This Coffee Crisp Smoothie tastes so much like the candy bar, you’d never believe it was made with 4 simple and healthy ingredients! Enjoy this vegan and refined-sugar-free subtly coffee-flavoured smoothie as a delicious breakfast or snack.
I know what you’re thinking – what the heck is coffee crisp? Is it:
a) crystallized coffee,
b) coffee with crisps thrown in,
c) coffee-flavoured crisps,
d) a chocolate bar with layers of crispy vanilla wafers and foamed coffee soft candy with a milk chocolate coating
If you said D then I’m going to go ahead and guess that you’re either Canadian or a candy connoisseur. OR you’re just really good at taking multiple choice tests and know that if there’s three short options and one long one, then the right answer is probably the long one because otherwise why would the teacher go through all the trouble of thinking up a super long answer if it didn’t need to be there.
But don’t quote me on that one. Study hard and know you stuff because teachers are tricksy.
Anyways! Coffee Crisp is indeed a chocolate bar that we have up here in Canada, and to be completely honest, I feel pretty bad for anyone who’s never had a chance to experience it’s awesomeness because it.is.GOOD. It’s actually tied for the coveted #1 spot as far as my favourite chocolate bars go, with the other one being KitKat. Can you tell I have a thing for chocolate bars that have crispy wafers layered with cream and chocolate? Mmm mmm good.
That’s another thing!
Apparently calling it a “chocolate bar” is a Canadian thing too, since almost everyone I’ve talked to that lives outside of Canada calls it a “candy bar.” This goes hand in hand with the whole “pop” vs. “soda” debate. And “toque” vs. “beanie.”
Funny story. The first time I heard someone say “beanie,” I thought they were talking about beanie babies. You remember those, right? The stuffed toys that the world went crazy over in the 90’s? I’ll admit that I got totally caught up in that craze, and there are probably still boxes and boxes of beanie babies sitting in my parents’ basement. All with their tags perfectly in tact, of course. Oh man. Good times.
But no more tangents! Let’s get to the good stuff.
So I promise the whole Coffee Crisp shpeel had a point. And that point was to open the door for this coffee crisp smoothie that you see before your eyeballs.
There are no actual Coffee Crisps in it, but I feel like I got the flavours down so.freaking.close, that it’s basically like a drinkable candy bar, only way healthier… which is great for Coffee Crisp lovers, people who never got to experience the amazingness that is Coffee Crisp, or anyone who likes delicious smoothies.
The base is made up of dates* and oats*. That’s it! So simple, so good for you, and so ridiculously close to cookie dough or candy in flavour, that you’d never believe it was refined-sugar-free and actually healthy.
It’s also great for breakfast given the whole caffeine thing. I wouldn’t say the coffee flavour is overly strong since it’s pretty subtle in the chocolate bar (more like a sweet mild latte), but you can always add more coffee if you want something with a little more kick. I used this instant espresso powder,* which I’ve been loving on hardcore, but you can also use instant coffee or a mix of strong brewed coffee and almond milk.
Happy eating!
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Coffee Crisp Smoothie
- Total Time: 5 mins
- Yield: 1 serving 1x
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup (45 g; 3 large or 5 small) dates, pitted
- 1/4 cup (20 g) rolled oats
- 3/4 cup (180 ml) unsweetened almond milk*
- 1/4 – 1/2 tsp instant espresso or instant coffee granules*
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients into the bowl of a high-speed blender and blend until smooth and creamy. This smoothie can be made in advance and stored in the fridge for extra thickness and creaminess!
- For the chocolate “coating,” I just mixed a little bit of unsweetened cocoa powder with maple syrup until I got the consistency I wanted (maybe 1/2 tsp cocoa with 1 tsp syrup?). Drizzle that on top of the smoothie, and then sprinkle on some crunchies (cereal, bits of a cookie or candy bar, etc.).
Notes
* If you don’t have instant coffee, use 1/2 cup (120 ml) of strong brewed coffee with 1/4 cup (60 ml) of almond milk.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
Looking for more healthy candy inspired recipes? Try one of these!
Chunky Monkey Greek Yogurt Pancakes
Almond Joy Oatmeal Cookies
Chunky Monkey Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
*Disclosure: Some of the links included in this post may be affiliate links, meaning I’ll earn a small commission if you purchase through them, at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I personally use and believe will add value to my readers. Thank you so much for helping support Spoons!
This is one of the most delicious things I have ever tasted- and so simple. Win, win!
This is way way belated but I thought you should know
A) I love all your smoothie recipes
B) Coffee Crisp sounds amazing
C) Me and most other Americans I know of call only bars of JUST chocolate a chocolate bar, i.e. A Hershey bar; a candy bar has stuff other than chocolate in it even if it’s still mostly chocolate
🙂
A great afternoon read with this would be amazing.
thanks for sharing this healthy alternative! Nice to have some more coffee options!
This look slike a treat to start off the day or for an afternoon snack! I look forward to trying it soon.
YES, I remember the beanie baby craze. We got so many at this little shop in town called Jabberwocky.
And it totally looks like you put candy on top of this; you did an awesome job on the imitation.
I may come to Canadaland for this smoothie, the candy bar AND….ketchup chips.
Lol. Oh man. Wasn’t that beanie baby craze insane!? I mean the fact that people literally had HUNDREDS of little stuffed animals and parents would go through crazy hoops to get a certain one… and now they are all just taking up storage space.
Anyway. Its definitely “toque.” In fact I just pulled my toque out of the closet. And as for this smoothie – coffee crisp is and forever will be my favorite chocolate bar. I feel sorry for the countries that don’t have it. But then, I don’t, because more reason we are special.
I just bought one of those assorted boxes of chocolate bars to hand out at halloween that has coffee crisps, kit kats, aeros, and smarties. The best! Hope we don’t get too many kids! I am definitely trying this recipe- hard to believe it can taste like the chocolate bar with no chocolate in the ingredients!
Oh my gosh why have I never tried a coffee crisp bar? I guess I just have to move to Canada for this, or maybe just make this EPIC smoothie!!! Love that this only has 4 ingredients too 🙂
Um yeah, I definitely guessed wrong! I had no clue what a coffee crisp is but I’d be all over this smoothie. I can’t believe how crazy short the ingredient list is. That’s always a plus!
I swear. Dates + oats + flavour make anything taste amazing.
I LOOOOOOVE coffee crisp. By far, my fav chocolate bar. Although, I only eat them at Halloween – I like the fun-size more than the regular. Is that weird?
Nope. Totally with you on that one. The full-size is a little too much. Although I can put away a KitKat like nobody’s business.
Are you for real with this madness? GAH give me all the coffee. I think I need this smoothie everyday for the rest of my life.
And what the frick is a toque? How is that even close to beanie? lol I get soda and pop, but not that one!!
Lol! It sounds so normal to me! Beanie is like.. wtf?! How does that relate to a thing that goes on your head?
Be still my coffee crisp loving heart. I might switch citizenship for this candy bar, emphasis on the candy.
Also what is a toque? 😉
Gummy bears are candy, chocolate bars are chocolate, toques are hats, and dollars come in coin form. So there.
I love coffee drinks so I know that this is something that I would like! It looks so good!
LOLING so hard at the expert multiple choice test taker, because that is me. 😂😂😂 I am neither Canadian nor a candy connoisseur, but not only did that definition *sound* like it fit, you so have the thought process nailed of us multiple choice test takers! Methinks that must be experience speaking? Nah…😜
Honestly? I think one of my professors flat out told us that. And then proceeded to make all his answers the same length 😆
I truly appreciate your creativity. Thank you !
Lol, I figured it out because I read your italicized summary at the beginning, so I didn’t get to test myself. 😂 Because I’m not Canadian, nor a candy bar connisour. I’m totally the good multiple choice test taker, simply because of the number of online quizzes I’ve taken I’ve become a halfway decent sleuth. 😂
The thing about the beanies is so interesting, though! I knew about the chocolate bar vs. candy bar because of the Brits, (although I didn’t know Canadians also called it that) but I had no idea about the beanie! I find that kind of stuff fascinating. 😁
Did you know about our loonies and toonies? You guys have dollar bills, but we have dollar coins we call loonies. And they actually have a picture of a loon on them 😆
Oooh I want this so much right now! Anything coffee flavored sounds good, but this looks especially tasty.
I remember the beanie baby craze too, had a whole collection of them. I’m guessing they’re somewhere in the pile of stuff my parents keep asking me to “come go through” that I’ve been avoiding for years lol.
Haha same! The only progress I made was to get rid of some of my old school notes, which I held on to for YEARS because, you know, obviously I’ll need them one day.
Oh yessss please! I just want to dive right into this.
I couldn’t believe it when my American friend hadn’t heard of a Coffee Crisp, so of course I brought her one when I visited and changed her life. I also brought fuzzy peaches and a Crunchie bar hehe.
I was a hardcore beanie baby collector and I actually still have a lot of them… They just sit in my closet, but it’s so hard to get rid of them!!
Right?! I don’t really want to part with mine either even though I can’t remember the last time I even looked at them lol. And I totally forgot about Crunchie! Is that just Canadian too?
Great minds must think alike, I just posted a coffee protein shake on my blog today, haha! This looks delicious, I’ll have to try it out.
so you’re sayin i should come visit so I can get that coffee bar and this smoothie, yes? Consider it done! LOL! Yum. ps. nestcafe instant coffee is my JAM!
THANK YOU! No one understands when I say I like instant coffee, and yeah some of it is horrible, but this stuff is SO good.
Yum!! In England we call them chocolate bars too. I don’t understand where American’s got “candy bar” from!! We don’t even us the word “candy” in England – we say “sweets.”
Ooh, this looks lovely– so simple and delicious!
I say chocolate bar and candy bar…I actually didn’t really collect beanie babies! the craze started when I was slightly above the age to care! but I collected Barbie dolls at all ages even when it wasn’t cool to still play with them lol
Haha! So I guess you wouldn’t be able to understand that I never had even one. What did you do with your collection?
Anything with coffee has my middle name. As much as I love smoothies, it’s already getting too cold down south for me! I’m all about the hot coffee now! 😉
Now I’m sad that I’m not Canadian – final straw lol. That candy bar sounds insane – and yes I guess I do say candy bar! And OMG my sister had a beanie baby obsession! She gave some of them to my kids who really didn’t care about them and she couldn’t understand how. She’ll never get rid of hers! I think I must’ve been slightly too old for the craze?
We also have ketchup flavoured chips and dill flavoured chips 😉