CHOCOLATE ALMOND BUTTER PROTEIN SQUARES
These delicious protein squares are a super quick, no-bake snack to make and get into the fridge. 10 minutes is probably all you need to make these. These squares satiate quickly; highly nutritious and a tasty snack to satisfy your sweet tooth! I usually have one or two squares with my tea in the morning and I am happy for hours. Grab a couple of these after your morning workout or for a pick-me-upper in the early afternoon. Later than that and the chocolate could interfere with your sleep.
For this recipe, you will need creamy almond butter. Usually when you buy a jar of almond butter, the oil has separated and sits on top. No problem! Transfer all the almond butter to a food processor and process until smooth. If it is not turning smooth enough, you can add 1 tbsp (15 mL) light-tasting olive oil and process. That should do it. If your almond butter is old and crumbly and not smooth, adding olive oil bit by bit to it while processing should get it to be smooth and creamy again. Use a light olive oil. The extra virgin green olive oil will be too strong tasting and will overwhelm the flavor of the squares, which you do not want obviously.
I usually don't have the patience to wait for these to set, so I place the pan with the prepared squares in the freezer for 20 minutes to half an hour and then I cut them into squares and place in the refrigerator.
When processing the almond butter with all the ingredients, and you notice it is not quite smooth enough, you can add a bit more cream or coconut oil. I usually add 1 tbsp (15 mL) at a time.
If you would like some for your freezer for another day, double the recipe and freeze the one batch. You can freeze them for up to a month, if you like.
To prevent the squares from sticking to the pan, spray the pan with cooking spray or grease with butter or oil and then line the pan with parchment paper.
If you don't have almond butter, you could just as easily make
these with a creamy peanut butter. Technically, you could make these
with just about any nut butter, such as cashew butter, that you prefer;
just make sure to sweeten to your taste. Seed butter would also work.
These protein bar squares are my favorites to make in a hurry! To change things up, you could add a little almond or vanilla extract to the gluten-free squares. If you like you could lightly sprinkle the chocolate topping with sea salt. The nutrition in these squares makes them a good addition to your snack arsenal. I love desserts that also contain good nutrients and natural flavors.
INGREDIENTS:
3/4
cup creamy almond butter (175 mL)
1/2
cup protein powder (125 mL)
Liquid sweetener to equal 1/4 cup sugar (60 mL)
2 tbsp honey substitute (30 mL)
1 tbsp cream, OR coconut oil (15 mL)
Chocolate Topping:
3/4
cup sugarless chocolate chips (175 mL)
1/2
cup almond butter (125 mL)
Few drops sweetener, to taste
INSTRUCTIONS:
Spray an 8 or 9-inch (20 or 23 cm) square baking dish with cooking oil
spray. Line the dish with parchment
paper.
In
food processor, combine almond butter, protein powder, liquid sweetener, honey
substitute and cream, OR coconut oil.
Process until smooth. Add more
cream or coconut oil, if necessary, 1 tbsp (15 mL) at a time. Spread mixture evenly in prepared dish. Use
the parchment paper to straighten and thicken the edges. Pour Chocolate Topping over top and
refrigerate until set.
Chocolate Topping: In microwaveable bowl, nuke chocolate chips
in 30 second increments until melted.
Stir in almond butter and sweetener, to taste.
Yield: 20 squares
1
serving
137.5
calories
4.2
g protein
11.1
g fat
0.6 g fiber
3.1
g net carbs
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