• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Chisel & Fork logo

  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes
  • DIY
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes
  • DIY
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×

    You Are Here: Desserts

    Hazelnut Chocolate Bars

    February 9, 2019 | Updated June 1, 2020 by Ryan 2 Comments

    344 shares
    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure.

    If you are looking for a healthy chocolate bars recipe that is great for a snack or dessert, these hazelnut chocolate bars are loaded with dates, hazelnuts, almond butter and vanilla extract.

    9 chocolate hazelnut bars on white wood board

    So Valentine's Day is just around the corner and that's normally an excuse to eat something sweet and decadent. But as we know these days, we can't just eat all the sugar we want. I mean we'd love to, but it's just not in the cards. While I love desserts, I can go without them but it's much more difficult for Lauren. She's definitely got a sweet tooth and realizes it.

    So these hazelnut chocolate bars are meant to combat that craving but also be much better for you than straight sugar. The secret ingredient here is the dates which is naturally sweet and can replace sugar. There are quite a few benefits of dates, which I include below.

    The other benefit is these specific bars are great for anyone that has a peanut allergy. I just happen to love hazelnuts and almond butter goes great, but you can really combine and type of nut and nut butter to your liking. From cashews to peanut butter to even tahini - they all can work with this recipe.

    In fact, if you want a good cashew bar recipe, check out Half Baked Harvest's 5 ingredient chocolate covered cashew bars, which inspired these. I may be a little biased but I truly believe for something that's actually good for you, these are the best chocolate bars out there. Hope you enjoy these chocolate hazelnut bars.

    Jump to:
    • Recipe Ingredients
    • How to Make Chocolate Bars
    • Benefits of Dates
    • Other Nuts You Can Use
    • Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
    • Other Healthy(ish) Desserts
    • Hazelnut Chocolate Bars
    chocolate hazelnut bars cut and stacked on top of each other

    Recipe Ingredients

    • Pitted medjool dates - adds a natural sweetness to the hazelnut bars.
    • Hazelnuts - gives a crunchy and flavorful texture to the filling.
    • Almond butter - helps bind everything together.
    • Vanilla extract - enhances the flavor of the filling.
    • Sea salt - salt and chocolate are the perfect marriage.
    • Dark chocolate - quality dark chocolate is a must.

    How to Make Chocolate Bars

    1. Line an 8x8 square baking dish with parchment paper. In food processor, add dates, hazelnuts, almond butter, vanilla extract and sea salt and pulse until well combined and no large chunks left, about 1-2 minutes.
    2. Use bottom of wide glass to press mixture into baking dish. Freeze for 1 hour.
    3. Place chocolate in medium bowl and heat in microwave until melted and smooth, stirring every 30 seconds. Let cool for 10 minutes. Cut the frozen hazelnut mixture into 16 bars. Dip in chocolate and top with some crushed hazelnuts.
    4. Place in fridge for 30 minutes or until chocolate is hardened. Serve immediately or store in fridge.
    process shots of how to make chocolate hazelnut bars

    Benefits of Dates

    Dates are a great secret ingredient to add sweetness to you recipe. Some of the benefits include:

    • Very Nutritious - since they are dried, they have higher calorie content than fresh fruit and are high in potassium, magnesium and Vitamin B6.
    • High in Fiber - fiber helps prevent digestive issues and is important to your overall health.
    • High in Disease-Fighting Antioxidants - have a variety of antioxidants that help reduce inflammation and promote heart health.
    • May Promote Brain Health - studies have shown that dates help lower interleukin which is associated with neurodegenerative diseases.

    Other Nuts You Can Use

    As I mentioned above, you can be really creative when it comes to these healthy chocolate bars. For the nuts, you can use any nut or seed you want, whether it's almonds, cashews, sunflower seeds, pistachios or peanuts.

    And you can replace the almond butter with peanut butter, sunflower seed butter, tahini, soynut butter or even coconut butter. You really can't go wrong with any of them! Just keep the ratios the same.

    Pro Tips/Recipe Notes

    • Don't skip adding parchment paper to the 8x8 dish so you can easily remove the hazelnut filling.
    • Use quality dark chocolate. If you don't love dark chocolate, semi-sweet or milk chocolate works as well.
    • Make sure hazelnut filling is completely frozen so you can easily dip in chocolate.
    • The hazelnut chocolate bars will last in the fridge in an airtight container for a week or in the freezer for 6 months.
    overhead shot of healthy chocolate bars on white wood board

    Other Healthy(ish) Desserts

    • Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Bites
    • Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding
    • Vegan Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies
    • Chocolate Pumpkin Cups

    If you’ve tried these hazelnut chocolate bars or any other recipe on Chisel & Fork, please let me know how it turned out in the comments below! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube to see more tasty meals and anything else I'm up to.

    overhead shot of chocolate hazelnut bars
    Print Recipe
    5 from 2 votes

    Hazelnut Chocolate Bars

    With dates, hazelnuts, almond butter and vanilla extract, these chocolate hazelnut bars are a great healthy snack if you craving something sweet.
    Prep Time15 mins
    Freezing Time1 hr
    Total Time1 hr 15 mins
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Servings: 16 bars
    Calories: 279kcal
    Author: Ryan Beck

    Ingredients

    • 8 oz pitted medjool dates (1 cup)
    • 1 cup roasted hazelnuts
    • ¾ cup almond butter
    • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
    • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
    • 12 oz dark chocolate

    Instructions

    • Line an 8x8 square baking dish with parchment paper.
    • In food processor, add dates, hazelnuts, almond butter, vanilla extract and sea salt and pulse until well combined and no large chunks left, about 1-2 minutes. Use bottom of wide glass to press mixture into baking dish. Freeze for 1 hour.
    • Place chocolate in medium bowl and heat in microwave until melted and smooth, stirring every 30 seconds. Let cool for 10 minutes.
    • Cut the frozen hazelnut mixture into 16 bars. Dip in chocolate and top with some crushed hazelnuts. Place in fridge for 30 minutes or until chocolate is hardened. Serve immediately or store in fridge.

    Notes

    • Don't skip adding parchment paper to the 8x8 dish so you can easily remove the hazelnut filling.
    • Use quality dark chocolate. If you don't love dark chocolate, semi-sweet or milk chocolate works as well.
    • Make sure hazelnut filling is completely frozen so you can easily dip in chocolate.
    • The chocolate hazelnut bars will last in the fridge in an airtight container for a week or in the freezer for 6 months.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1bar | Calories: 279kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0g | Trans Fat: 0g | Cholesterol: 0mg | Sodium: 28mg | Potassium: 100mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 0IU | Vitamin C: 0mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 2mg
    Did You Try This Recipe?I love seeing what you make so mention @ChiselandFork or tag #chiselandfork on Instagram and please give a star rating below!
    « Classic Cheese Fondue
    Weeknight Bolognese »
    344 shares

    Receive Top 25 Recipes

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Chris says

      February 09, 2019 at 5:12 pm

      5 stars
      Big hazelnut fan!

      Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    About Chisel & Fork

    ryan standing in kitchen

    Hey there! Welcome to Chisel & Fork, a blog with tasty recipes and DIY projects. I'm Ryan and here you'll find hundreds of recipes ranging from true comfort food to vegan. Oh and if you like woodworking, you might just find your next inspiration. Read More About Chisel & Fork…

    Get Your Free Copy of My Top 25 Most Popular Recipes

    title page of ecookbook

    Memorial Day Recipes

    • Smoked Boneless Chicken Thighs
    • Bison Bacon Jam Burger
    • Smoked Pork Tenderloin
    • Grilled BBQ Chicken

    Popular Recipes

    • Chocolate Chip Scones
    • Chicken Paprikash
    • Mongolian Pork
    • Lobster Ravioli

    Featured In

    logos of places where Chisel & Fork has been featured

    Footer

    ^ back to top

    Information

    • About
    • Privacy Policy
    • Accessibility

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates
    • Recipes
    • DIY

    Contact

    • Contact
    • FAQ
    • Work With Us

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2022 Chisel & Fork

    344 shares