The chestnut-hazelnut bars you keep in your bag

There is that moment, around 4 p.m., when coffee is no longer enough. These bars fit in a bag pocket, smell of roasted hazelnuts and dark chocolate, and take fifteen minutes to prepare. November chestnuts do all the work.

Chestnuts: the binder we didn't know we needed

In Geneva, November is chestnut season. Whether in a jar or vacuum-packed, pre-cooked chestnuts are a little cheat we're happy to admit: blended, they make a dense, slightly sweet paste with the texture of marzipan. No syrup needed, no oven required. We add dates for chewiness, hazelnuts for crunch, a pinch of fleur de sel to brighten everything up—and dark chocolate on top, because a bar without chocolate is a sad bar.

The result cuts cleanly, doesn't crumble, and doesn't stick to your fingers. Exactly what you want in a gym bag or a desk drawer.

In practice

• Preparation: 15 minutes
• Cooking: 8 minutes (hazelnuts only)
• Resting: 1 hour in the fridge
• Makes: 10 bars
• Difficulty: easy

Ingredients

• 200 g pre-cooked chestnuts (vacuum-packed or in a jar, plain)
• 150 g pitted Medjool dates, about 8 to 9 dates
• 100 g whole hazelnuts
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon hazelnut purée
• 1 generous pinch of fleur de sel
• 60 g 70% dark chocolate

The recipe

1. Roast the hazelnuts. Eight minutes at 180°C, not a minute more: they should turn golden and fill the air with their aroma. Rub them in a cloth to remove the skins, then roughly chop them with a knife.
2. Blend the dates. If they are a little dry, leave them in hot water for ten minutes and drain them well. Blend until you have a sticky, glossy paste.
3. Add the chestnuts. Along with the cocoa, hazelnut purée, and fleur de sel. Pulse the blender: you want a smooth but still slightly rustic paste, not a creamy mixture.
4. Fold in the hazelnuts by hand. Use a spatula to keep the pieces whole. The paste should hold together when pressed between your fingers.
5. Press and set. Spread into a small pan lined with parchment paper (about 20 × 15 cm) to a thickness of 1.5 cm. Press firmly with the back of a spoon. Refrigerate for one hour.
6. Chocolate, then cut. Melt the chocolate and drizzle it over the entire surface. Refrigerate for ten minutes until it sets, then cut into ten bars with a large knife.

The trick

They keep for one week in an airtight container in the refrigerator, and three months in the freezer—take them out the evening before, and they'll be perfect in the morning. Want to switch things up? Replace the hazelnuts with crushed pistachios and add an orange zest to the paste: the most photogenic version of the two, by far.

And the weekend version: crush a bar over some chilled Greek yogurt with thinly sliced pear. It's no longer a snack for your bag, and it's delicious that way.