Vegan 'Kinder Bueno' Cookie Bars

Gooey cookie bars filled with a vegan, creamy hazelnut filled chocolate!

I have been waiting for a day that a vegan alternative to kinder bueno graces our shelves and could not wait to get my hands on the delicious chocolate bars by Love Raw. Their cream filled wafer bars are SO similar to kinder buenos, the filling is super creamy and tastes like hazelnut with the right amount of crispy wafer. I managed to find them in my nearest Asda, so hoping they will merge into other supermarkets so they are more accessible. they truly are a fantastic replica and I can't wait to se what other products Love Raw will present us. When I made this recipe, I wasn't sure what to put these chocolate bars with, and had the idea of a cookie but fancied something a little bigger - enter the cookie bar! Now by no means have I invented the cookie bars, but cookie dough meets hazelnut wafer chocolate is right up my street and if you follow the same path you'll love this recipe too. And now that I know about Love Raw chocolate bars, this isn't the last of the 'Kinder Bueno' category on my blog :)

If you love cookie bars and chocolate...

Check out my other recipes for more inspiration!

'Nutella' Stuffed Cookies

Easter Cookie Bars

Rocky Road

Recipe

Prep: 10 minutes

Cook: 18 minutes

Serves: 16 bars

NOTE: every ingredient I use is vegan so make sure you check your ingredients if you're following a Vegan lifestyle.

Ingredients

275g Plain flour

1 tsp Baking soda

1 tsp Salt

1 tbsp Cornflour

120g butter

50g Caster sugar

140g Light brown sugar

50g Applesauce

1 tsp Vanilla extract

250g Love Raw Bars chopped

100g Chocolate chips

Method

✿Preheat heat the oven to 180℃ and line a 21cm tray with baking paper.

✿In a standing mixer, beat together the butter and sugars until fluffy. Then add the vanilla and salt and mix.

✿Add the applesauce and cornflour and combine - the mixture will probably split but don't worry!

✿Add the flour and mix together into a cookie dough then remove from the machine. Use a wooden spoon to fold in the chocolate chips and the 3/4 of the chocolate bars.

✿Spoon into the prepared tray and top with the remaining chocolate bars pressing them on top of the cookie dough. 

✿Bake for 15-18 until golden brown and still gooey, don't over bake as the cookies will be hard, you want them to be soft and they will harden nicely as they cool down. 

✿Leave to cool before slicing into 16 bars. Best kept at room temperature in an airtight container up 1 week. Enjoy!

Christina 

xx

Apple Banana Bread

This banana bread has lots of extra juiciness and sweetness from the delicious apples!

We are super lucky in the UK, that apples can be grown all year through which makes them a sustainable fruit to be eating. Depending on what apples you can get gives a different flavour - some are super sweet or juicier or even a little bitter. For this recipe I prefer to use Braeburn, Cox or Pink Lady apples as I like the balance of green and red on the skin :) Apples and bananas pair well together as they both have different textures and levels of sweetness which is great in an easy banana bread recipe. Grating the apple makes it easier to distribute that moisture and having some in cubes gives a little crunch. I recommend a spread of almond butter to balance out that sweetness!

If you love apples and bananas....

Check out my other recipes for ore inspiration!

Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Muffins

Strawberry Banana Baked Oats

Banana Pancakes

Recipe

Prep: 15 minutes

Cook: 50 minutes

Serves: 8-10

NOTE: every ingredient I use is vegan so make sure you check your ingredients if you're following a Vegan lifestyle.

Ingredients

210g Plain flour

300g Bananas, very ripe

150g Light brown sugar

2 tsp Baking powder

1 tbsp Cinnamon

1 tsp Ginger

1 tsp Nutmeg

60g Butter, melted

1 Flax egg = 3 tbsp ground flaxseed + 6 tbsp water mixed together

2 Apples 

Method

✿Preheat the oven to 180℃ and grease and line a 2lb loaf tin with baking paper.
✿In a bowl, mash the bananas with a fork then mix with the flax egg, butter and brown sugar.
✿Stir in the flour and spices, then grate one of the apples and fold through the batter.
✿Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf tin spreading out evenly. Chop up the remaining apple and scatter on top of the batter -you may only need half of the other apple.
✿Place in the oven to bake for 25 minutes, then cover with foil and continue to bake another 25-30 minutes until a knife inserted comes out clean. 
✿Leave to cool in the loaf tin before removing and slicing. Best kept covered at room temperature up to 5 days. Enjoy!

Christina

xx

Sweet Potato Bread

Upgrade your morning toast with a slice of this beautiful sweet potato bread!

We've got banana bread, we've got pumpkin bread, but sweet potato bread is the new kid on the block! Adding fruits or vegetables to recipes like these add that divine moisture and gooey sort of texture which is why it's almost like a cake rather than a bread. This is another beautiful autumnal recipe that's perfect if you've got any leftover sweet potatoes to use up or you just fancy baking something a little different. I was blown away by the results of this bread, one of my work colleagues even said it was the best thing I have ever made - a bold statement but one I can get on board with, so I am sure you will love this bread too. I will say that I am not sure if the sweet potato can be substituted for another potato or starchy vegetable - they all have different water quantities so I would stick with the sweet potato to be on the safe side :) A slice of this toasted with a slathering of nut butter is a firm favourite of mine and it also works well with butter and cheese, random I know but try it!

If you love sweet potato and bread....

Check out my other recipes for more inspiration!

• Pumpkin Bread
• Peanut Butter Banana Bread
• Caramel Apple Pecan Loaf Cake

Recipe

Prep: 15 minutes

Cook: 50 minutes

Serves: 10 

Ingredients

• 200g plain flour
• 120ml soya milk + 1tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 100g caster sugar
• 60g light brown sugar
• 80g butter, melted
• 250g sweet potato puree - either boiled or steamed then mashed 
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ginger
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• ¼ tsp ground cloves
• Pinch of salt
• 30g pumpkin seeds
• 50g pecans, chopped

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170℃ and grease and line a 2lb loaf tin with baking paper. 
2. In a jug, mix together the soya milk and apple cider vinegar then leave to the side for 5 minutes to create a 'buttermilk'. 
3. In a large bowl, combine the flour, spices and salt. 
4. In another bowl, whisk together the butter and both sugars. Then add the sweet potato puree and whisk. 
5. Gradually add some of the flour mix and then the 'buttermilk' alternating between the two until you have a smooth batter. Try not to over mix the batter, once the ingredients are combined stop mixing. 
6. Spoon the batter into the loaf tin and smooth out. Sprinkle on top the chopped pecans and pumpkin seeds then bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes until a knife inserted comes out clean. Half way through you may need to cover the bread with foil in case the top starts to burn. 
7. Once baked, leave to cool in the tin before removing. Best kept in an airtight container up tp 5 days. Enjoy!

Christina 

xx