It’s almost Halloween, so I decided to make another classic candy that sadly, I can no longer eat. So, I figured, why not make Snickers? It sounds easy enough. (Ha ha) The Carmel was easy enough to make, but the nougat was a little tougher. But with some research, some trial and error, and an amazing friend helping me troubleshoot, I finally got, you guessed it, Vegan Snickers. The recipe for the Carmel was inspired by Claire from Bon Appetite’s Gourmet Bakes. The Nougat is based off of The Spruce Eats. The link to their recipes are down below.
Caramel:
Ingredients:
2 1/2 c roasted peanuts (crushed)
1 1/2 c granulated sugar
1/4 c corn syrup
1/4 c water
1c coconut cream (chilled)*
4 tbsp vegan butter (I used Earth Balance, but you can use whatever brand you want)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:
Line an 8x8 inch pan with wax paper and spray it with cooking spray (just to be safe. This stuff is sticky)
Place the peanuts in a gallon sized ziplock bag and crush the peanuts so they’re about the size of peas
Pour the peanuts into a medium/large sized bowl (you’ll mix the caramel and peanuts in it so you need room for that) and set aside
Put the sugar, corn syrup, and water in a medium sized saucepan and place over medium heat
Stir continuously until the sugar melts, the mixture becomes clear, and it starts to boil
Once boiling, stop stirring, place your candy thermometer on the side of the sauce pan, and wipe the sides down with water and a pastry brush so there are no sugar crystals left on the sides
Cook the sugar until it reaches 245 degrees F (or whatever your temperature is depending on your elevation)
It should be a dark amber color once it hits this temperature as well
Pull it off the heat and pour in the vegan butter, coconut cream, and vanilla extract and stir (it might bubble up and look crazy for a few seconds, but keep stirring, it will calm down)
Pour the caramel into the bowl with the peanuts and mix them together
Pour the peanut and caramel mixture into the 8 x 8 inch pan and spread out evenly
Stick in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight to let it set
While you’re waiting for it to set or after it’s set, make the Nougat
*Tip: Depending on what brand coconut cream you have, it might harden up in the fridge. Once you measure out how much you need, stick in the microwave for about 30 - 45 seconds
I also melted the butter just to make sure everything got mixed together well
Nougat:
Ingredients:
1 c corn syrup
1/2 c water
1 1/2 c granulated sugar
2 tbsp aquafaba
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 c creamy peanut butter
Put the creamy peanut butter in a double boiler and let it slowly warm up (this will help it to mix into the sugar syrup/mixture better)
In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, and water and place over medium heat
Stir continuously until the sugar dissolves then insert the candy thermometer and wipe the sides down with water and a pastry brush to get rid of all the sugar crystals
Let the sugar reach 246 degrees F
While the sugar is boiling, begin whipping the aquafaba. Or you can start whipping the aquafaba before cooking the sugar and finish whipping it while the sugar heats up to 246 F)
Once bubbles start to form, add the cream of tartar and continue to whip the mixture until it starts to get shiny and stiff peaks form (when you lift up the whisk, the peaks will stay and won’t flop over)
Once everything’s ready, (aquafaba whipped and sugar cooked), turn the mixer on high, and pour the sugar syrup into the aquafaba and whip it for a few minutes until well incorporated
Add the vanilla and peanut butter while the mixer is still whipping
Mix until the candy begins to thicken and get glossy
Transfer it to the 8x8 pan with the caramel in it
Spread the candy out evenly, and put it in the fridge for at least 2 hours or until set
While it’s in the fridge, melt the chocolate
Chocolate:
Ingredients:
1/2 lb Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Bar (or whatever chocolate you want)
1/4 lb Trader Joe’s Vegan Milk Chocolate Bar: I used about a full bar of this (or whatever chocolate you want)
2 tsp Coconut oil
Directions:
Cut the chocolate into chunks if you’re not using chocolate chips
Over a double boiler, melt the chocolate and coconut oil until smooth
Pour into a bowl or a shallow pan so that you can dunk the caramel and nougat in it
Let the chocolate sit for about 10 minutes to let it cool (you don’t want it to melt the caramel and nougat while you’re dipping it)
Take the caramel and nougat out of the fridge and place it on a silicon baking mat, or a well greased surface
Cut into whatever sizes you want (I cut them into fairly small pieces because it’s a lot of sugar)
Dip the pieces of candy into the chocolate and place on a foiled lined or silicon lined pan
Once all the pieces are dipped, place them in the fridge for at least ten minutes or until you’re ready to serve them
(Note: they taste great cold or at room temperature)
Tips and Tricks:
So I looked up different recipes for nougat, and as per usual, I just got more confused haha. So here are some tips that might help, but I want to try this recipe again and test them myself. So they very well might not work. Why I’m putting this on here then? I have no idea. But here it is, so do what you want with this information.
Make sure the bowl is at room temperature or slightly warmer so the sugar doesn’t cool and stick to the bowl right away
Use the paddle to mix the sugar so that it doesn’t get whipped all around the bowl and stay
Spray the bowl with a light amount of cooking oil so the sugar doesn’t stick to the sides
Helpful information about Aquafaba:
Original Recipe Links:
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