Crunchy salted peanuts, sweet caramel, soft nougat all coated in a melt in the mouth coating of chocolate make this vegan version of the popular Snickers Bars!
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Hello Snicker lovers!
I have a wonderful surprise for you.
I know you've probably been missing snickers bars since you decided to turn vegan, but from now on you won't be left with your craving unfulfilled thanks to this recipe!
You're more than welcome. I love making you happy.
For all of you this recipe is a dream come true, the perfect and irresistible taste that will remind you of your favourite bar of chocolate.
And there's more! I made a simplified version of it, so that literally anyone can achieve it.
You won't need to fuss about making aquafaba nougat, nor dealing with thermometers to get the right temperature. Your eyes will be the only thing required to nail this vegan replica.
Can you ask for more? I don't think so.
So, let's analyse together the main components of a snicker bar:
Each bar contains a caramel layer, a nougat layer and plenty of roasted peanuts all held together by a mouth-watering chocolate shell.
For the Caramel Layer of our vegan version we are going to need only 3 ingredients:
- vegan condensed milk
- vegan butter
- brown sugar
You can make your own condensed milk following the recipe I previously posted on the blog, or using a store bought alternative if you'd like to skip the fuss of making it from scratch (although I promise, it's also very easy to do and inexpensive too!).
Butter is recommended but you can substitute it with margarine or 50% coconut oil + 50% cocoa butter.
I find brown sugar gives both the best caramel flavour and colour, but you can substitute it with caster/granulated or coconut sugar if you like.
To make the caramel all we have to do is add all three ingredients to a pan, heat on medium, stir well and bring to a boil whilst keep stirring. Allow the caramel to colour for 3 to 4 minutes, than we can stir in the main ingredient of the Snicker bars: Peanuts.
Salted and roasted peanuts (you can buy them already roasted or gently heat them in a pan for a couple of minutes) are added to the caramel sauce and stirred in making sure to evenly coat each peanut, then the mixture can be poured in a 20x20cm (8x8 inches) tray/container lined with parchment/baking paper and spread evenly.
Next up: Nougat Layer
The shortest cut we can take to do it is by using Vegan Marshmallows.
Simply place the marshmallows in a Pyrex bowl covered with a lid over a pan filled with water and melt on bain-marie for 5 to 10 minutes (time can vary according to the size of your marshmallows).
Sometimes a few drops of water are required in order to melt the marshmallows properly, but be careful not to use to much water in this step as it will make the nougat layer to soft in the end result.
To enrich the peanut experience I also add some Peanut Butter to the melted marshmallows. I recommend as little as 1-2 tablespoons to replicate the perfect Snicker bar experience.
Once the peanut butter is combined to the melted marshmallow mixture we can evenly spread this layer over the caramel one and place in the fridge to set overnight.
The day after it's time to portion the bars. With this amount you will get a total of 12 vegan Snicker bars.
Remove the mixture from the tray by grabbing and lifting the paper from each side. Place on a chopping board and with a sharp knife cut the block in four first, then each quarter into thirds.
The bars on the side can result in a less precise cut, but hey, this is a homemade version and taste is all that matters!
At this point if you find your bars to be still on the soft side (this depends on both the amount of water added to the nougat mixture and the brand of the condensed milk used), place in the refrigerator for an hour or two.
Next and last step will be coating the bars in Dark Chocolate
You can melt the chocolate in both microwave (at 30 seconds intervals at 350/400W) or again on bain marie, then dip each bar until fully coated.
To coat you can use a couple of forks to submerge and toss the bars into the melted chocolate or run a wooden skewer into each bar to better dip them.
Arrange each bar on a plate or chopping board covered in baking paper and allow to cool in the refrigerator for a few hours (up to 4) before enjoying your homemade vegan Snicker bars.
Vegan Snicker Bars Recipe
Ingredients:
200 g Peanuts (salted and roasted)
...for the caramel layer...
200 g Vegan Condensed Milk
70 g Brown Sugar
60 g Vegan Butter
...for the nougat layer...
150 g Vegan Marshmallows
2 tablespoon Peanut Butter
Water (optional)
...for the chocolate layer...
300 g Dark Chocolate (dairy free, bar or buttons)
Method:
1. For the caramel layer. Add all three ingredients to a pan, heat on medium, stir well and bring to a boil whilst keep stirring. Allow the caramel to colour for 3 to 4 minutes.
2. Stir the peanuts into the caramel sauce making sure to evenly coat each nut.
3. Spread evenly into a 20x20cm (8x8 inches) lined with parchment/baking paper and place in the freezer to set during the next step.
4. For the nougat layer. Place the marshmallows in a pyrex bowl covered with a lid over a pan filled with water and melt on bain marie for 5 to 10 minutes (time can vary according to the size of your marshmallows). Please note: sometimes a few drops of water are required in order to melt the marshmallows properly, but be careful not to use to much water in this step as it will make the nougat layer to soft in the end result.
5. Once the marshmallows are melted, stir in the peanut butter and spread the mixture on top of the caramel layer forming another even layer.
6. Refrigerate overnight (or for at least 8 hours).
7. After the mixture is set remove it from the tray by grabbing and lifting the paper from each side. Place on a chopping board and with a sharp knife cut the block in four first, then each quarter into thirds. This will allow you to end up with 12 bars.
8. At this point if you find your bars to be still on the soft side (this depends on both the amount of water added to the nougat mixture and the brand of the condensed milk used), place in the freezer for an hour or two. Otherwise proceed with the next step.
9. The dark chocolate layer. Melt the chocolate in both microwave (at 30 seconds intervals at 350/400W) or again on bain marie, then dip each bar until fully coated. To coat you can use a couple of forks to submerge and toss the bars into the melted chocolate or run a wooden skewer into each bar to better dip them.
10. Arrange each bar on a plate or chopping board covered in baking paper and allow to cool in the refrigerator for a few hours (up to 4) before enjoying your homemade vegan Snicker bars.
Madinah
Looks good. My snicker of choice was the Almond snickers. Can this recipe be adapted to use Almonds? If so, how?