Superhero Snacks: Hawaiian Mayan Trail Bar

Image from John D-C

First to fire up his superpowers on a super snack is Scarlet Macaw, aka the "Hawaiian Mayan." Being part bird I imagine one of his fave snacks would be a trail bar, full of his favourite nuts and seeds. But being part human and a nod to the Mayan part of his persona we would have to smother it in dark chocolate! Admittedly they aren't the most good looking snack, but they are yummy!



Ingredients

For the bottom layer
2/3 cup hazelnut meal
1/3 cup almond meal
1/2 cup melted coconut oil

For the top layer
2 cups soaked pitted dates
1/4 cup pepitas
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 tablespoon quinoa flakes
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1 tablespoon chia seeds
2 tablespoons desiccated coconut

and approximately 1 1/2 cups melted dark chocolate bits

Method
Soak the dates in hot water for approximately 20 minutes. Drain and mash.

While the dates are sokaing mix the base layer ingredients with the melted coconut oil and spread over a grease proof paper lined tin. I used a 8 inch square tin. It will be fairly thin. Place in the freezer for 10 minutes to firm up.

Mix top layer ingredients with mashed dates and press over bottom layer, smoothing over. If the mixture is a bit too gooey just add some extra coconut to soak up the liquid.

Place in freezer for 15 minutes to firm up, and then cut into bars. I got 16 narrow bars, but you could make smaller bite sized ones and get 32 pieces. Place back into freezer for an hour to get hard. This makes it easier to coat and sets the chocolate quickly.

Melt the chocolate, and toss the bars into it one at a time, flipping out onto greaseproof paper. Put back in the fridge to set. You must use dark chocolate, the best you can get with bitter tones to it because the bar itself is very sweet. Also be quick to flip them out as the coconut oil will melt and the bar won't hold together very well.

Best kept in the fridge, but I doubt they will last long!

And to have a look at the game itself, head over here!