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Chocolate should be it’s own food group. I don’t know about you but it’s on the top of my food pyramid. I like to end each day with it, even if it’s just a bite or two. I remember as a newlywed, my mother in law offering me a row of chocolate from her dark chocolate Lindt bar she kept stashed in her cupboard. And I thought, this lady has things figured out! From then on, I’ve carefully maintained my own mom chocolate stash – it’s very important guys, do not let the chocolate run out! When the chocolate runs out we have to resort to chocolate chips, clearly an inferior snack. I digress. Let’s get on with the main star of this post!

So you know now that I have a sweet tooth! I’m guessing you might as well? In keeping with the balanced, healthy lifestyle I aim to maintain, I like to make my baking as “healthy” as possible. Long ago I sought to cut out the most processed culprits with the least nutritional value – white flour and refined sugar. Not as easy at it sounds, but over the years I’ve accumulated a vault of exceptional “healthy” treats that I rotate through regularly and I’m here to share the goods! I honestly prefer these recipes to their standard white flour, white sugar counterparts. I find conventional baking obnoxiously sweet and unsettling to my stomach. Using dark chocolate, natural sweeteners, and gluten free alternatives really lets the flavours shine and leaves me feeling satisfied, instead of sick.

This brings me to our recipe today, Tagalong Bars! Now, I have a confession to make… I’ve never actually eaten a real “Tagalong Bar”, nor did I know what they were prior to making them. The pictures of the various recipes were enough to convince me that these were something worth eating! Apparently, Tagalong Bars are a form of girl scout cookie beloved by many. Being the Canadian I am, perhaps that’s why I haven’t encountered them as of yet? I’m sorry to say, but girl scout cookies in my neck of the woods do not tempt me one bit…

If you also are in the dark about Tagalong bars, let me describe them to you. They start with a rich shortbread crust, followed by a layer of gooey peanut butter caramel, finished with a gorgeous layer of dark chocolate. It’s like a twix bar and a peanut butter cup had a magically healthy baby. I know, right? It’s all the best things in one dessert.

Let’s talk ingredients. We’ve made some strategic swaps to make these bars much more nutritious so we can enjoy them with happy tummies (sorry, my mom lingo coming out). Here’s how’ve we done it…

Almond flour instead of white flour. Instead of white flour in the shortbread, we’re using my absolute favourite alternative in baking applications – almond flour! I find it performs very similarly to white flour with more of a nutty flavour. You’ll want to look for almond flour made with blanched almonds (no skins) for a nice smooth, fine texture. I buy mine at Costco, the Kirkland brand is excellent quality at an awesome price. If you don’t have access to affordable almond flour, not to worry! You can make your own by blitzing up some sliced blanched almonds in your food processor or blender. Just be carefully to pulse only until they reach the texture you desire – if you just let the machine run on end you will end up with almond butter. Almond butter is great, but it won’t help you for this recipe!

Ghee or coconut oil instead of butter. Remember we talked about this in the dairy free waffles post – I hate to admit it but you should know that butter performs superiorly in baking applications to its coconut oil counterpart. Your best bet to getting the same results is to use ghee, clarified butter that has had the milk solids separated off making it lactose free. However, I understand that not everyone wants to acquire a bunch of specialty ingredients, so I’ve gone ahead and made these with coconut oil. They still taste amazing, I’ve just noticed the texture is a little squishier. Store them in the fridge and you won’t notice the difference! At room temperature, however, they may get a little fall apart-y (very technical term). If I’m not making the bars for someone with a lactose allergy, I will just use butter and you should feel free to do so as well. I am happy to report that in the peanut butter caramel and the chocolate topping, coconut oil performs beautifully and I did not even notice the substitution.

Coconut cream instead of heavy cream. I’m so happy to have discovered this substitution because it really is magical. Coconut cream performs just as well as heavy cream in any recipe I’ve tried. You just have to make sure to get full fat canned coconut milk and use the separated coconut cream that will rise to the top of the can. The milkier portion of the can is perfect for smoothies, soups, or any recipe that calls for milk.

Coconut sugar and honey instead of white sugar. These are my go to sweeteners in baking. Coconut sugar is my favourite dry sweetener alternative to refined sugar, it works like a charm as you can substitute it cup for cup. It tastes identical to brown sugar, it has about 1/3 of the impact of white sugar on the glycemic index (how much it spikes your blood sugar level), and it contains beneficial nutrients and vitamins derived from the coconut palm. For liquid sweetener, I love using honey (maple syrup is a close second). Honey is also lower on the glycemic index than white sugar and is packed with beneficial antioxidants and nutrients. I’ve used honey in the peanut butter caramel filling, I love how it gives a nice gooey texture. Because we’re bringing the caramel to a boil, now is not the time to use your beautiful, high-quality, local, unpasteurized honey. Save that for raw applications so you can enjoy all the wonderful benefits. I’m just using a budget grocery store unpasteurized liquid honey in this recipe.

Natural peanut butter instead of processed peanut butter. Have you made the switch to natural peanut butter in your home yet? For me, it’s a no brainer. Just compare the two labels side by side. Natural peanut butter, ingredients are… peanuts. That’s it! Conventional peanut butter spread, let’s take the Kraft brand for example – we’ve got peanuts, soybean oil, corn maltodextrin, sugar, hydrogenated vegetable oil, salt, mono- and diglycerides. Who needs all that extra junk in there? Not us friends, not us. Now, I know the whole oil separation situation that occurs in natural peanut butter is annoying, so let me give you a hot tip. When you first open it, give your jar of natural peanut butter a good stir, getting right down to the bottom to fully incorporate the separated oil with the harder peanut butter below (admittedly a job I don’t enjoy). The good news is you only have to do this once, then keep it in the fridge and it will stay smooth and homogenous! Besides the obvious health benefits, it really does taste better. The peanuts take centre stage and you get a rich deep peanut flavour without a bunch of added sugar and hydrogenated oil.

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Everything in moderation. Listen guys, sometimes “healthy” baking gets a bad rap. Honey and coconut sugar will still spike your blood sugar, albeit much less than white sugar. Peanut butter, coconut cream, almond flour, and coconut oil are high in fat (though considered ‘healthy’ fats) and calories, even though they’re considered “low carb”. If you eat the whole pan thinking it’s a “healthy” dessert, you’ve missed the objective. Making these healthy switches is going to help when you consume them in moderate amounts. One of these tagalong bars is low in carbohydrates, includes a moderate amount of low glycemic sweetener, and a moderate amount of healthy fats. 10 of these bars in one seating do not meet the same specifications – you get my drift? Portion size is just as important as the ingredient list in terms of maintaining a healthy diet (wha-wha-whaaa… sorry to be the bearer of news!)

Onwards and forwards, let’s get to the recipe. These bars are one of my favourite desserts, they are rich and satisfying and I guarantee no one will ever guess they are made with “healthy” ingredients. If you have friends or family with gluten and/or dairy intolerances, they will be thrilled. These poor folks are often left with the awkward allergy sensitive treats that look and tase like artificial display food. Give them the goods! Everyone will thank you 🙂

If you make these, let me know how it goes in the comment section – I’d love to hear from you! Also, let me know if you have any questions about healthy ingredient substitutions or healthy baking in general. Talk to you soon!

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This post includes affiliate links, meaning I made a small commission at no extra cost to you, should you decide to click through the links and purchase anything. These are my honest opinions and I would never recommend anything to you I didn’t absolutely love and use on a regular basis. Hope you find these lists helpful!

Yupik Coconut Sugar – Coconut sugar is my go to dry sweetener. It has about half as high of an impact on the Glycemic Index (how much it spikes your blood sugar) compared with table sugar, and contains many beneficial nutrients derived from the coconut palm. I don’t notice any sacrifice in taste or texture when I use coconut sugar in my baking. This brand is a great price and they have excellent customer service. One time I received a bag that had ripped open in the box and spilled everywhere and they sent a new one out right away, no questions asked.

Almond Flour – This is my favourite gluten free flour for baking. It is low in carbs and high in protein and fats, making it a great choice for low carb baking. This almond flour is made from finely milled blanched almonds which provides the optimal texture for baking. The Yupik brand has been the most reliable for baking ingredients on Amazon, it is consistently very good quality!

Natural Peanut Butter – This is a staple in our house, I love that the only ingredient is peanuts! We use it on toast and pancakes, as a dip for apples, in smoothies, in baking… it’s absolutely delicious! Packed with healthy fats and protein with no added sugar, natural peanut butter is excellent choice for nutrient dense snacks.