Healthy Candy Bars:
Halloween was always my favorite holiday as a kid. I loved dressing up in costumes, going trick-or-treating with my brother, and of course, eating all the candy. But my favorite part of Halloween was trading candy with my brother.
We would sit on the living room floor, surrounded by our candy hauls, and trade back and forth until we both had a stash of all our favorites. I loved trying new candies, but I also loved the feeling of satisfaction that came from having a perfectly curated candy collection.
Now that I'm an adult, I still love Halloween, but I don't want a sugar crash. So instead of buying traditional candy, I decided to make my own healthy candy bars. I took inspiration from my favorite candies, Twix, Reese's, and Milky Way, and created a bar that was delicious and a bit more nutritious.
My healthy candy bars are made with almond flour, pumpkin and peanut butter. They're sweetened with maple syrup, and they're free of refined sugar and artificial ingredients. I'm so happy with the way they turned out, and I can't wait to share them with my friends and family on Halloween.
This year, I'm going to trade healthy candy bars with my brother. I'm excited to see his face when he realizes that we can still enjoy Halloween candy without feeling guilty. And I'm looking forward to another year of trading candy with my brother, even though we're both adults now. You will love this healthy halloween candy recipe.
Healthy Candy Bars
Anne Murray, MS, RD
Healthy Pumpkin Spice Candy Bars with Real Healthier Ingredients: Looking for a healthy and delicious alternative to traditional candy bars? Look no further than these healthy pumpkin spice candy bars! Made with almond flour, pumpkin, maple syrup, coconut oil, and sea salt, these bars are gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and artificial ingredient-free. They're also delicious for any time of the year.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American, candy, chocolate
1 Ice Cube Tray
1 Pot
1 Mixing Bowl
1 Rubber Spatula
Shortbread Layer
- 1.5 c Almond Flour I buy mine at costco or in the bulk section at grocery stores
- 2 tbsp Melted Coconut Oil can sub butter
- 1 tbsp Maple Syrup can sub honey
Pumpkin Peanut Butter Filling
- 1/2 c Pumpkin Puree
- 1/2 c Peanut Butter can use any nut butter
- 1/4 c Maple Syrup
- 1 tbsp Pumpkin Spice
- 1 pinch Sea Salt
- 1 dash Vanilla Extract optional
Chocolate Coating
- 2 bars Dark Chocolate 70%+ Cacao higher the %, less sugar it will have
- 1 tbsp Coconut Oil optional, it helps chocolate harden.
Toppings
- 1 pinch Sea Salt
- 1 sprinkle Unsweetened Coconut Shreds optional
Make shortbread layer by combining almond flour, maple syrup and melted coconut oil in a bowl.
1.5 c Almond Flour, 2 tbsp Melted Coconut Oil, 1 tbsp Maple Syrup
Place shortbread mixture in ice cube tray filling half way, place in freezer while you prepare the filling
Add peanut butter, pumpkin puree, maple syrup, sea salt and pumpkin spice to a saucepot and mix together on low heat until combined for about 5 minutes.
1/2 c Pumpkin Puree, 1/2 c Peanut Butter, 1/4 c Maple Syrup, 1 tbsp Pumpkin Spice, 1 pinch Sea Salt, 1 dash Vanilla Extract
Remove ice cube tray with shortbread filling from freezer and add on pumpkin filling layer to the top.
Place back in freezer and let chill to combine layers together. 30 minutes - overnight.
Melt chocolate bars in the microwave, stir every 30 seconds to prevent chocolate from burning. Option to add coconut oil here if you want a firmer chocolate shell.
1 tbsp Coconut Oil, 2 bars Dark Chocolate 70%+ Cacao
Remove candies from ice cube tray and coat with melted dark chocolate. Place chocolate coated candies on a tray lined parchment paper
Add sea salt, optional coconut flakes or any toppings you prefer.
1 pinch Sea Salt, 1 sprinkle Unsweetened Coconut Shreds
Store in refrigerator or freezer and enjoy!
Recipe Notes:
- If you don't have an ice cube tray you can make these in loaf or 8x8 pan
- To make these vegan use maple syrup rather than honey as a sweetener
- To add protein try adding a scoop of collagen to the shortbread mixture
- If you want more crunch add crushed nuts on top
- Substitute any nut/seed butter like cashew, almond, tahini or sun butter.
- Share with me on Instagram and tag me @nourished_by_anne with your healthy candy bar creations.
Keyword candy bars, chocolate, gluten free dessert, healthy candy bars, healthy chocolate dessert, healthy dessert, healthy twix, reeses recipe, twix bars
