real foods. Nutrition experts will also tell us that fat is fat, whether it be animal or plant derivative, it still stores as fat and is calorie dense and should be kept to a minimum since 100 calories of coconut oil will not fill you up like 100 calories of say, baby spinach (volumetrics!). The upsides to coconut oil - its vitamin/mineral/cholesterol free benefits! So it's a beautiful substitute for all those other heart disease causing fats ^_^
Heidi @ Food Doodles says
These look so incredible! The texture looks perfect. I'm bookmarking this to try some time. I love coconut oil for so many different reasons, but from a purely culinary perspective, there is SO much you can do with it! It's really awesome stuff 😀
Hannahdkendall says
These look gorgeous! And yes, I feel that coconut oil should be kept in moderation, just like any other fat source. Interesting to know the science behind it though! Xxx
ml says
Coconut oil...........will it not have that peculiar smell ?
Kathy Patalsky says
the unrefined coconut oil has a strong coconut essence (but it is lovely if you like coconut!) the refined versions of coconut oil will not have much flavor. you can use either in this recipe - although I much prefer the slight coconut flavor from unrefined.
bigfatcook says
Wow!! I like anything with peanut butter.. and these bars, I must say they look amazing.
Vegan Richa says
I second Kristen:) Also there was news recently that coconut oil might be able to reverse Alzheimer's.. i say this fat is good fat!
Kathy Patalsky says
thnx for that info Richa, interesting! "healthy brain" foods are so hot right now!
Kristen @ notsodomesticated says
Well if they're going to burn fat, then I have to eat them, right?? 😉
Kathy Patalsky says
right! (sounds too good to be true doesn't it!!)
jessica says
You were so right! This was so so easy and so so yummy!! Thanks for sharing!
Raquel Erecipe says
Your post is very informative of the ingredients and its nutritional value. Photos are great. Gorgeous fudge bars. =)
Kathy Patalsky says
thnx Raquel!
Dandy_lyon4 says
Great recipe! I can't wait to try it.
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar says
This looks so melt-in-your-mouth delicious! Love it!