Okkk, I don’t know where to even start. I’m not sure what is making me happier right now - the fact that it’s the weekend (happy Saturday!) or these ice cream bars! To be honest, these Chocolate Covered Ice Cream Bars are leaving me pretty speechless. Holy crap. UNREAL. DELCIOUS. SO GOOD. MOUTH WATERING. JAW DROPPING. GIMME MORE. NEED. WANT. NEED. Haha, I’m so dramatic. I’m trying to paint a picture for you, but truth is nothing I say will do these ice cream bars justice. These are the perfect treat for you to cool off with this weekend. Made from almond flour, coconut flour, organic pretzels, a peanut butter layer, a peanut butter mousse ice cream layer, and a hard dark chocolate cover topped with extra pretzels, I’m about to change your life with this sweet treat.
A couple weeks ago I was dreaming about chocolate covered pretzels. I have a very all or nothing personality, so once I decide I want something, I’m going to go get it (I’m mainly talking about food here lol). For example, I wanted a chocolate covered pretzel, so I made an ice cream bar that far surpassed my dreams…
I’ve loved chocolate covered pretzels for as long as I can remember. They are probably one of my all time favorite “treats.” I say treats because they are not something I have often. I feel like they are one of those snacks you get at a gas station for a road trip, or something you‘re surprised with on Valentine’s Day. Now that I’m thinking of it, the only time I think I actually buy a bag of them is when we go to New Hampshire in the summer. There is a store in North Conway called Zebs – probably the coolest corner store I’ve ever been to. Every year when my family and I go up to NH we stop at this store on the way home from dinner one night and buy a bag of the dark chocolate covered pretzels. It’s a little tradition we have. I’ve been known to buy two bags – one for vacation and one for when I get home, duh! Less is not more in this case! Ok, clearly I’m facing a reality that I don’t eat them nearly enough, but that is all about to change with this new ice cream bar!
These ice cream bars are the perfect way to kick off your summer! There is nothing better than an ice cream snack to help you cool off on a hot summer day. Plus, these are so easy to make! The first time I made these bars I made them without the ice cream layer. I had that recipe all set up and ready to go on the blog, but when I was looking through my pictures and trying to decide which pictures I wanted to use, I didn’t love any of them. In result, I decided to hold off and just remake them one day, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise! I was laying in bed one night and Will asked me when I was going to make another batch of the chocolate covered pretzel bars. We had just finished having ice cream for dessert and I said to him, “how are you still thinking about dessert after we just ate all that ice cream?!” And then I literally gasped and thought, oh my gosh, that’s it! I’m adding a layer of ice cream to them!! BOOM. I wish the story for how this recipe came about was cooler, but all about honesty here…LOL. Truth be told, had I not hated those initial pictures and had we not stuffed our face with ice cream prior to Will asking me to make another batch, I probably never would have made these! Healthy has never tasted this good!
What You’ll Need for the Bar Base:
1 ½ cup almond flour
1/3 cup coconut flour
1 cup organic pretzels
¼ cup + 1 tbsp. pure maple syrup
¼ cup + 1 tbsp. coconut oil
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
What You’ll Need for PB Layer:
½ cup natural creamy peanut butter
2 scoops vital proteins collagen
2 tbsp. coconut flour
What You’ll Need for Ice Cream Layer:
2 pints of So Delicious Peanut Butter Mousse Swirl
What You’ll need for Dark Chocolate Layer:
1 cup dark chocolate
2 tbsp. coconut oil
handful of pretzels for topping
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line an 8x8 glass pan with parchment paper.
Place your pretzels into a food processor and chop until tiny pieces form. Avoid chopping the pretzels too much. You want small pieces of pretzel to show in the crust of the bar. Once chopped, set aside.
In a medium-large bowl, combine almond flour, coconut flour, and chopped pretzels. Mix well. Next add in maple syrup, coconut oil, and vanilla. Mix until fully combined. Using your hands, pour dough like mixture onto your parchment paper and press down to form the bottom layer of the bar. Bake for 20 minutes. After the bottom layer bakes, place in the fridge for about an hour. (TIP: I place the glass pan on a dishtowel in the fridge to avoid removing the crust from the pan until it cools).
Meanwhile, mix together the peanut butter, coconut flour, and collagen in a small bowl and set aside until the crust is completely cooled. About 7-10 minutes before you remove the crust, remove the ice cream from the freezer.
Once the crust is cooled, remove the crust and parchment paper from the glass pan and place onto a baking sheet. Spread the peanut butter filling evenly on top of the crust. I find using your hands is the easiest way to spread it evenly.
Next, layer the ice cream on top of the peanut butter filling. Again, I recommend using your hands or a rubber spatula to evenly spread it across the entire crust. Place in the freezer for 15 minutes to let it set.
In a small saucepan over low-medium heat, melt your chocolate chips and coconut oil. Make sure to stir the chocolate consistently so that it doesn’t burn. Pour the melted chocolate over the ice cream layer. Keep in mind this will be messy. You want to do this step as fast as you can because once the warm chocolate hits the cold ice cream it will immediately start to harden. Once you have used up all of your chocolate, place additional pretzels on top and place back into the freezer for at least 2 hours before cutting. Store in the freezer for as long as you would like and ENJOY!
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