Salted Tahini Caramel Walnut Bars

Start by making the crust. In a medium bowl, whisk tahini, maple syrup, and melted coconut oil until combined. The mixture will likely tighten up because that’s just how tahini is sometimes. It’s okay, just keep moving forward.

Stir flours, flaxseed meal and salt in a separate bowl and then use your hands to work this into the wet ingredients. It’s a good idea to rub your hands with just a little bit of oil or water before you mix the sticky dough to prevent it from caking onto your hands completely. Work the flours into the wet ingredients until completely incorporated.

Lightly grease an 8×8 baking dish with oil and press the crust into the bottom in an even layer. Refrigerate for 6–8 hours.

For the filling, in a high-powered blender or food processor, pulse dates, walnuts, and tahini until smooth. Add vanilla extract and sea salt, and pulse again to combine. Transfer this to the baking dish with the crust pressed into the bottom and spread it into an even layer. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

For the chocolate topping, in a double-boiler or microwave safe bowl, melt chocolate chips with coconut oil until smooth. Pour over the date filling and tilt pan forward, backward, and sideways, alternating to cover the filling in a smooth layer. Sprinkle with roughly chopped walnuts and refrigerate until chocolate has set, about 1 hour.

When ready to cut into the bars, carefully run a knife along the perimeter of the baking dish to loosen bars from the edge of the dish. Poke knife into the center of the bars and cut through. The first couple of bars may crack and ooze the filling. That is okay, it’s difficult to cut the chocolate in a smooth fashion. Divide bars into 4 columns each way and cut from there to yield 16 bars.

Refrigerate until ready to eat to prevent chocolate from melting. Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 1 month or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Enjoy!