Chocolate crunch bars (no bake)

This is another recipe I kind of fell in love with when I first saw it.  Checking into one of my favorite websites, the kitchn, I saw a post about chocolate hazelnut crunch bars...

Base layer of thin, crispy crepes encased in chocolate and hazelnut spread, topped with ganache

What caught my attention was the use of feuilletine - those crispy, paper-thin, caramelized shards of pastry flakes that are used in many of my most favorite restaurant desserts.  As much as I love pure chocolate, I'm a huge fan of texture and love it when I discover some contrast in my dessert, like a layer of nutty crispiness embedded into a chocolate torte.

The milk chocolate coated "crispy crepes" I used as a substitute for feuilletine

The emphasis here is definitely on the crunch but it is a delicate crunch, a toothsome crispiness that is very pleasant underneath a contrasting, creamy layer of soft ganache on top. 

When I made almond and hazelnut dacquoise, I mentioned a favorite dessert of mine at a nearby restaurant.  It's essentially a small, round chocolate torte - the bottom layer is a "praline croustillant", a combination of smooth chocolate-hazelnut that has a wonderful crispy element to it.  On top of that is a layer of chocolate mousse, and the whole thing is covered in a thin coating of chocolate ganache.  It's all wonderful but the crispy bottom layer is my favorite and what makes it so memorable.  These chocolate bars - far simpler - come really close to that dessert.  The crispiness at the bottom totally makes it!  And the good news is they are easy to make; you don't even have to turn on the oven. 

I had intended to buy pailleté feuilletine online because I didn't particularly want to make them.  But not only do they cost about $12 a pop, I'd have to invest another $10 for shipping, not something I wanted to do for a first-time recipe.  It was time to get a little creative! 

So I used "crispy crepes" - super thin, crispy, wafer cookies coated in milk chocolate.  It is essentially feuilletine coated with milk chocolate.  I crushed them up and it worked beautifully here, with just a minor tweak to the recipe.  I'm proud to say I saved a solid $18 by doing that!

Technically, these are chocolate-hazelnut crunch bars.  A combination of semisweet chocolate and Nutella are stirred together before adding the crispy wafers for the bottom layer.  But in tasting the finished bars, I think the hazelnut flavor is minimal after being mixed with the dark chocolate.  For a deeper hazelnut flavor, I think hazelnut praline paste would be a good choice.

I do love these bars with even more texture, by adding some actual hazelnuts and cocoa nibs on top.  Okay, I may have copied the round design from a tart I had from Bouchon Bakery...I'm rather adept at imitation.

I'm usually pretty good about tasting my baked goods and enjoying them in careful moderation (sharing is key) but I could barely stop myself from eating these once I start. They're addicting and the texture really makes you want more.

And isn't it amazing how we can change something from simple to dressed-up just by how we slice it.  You can go with elongated bars or squares, which make it easy to pick up and gobble up.  Or, to fancy them up a bit, I used a round pastry cutter to make something like a dessert torte or a mini crustless tart.  I think these are also wonderful sliced into 1-inch squares and presented as homemade chocolate petite fours.  Anyway you slice it (literally!), they are very delicious bites!