Dream Bars

Last week while taking a romantic walk on the beach (seriously) Aaron asked me to veganize the dream bars from Potbelly's. He had already danced with me along the lakefront, which makes this break from what was otherwise a very lovey-dovey moment actually kind of cute, because food is romantic too, right? Anyways, I modified this recipe and Aaron more than approved. He said that the only difference was that the actual dream bars are thicker, so if you prefer them that way just double the recipe and keep the same size pan (or use the same recipe and a smaller pan).

Dream Bars (makes 12-16)

1/4 cup vegan butter, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar, divided
3/4 cup flour, divided
1/2 recipe caramel sauce
1/3 cup applesauce
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup oats

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Make the caramel sauce and put it in the fridge while you prepare the next part of the recipe.

Mix together the butter, 1/4 cup of the brown sugar, and 1/2 cup of the flour with a fork until crumbly. Grease an 8x8 pan and press the mixture into the bottom. Bake for 10 minutes.

While the crust is baking, mix together the rest of the ingredients (except the caramel). Use the same bowl as you did for the crust unless you like having more dishes to wash.

When the crust is done, spread the caramel in an even layer over the crust and then add the chocolate/coconut mixture on top. I found it easiest to gently spread of small blobs of the mixture with my hands, but do whatever works for you. Bake for 20 minutes and cool completely before cutting into bars.

On a side note, I was at Potbelly's over the summer and my friend Aimee got an actual dream bar, which was unfortunately rancid. She handled this by offering a bite to everyone with the preface that it was "really bad," which surprisingly was not a deterrent to the rest of our group trying it. Aimee and friends, I hope you like these better than that other one.