These Dark Chocolate Nut Bars are a copy cat of the sinfully delicious (and expensive!) KIND Bars! Roasted nuts stirred into a vanilla honey mixture and topped with dark chocolate and sea salt! My kind of snacking!
This final guest post is by one of my favorite people! Kayle from The Cooking Actress was my very first blogging friend! I've met up with her several times (the very first time was right before she left NYC) and she is just as sweet and effervescent in person as she is on her blog! Girl has energy!
We bonded instantly over our shared love of peanut butter and chocolate, brown butter and chocolate chip cookies. We are like eating soul mates. #fact
Between acting, planning her dream wedding, and being all-around perfect I am not sure how she has the time to bake and cook all the deliciousness that she posts! But she brings us mouthwatering treats like this Chocolate Chip Cookie Oat Pie and these Flourless Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies (seriously, I die). AND (randomly) she has the lockdown on potato recipes. If you need inspiration for potatoes...Kayle is your girl. But on to these amazing Copy Cat KIND bars!!!!
Hellooooo hello! My name is Kayle and I usually blog over at "The Cooking Actress" but I am SO excited to be popping over here today to fill in for Lindsey while she enjoys the super exciting world of culinary school while living in NEW YORK CITY. Fun fact everybody-I used to live in NYC. That's where Lindsey and I met (in real life, that is). I was in the midst of my move (I now live in Ohio) and she was checking out culinary schools (which...obviously worked out). And another fun fact: her hubby's family is from the Cleveland area, which is near where I live. SO when they were in town for Thanksgiving I got to meet up with the unbelievably gorgeous, fun, and (of course) talented Lindsey again! And, when I was moving, Lindsey did me a solid and guest posted for moi. So now I get to return the favor!
Enough gushing about my girlmance with Lindsey-let's chat about these tasty bars. Have you ever had a KIND bar? It's a sort of granola bar like situation and they're pretty delicious. These are a copy-cat, homemade, and overall BETTER version of those bars! They're pretty simple to make, too, guys! You just mix together some nuts and other little things. Then you cook together some molasses and honey and such. Pour that over the nuts. Mix. Press into pan. Cool. Drizzle with deliiiightful dark chocolate (which makes life worth living) and top with sea salt because it's necessary. And then you have a healthy little snack! They're crunchy and slightly sweet and just a touch salty and really...they're good.
You're gonna love 'em!
Lindsey here! Don't forget to hop on over to The Cooking Actress for more delicious treats and home cooked meals from Kayle! And since I know you don't want to miss a single recipe, you should follow her on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest! Enjoy these bars! I know I will!
Dark Chocolate Nuts & Sea Salt Bars {KIND Bars Copy Cat}
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted whole almonds (roasted)
- ½ cup dry roasted peanuts
- ½ cup walnuts (chopped)
- ⅓ cup puffed rice cereal
- 1 tbsp. flaxseed meal
- ⅛ cup molasses (or ¼ cup brown rice syrup)
- 2 tbsp. honey
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- ½ tsp. sea salt (+extra for sprinkling on top)
- ½ cup dark chocolate chips (melting wafers, or chopped chocolate bar)
Instructions
- Line an 8 inch pan with parchment paper (or aluminum foil) -leaving some overhang over the sides. Coat with nonstick cooking spray.
- Lightly grease a large bowl and combine the nuts, puffed rice cereal, and flaxseed meal.
- In a small saucepan combine the molasses (or rice syrup), honey, vanilla extract, and ½ tsp. sea salt and bring to a boil over medium heat. Whisk constantly and cook for 2 minutes as it foams and turns an amber brown color.
- Immediately pour the syrup mixture over top the nut mixture and stir to evenly combine. Evenly press into the prepared pan, making sure there are no gaps. Let cool for at least 20 minutes.
- Using the overhang, lift the block out of the pan and place on a cutting surface. Cut into 10 even bars (cut 5 times vertically and once horizontally) and allow to cool completely before drizzling with chocolate.
- To drizzle chocolate-melt chocolate in a microwave safe bowl in 30 second increments (on high), stirring with a fork after each 30 seconds until fully melted and fairly thin. Use the fork to drizzle the chocolate over the cooled bars. Sprinkle more sea salt on top of the chocolate. Let sit at room temperature (or refrigerate to speed up this process) until the chocolate has set.
- Store bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week or freeze for up to 3 months (to be served later--let them thaw at room temperature before eating).
Notes
Makes 10 bars.
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Jessica says
Why is the there puffed rice cereal in the bar? The original dark chocolate nut and seal salt bar does not contain any kind of crispy rice or anything. Is this a necessary ingredient for the recipe? I'd rather not have any cereal in mine.
Lindsey says
Hi Jessica, this was a guest post to help me out while I started pastry school, so I'm not entirely sure. My opinion is you absolutely can. You might want to try using a little less honey and molasses just to start out because you'll have less total ingredients. I am sure they would be delicious either way!
Boyan Minchev says
I saw this recipe on Pinterest and I just want to leave a comment and let you know that this recipe is amazing. I will definitely cook this for my girlfriend 🙂 she will be amazed..... Thank you for sharing this delight with us.
Lindsey says
Haha you are most welcome!
Sunflower says
Sounds like a delicious recipe ! Thank you . But I was wondering if threes a substitute to both the molasses or the rice syrup ?
Lindsey says
I'm not sure. You could try honey.
K says
Substitute for molasses and brown rice syrup , don't get either here
Lindsey says
Hi Karishma! You could try doubling the honey to 1/4 cup instead, or maple syrup might work in place of the molasses. If you use maple syrup, I would cook it down to thicken it to consistency of honey first or your bars might not stick together. Happy baking!
Laura Dembowski says
Kayle is one of my favorite bloggers! She's so sweet. These bars look ah-mazing and like they'd make a fantastic breakfast.
Lindsey says
Kayle is the sweetest!
Christin@SpicySouthernKitchen says
Kind Bars are my favorite! Love the nuts and chocolate. These look even better. 🙂
Jessica @ Sweet Menu says
Theses are gorgeous Kayle! Aren't blogging friends the best?!
Lindsey says
They really are! Come back to the States, Jess! Forever!
Valya @ Valya's Taste of Home says says
Yum! Looking lovely 🙂
Lindsey says
Thanks, Valya!
Juliana says
I love the idea of all kind of nuts in this bars, with chocolate and a touch of sea salt...perfect for snacking...they sure look very inviting!
Thanks for the recipe...I hope you both are having a wonderful week 🙂
Lindsey says
Agreed! A touch of salt does it for me every time!
Julia | JuliasAlbum.com says
Lovely bars! Lots of favorite stuff in them: nuts, chocolate, sea salt. Craving it for a snack!
Lindsey says
Me too!
Ella-HomeCookingAdventure says
They look divine:) I am sure I couldn't stop to one bar
Lindsey says
Agreed! Chocolate and sea salt get me every time!
Kelly - Life Made Sweeter says
These look absolutely incredible!! KIND bars are my weakness and this entire batch would be gone in no time at our house! Love the dark chocolate drizzle! Thanks for sharing Kayle and Lindsey 🙂
marcie says
I LOVE KIND bars! I did my own copycat recipe a while back so it's fun to see somebody else's take. These look outrageously good...my favorites always contain dark chocolate and sea salt! 🙂
Lindsey says
Did you>? I'll have to go check them out! I love KIND bars but they are really more like dessert!
Liz says
These chocolate nut bars look like a marvelous way to get my chocolate fix without eating a huge slab of cake! Perfect snack food! Thanks, Kayle and Lindsey!!!
Lindsey says
Definitely! Although it would be so hard to just eat a little bit!
Amy @ Thoroughly Nourished Life says
Oh my! I think I would be in danger of eating the whole batch of these straight out of the pan! So many of my favourite, favourite things. Also, blogging friends are awesome. I finally get to meet up with one of my best blog friends in October! She lives in Philadelphia and I live in Brisbane, Australia so we are super excited!
Lindsey says
Me too, Amy!!! That is crazy that you are able to meet up with your blogging friend from Philly! I know the feeling when two worlds meet just for a minute, and it is amazing! You'll have so much fun!
Shashi at RunninSrilankan says
I love me some Kind bars - but they are on the pricey side so I don't get them often - so this recipe is much appreciated - thanks Lindsey and Kayle!
Kayle (The Cooking Actress) says
You're THE SWEETEST! Thanks so much for the adorbs intro lady 😛
Lindsey says
You are the sweetest!!!! XXOXO Thank you for guest posting! It has seriously been such a help! And these bars?! OMG