Healthier Vegan Milk Duds
A healthy dairy free take on the popular candy, these Healthier Vegan Milk Duds are made with minimal ingredients, are simple to make and taste so delicious.
Servings 50 candies
Equipment
- Food processor
Ingredients
- 2 cups dates, pitted
- ¼ cup almond butter or other nut butter sunflower butter to make nut free
- 1-2 tbsp almond flour oat flour to make nut free
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- pinch of sea salt
- 1 cup dairy free chocolate chips, chunks or bars
Instructions
- Remove the pits from dates, if needed. Soak in hot water for 5 to 10 minutes to soften. Drain very well and pat dry.
- Add dates, almond butter or seed butter, almond flour, vanilla and salt to the bowl of food processor. Pulse a couple of times and then process until dates have broken day and mixture forms a dough. Stop and scrap the sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed.
- Roll small amounts of dough into balls and place on parchment or wax paper lined baking sheet. Use your finger to slightly press down on the center of the ball to flatten a bit. Be sure the pan will fit into freezer as the candy will need to go in the freezer. Alternatively, candy can be pressed into an even layer and cut into small squares. You may need to lightly oil the paper and knife to prevent sticking.
- Place baking sheet with caramel centers into the freezer for 20 minutes.
- Melt chocolate in a small bowl in the microwave in 15 second intervals until fully melted. Add 1-2 teaspoon coconut oil if using chocolate chips or chunks. See note below for more information.
- Dip the caramel centers a few at a time into the melted chocolate using a fork to fully coat and lift them out of the chocolate. Return to baking sheet. After all candies have been dipped, sprinkle with sea salt if desired and return to the freezer to set.
- Store candies in a freezer safe container for best texture.
Notes
Chocolate chips and chunks have added stabilizers to help the chips keep their shape when heated. This makes it more difficult to get a nice dip that coats smoothly. Adding a little coconut oil to the chocolate thins it enough to dip and coat smoothly and evenly.
