What I love about Chocolate Hazelnut Crunch Bars
For starters, these Chocolate Hazelnut Crunch Bars are absolutely delicious! They’re a perfect blend of peanut butter, chocolate, and coconut oil creates a rich, smooth base. What’s more, crispy rice cereal and chopped hazelnuts add an irresistible crunch. Also, they’re naturally gluten-free, you can easily make them dairy-free by choosing the right chocolate!
Best of all, they come together in just 10 minutes, and the fridge handles the rest. These bars are a stunning yet simple dessert for parties or potlucks. The hazelnuts not only enhance the flavour and texture but they show up like beautiful flecks throughout. And for an extra touch of elegance, garnish the tops with roasted hazelnuts. It’s optional, but it makes them look as good as they taste!
Recipe Notes
A few things to keep in mind:
- Chocolate chips – To start, I like to use dark chocolate or a mix of dark and semi-sweet. You can use chocolate chunks or chips for this. You can substitute for dairy-free if you prefer!
- Peanut butter – Next, you can use peanut butter or almond butter here. I just love the combination of peanut butter and chocolate. Also, I recommend using a natural peanut butter to reduce the amount of added sugar, preservatives etc. Try to find one that has just one ingredient: peanuts.
- Crispy rice cereal – I like to use an organic, sprouted rice cereal but any kind will work. You will need crispy rice cereal and not puffed rice cereal for this recipe.
- Hazelnuts – Oh I love hazelnuts, especially paired with chocolate! Check the bulk section for them. This way, you don’t have to buy a big bag. Or if you do have to buy a bag, just take what you need and freeze the rest until later!
FAQ
Yes! Simply swap out regular chocolate for dairy-free/vegan chocolate and they will be completely dairy-free.
Yes. Almonds, walnuts or pecans would all work as well. After roasting, if you’re using almonds, you will use the tea towel method to remove the skins just as you would with the hazelnuts. If you are using walnuts or pecans, you’ll skip this step.
Yes. Almond butter or cashew butter would also work!
I recommend storing these crunch bars in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Chocolate Hazelnut Crunch Bars
Equipment
- 1 Small Saucepan
- 1 8" x 8" Square Pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chopped
- 1 cup dark chocolate chopped
- 1 cup smooth natural peanut butter
- 1/2 cup real maple syrup
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 2 1/2 cups crispy rice cereal
- 1 cup hazelnuts
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Line an 8"x8" pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- Roast the hazelnuts: preheat the oven to 350F and add 1 cup of hazelnuts to a sheet pan. Roast the hazelnuts in the preheated oven for 10 minutes.
- Let the hazelnuts cool completely. Place a tea towel on top of the hazelnuts and roll your hands over them to remove the skins. Set aside 9-12 hazelnuts for garnishing and finely chop the rest using a food processor or a knife.
- In a small saucepan, add the chocolate chips, peanut butter, honey and coconut oil and stir over medium-heat until melted and smooth.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and salt. Fold in the chopped hazelnuts and rice crispy cereal until fully coated in chocolate.
- Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and press into all of the corners until evenly dispersed and compacted.
- Press the reserved, whole hazelnuts on top of the mixture and cover the pan with a tea towel or bowl cover. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour to set up.
- Cut into squares and enjoy!
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