Friday, July 10, 2015

Coconut Almond Raw Brownies

Coconut Almond Raw Chewy Fudge

I need a treat—stat!  I made lots of goodies for our recent family reunion, cookies and cakes galore.  None of which I took a single bite of.  Go me, whatever.  I’m kind of over the whole thing of wishing I could eat certain things and for the most part seeing them and baking them doesn’t even  tempt me.  BUT, I do still need my own sweet treats now and then and these are perfect…and healthy!

I’ve posted similar things like these before, but looking back I didn’t see this exact thing with coconut and almonds (and chocolate!) being the star.  I did keep thinking of these Healthy Almond Joy or Mounds Coconut Candy that are dunked in a healthy melted chocolate, I suppose these are similar, but easier and a bit healthier since they aren’t dunked in more chocolate.  Never fear, there is a little Enjoy Life chocolate chips added.  You can make all kinds of flavors using different nuts and mix-ins.  I suppose they are similar to Lara Bars and other protein/energy bars, but I’ve tried some of those and I definitely think the homemade kind taste much better!

Coconut Almond Raw Brownies, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

1 cup pitted dates, soaked in hot water about 10-15 minutes

¾ cup raw cashews

¼ cup raw cacao (or cocoa powder)

3 T. raw honey

¼ teaspoon almond extract

1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1/3 cup toasted almonds

2 T. Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips

After soaking the dates, drain the water and chop the dates on a cutting board.  This is to make sure there are no pits, sometimes they are still there ready to tear up your food processor. ; )  Put the chopped dates and cashews in a food processor and pulse until they are starting to be pretty finely ground.  Add the cacao and honey and continue letting the food processor blend them until they start forming a thick paste that clumps together.  Add the almond extract and pulse a few times.  Add the shredded coconut and toasted almonds and pulse until well combined.  The mixture may need to be scraped from the sides of the bowl and off the blade, then mixed again a few times.  Leave the nuts and coconut a little bigger for added texture.  Add the chocolate chips and pulse a few times to combine.  Spread the mixture into a 9x5 inch bread pan that is lined with nonstick foil (or spread coconut oil evenly in the pan).  Let chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour before cutting into squares.  Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. 

Coconut Almond Raw Chewy Fudge

These are good!  A while back, I bought 10 pounds of pitted dates (from a nut company that ships products) and keep them in the freezer.  After a short soaking in some water, they are ready to be made in to all kinds of treats.  I’ve also recently made some of these “raw brownies” with some dried bananas, peanut butter and peanuts as the star (and chocolate!).  I need to tweak that recipe just a bit but I will share it soon. I like using cashews as the base nut, then using other nuts for the different flavors.  Cashews don’t seem to have a major distinct flavor so they work well.  I buy them in bulk as well.