These homemade Dilly Bars are a delicious facsimile for the classic, sugar-laden treat! With a Greek yogurt ice cream base and homemade chocolate magic shell, they're both low in sugar and high in protein!
I'm NOT going to try to convince you that these taste like true Dilly Bars, but they sure are a great fake-out!
In my experience with sweets, if you can create the same mouthfeel as the original, it goes a long way in mimicking the taste.
I actually discovered this creative idea on Instagram. I'm not on there too often, as it truly is a time suckhole, but it is fun to check out the different healthy recipes people come up with!
I made them and tweaked the recipe a bit to create a lower sugar treat, and we all loved them!
Most on Instagram were calling them Buster Bars, which I've never had or heard of, so I asked my husband what he thought.
He smartly declared them healthy Dilly Bars!
Ingredients and substitutions
The base of this recipe, or the 'ice cream', is made up of Greek yogurt, peanut butter, maple syrup, stevia, and vanilla.
The chocolate shell contains cocoa powder, coconut oil (which is what hardens when cold), maple syrup, and sea salt.
- Greek yogurt - I've only used Fage, which is very thick in consistency.
- Peanut butter - I love the peanut butter taste, but if you're looking for a taste closer to vanilla ice cream, cashew butter would be excellent!
- Maple syrup
- Stevia
- Cocoa powder
- Coconut oil
- Sea salt
- Vanilla extract - If you have vanilla powder, that's even better!
How to make healthy Dilly Bars
The first step to making these is to mix together the yogurt, peanut butter, maple syrup, stevia, and vanilla.
I prefer using a combination of maple syrup and stevia to lower the sugar grams, but you can use more maple syrup if you like.
Dollop this mixture onto a parchment or wax paper-lined baking sheet or large, flat plate. Shape the mixture into four equal-sized circles and add a popsicle stick in the middle.
Freeze until solid.
Next, make your magic shell! I have a 'from scratch' recipe below that combines cocoa powder, coconut oil, maple syrup, and a pinch of salt.
Coat the bars and the shell will immediately start to harden (thank you, coconut oil!).
Freeze the bars again until the chocolate is completely solid.
Recipe notes
If you are averse to coconut, you can try a more traditional magic shell recipe.
As with all of my treats, these are MODESTLY sweet. If you like your desserts sweeter, add in some stevia or extra maple syrup.
Looking for more frozen treats? Try my Peanut Butter Banana Bars or these Chocolate Pudding Pops (a family favorite!).
Healthy Homemade Dilly Bars
Ingredients
ICE CREAM BASE:
- ¾ cup Greek yogurt
- 2 Tablespoons salted peanut butter cashew, almond, or Sunbutter would also work
- 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- few drops stevia
CHOCOLATE MAGIC SHELL:
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- ¼ cup coconut oil melted
- 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
- pinch sea salt
Instructions
- Mix together the ingredients for the ice cream base (yogurt, peanut butter, maple syrup, vanilla, and stevia). If you want to avoid stevia, add 2-3 more tablespoons of maple syrup or to your taste.
- Dollop the yogurt mixture onto a parchment or wax paper-lined baking sheet or flat plate.
- Create four equal-sized circle mounds.
- Add a popsicle stick to the middle of each circle.
- Freeze the bars until solid.
- Mix together the ingredients for the magic shell (cocoa, oil, syrup, salt). Make sure they are all room temperature or it will clump.
- Use a spoon to cover the bars with the chocolate sauce.
- Once they are all covered, place the bars back in the freezer to solidify.
- When the shell is hard, enjoy your Dilly Bars!
Notes
Nutrition
If you have a chance to try this recipe, please leave a star rating and a comment below letting me know how you liked it!
Shared with: Full Plate Thursday
Food nutters
Wow, these look so tasty, I absolutely need to try them out. Thank you for sharing.
Esmé Slabbert
Oh wow, so happy that I saw this post, pinned it! Been looking for a dilly bar for so long.
I visited you via Full Plate Thursday, 653
I linked up this week with = 42+43 and this is a friendly reminder to come and join us at SeniorSalonPitStop. You will find the linkup information under BLOGGING.
Lauren
Thanks, Esme!