Vegan Smoked Almond Dark Chocolate Turtles and Caramel

Enjoy these vegan dark chocolate turtles with smoked almonds and caramel for a tasty treat. Roasted almonds are covered in a rich homemade caramel, then dipped in dark chocolate and topped with smoked almonds. The flavors and textures make it impossible to resist.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup raw almonds
• 1 cup vegan dark chocolate chips
• 1 cup pitted dates
• 2 tablespoons almond butter
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

Start by heating the oven to 350F 175C

Place the almonds on a baking sheet and roast them for 8 to 10 minutes, until they are just barely toasty

Allow them to totally cool down

In the meantime, use a double boiler or the microwave to melt the dark chocolate chips, stirring every so often until the mixture is smooth

To make a sticky caramel-like sauce, put pitted dates, almond butter, maple syrup, sea salt, and vanilla extract in a food processor and blend them together

Put a small amount of the caramel mixture on each almond and press it down so that it forms a turtle shape

Put the caramel almond turtles on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper

Freeze for 10 to 15 minutes to make them firm

As soon as the turtles are hard, dip each one in the melted chocolate so that they are all covered

Put them back on the baking paper

While the chocolate is still wet, put some smoked almonds on top of each turtle

Put it back in the fridge for another 10 to 15 minutes so the chocolate sets

Keep in the fridge in a container that won't let air in until you're ready to serve