A guilt-free, decadent chocolate fudge that no one will ever guess is good for you. No-bake, vegan, and gluten free!
… and vegan, and gluten-free, and guilt-free. Oh yes, my friends. You don’t need to clean your glasses or adjust your screen. It’s true. It’s real.
I’m always looking for a way to make the things I enjoy a little bit easier, a little bit more accessible, and a little bit healthier. That’s where this No-Bake Almond Butter Chocolate Fudge enters the room like Beyoncé – wind blown hair, lasers and spotlights, accompanied by a hype man and a sweet soundtrack.
If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you’re probably already pretty familiar with my love for all things chocolate. It’s one of the few foods that I just can’t quit. It’s just not an option – you could ask me to stop eating just about anything else, but the things I couldn’t possibly give up are lobster and chocolate. I’m pretty sure they’re tied to my DNA in some form and by eliminating them I would just crumble or melt into a puddle and cease to exist. And one of my favorite chocolatey treats? Fudge. Do you know how hard it is to make fudge healthy?!
Not very, actually 😉
I’ve found that the key to making your favorite decadent desserts healthier isn’t to just make a bunch of one-for-one substitutes. Just swapping flour for gluten-free flour, or whole milk for skim milk… that’s not what’s going to do it. In my experience, it just doesn’t work. Or if it does, it just doesn’t taste very satisfying because it tastes healthy. You know what I mean? You know what I mean. You need to rethink the way you’re looking at the recipe and get creative – that’s where the fun comes in! And the dozens of failed recipe attempts that you force on your significant other… but we don’t need to talk about those.
I won’t bore you with my entire thought process, but I will share that the key to this particular recipe was to stop trying to put solid chocolate in the mix and swap it out for raw cacao powder. You may think that would be too bitter, but you’d be wrong, my friend. The medjool dates make up for it with their natural sweetness – so no added sugar (or sugar substitutes) necessary! The toppings are completely up to you – I just went with my favorites of the moment, but you could add just about anything your heart desires and I’m sure it would be amazing. I’m thinking that next time I’m going to add some dried cranberries and walnuts. Mmmm.
If you make these, take a picture and throw it up on Instagram with the #stressbaking tag (and tag me!) so that I can check it out! You know how much I love seeing what you’ve made ❤️
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No-Bake Almond Butter Chocolate Fudge
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Prep Time: 1 hour 5 mins - Total Time: 1 hour 5 mins
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Yield: 16 pieces -
Category: Dessert
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Pin RecipeDescription
A guilt-free, decadent chocolate fudge that no one will ever guess is good for you. No-bake, vegan, and gluten free!
Ingredients
- 1 cup medjool dates, pitted
- 1/4 cup almond butter
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1/2 cup raw cacao powder
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Sea salt (optional garnish)
- Shredded coconut (optional garnish)
- Sliced almonds (optional garnish)
Instructions
- Prepare a sandwich-sized tupperware container (or something similarly sized) with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a food processor, combine dates and almond butter until mostly smooth.
- Add coconut oil, cacao powder and vanilla and pulse until well combined and smooth.
- Press mixture into prepared container and top with salt, coconut and sliced almonds. Place in freezer for at least 1 hour until firm.
- Let sit at room temperate for 5 minutes before cutting into 16 pieces. Store in airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 weeks. Enjoy!
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