Desserts Archives - Page 2 of 2

Cashew Date Cream Stuffed Strawberries

June 27, 2011 By Jennifer

I wasn’t even planning on making these for this weeks blog post – you were suppose to get Jerk String Beans with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce – don’t worry you’ll get those soon – and they are going to be worth the wait. I always have an idea of what I want to share with you, but sometimes I get inspired and end up filing away the other recipe for the future. I’m glad I did this time, this recipe will knock your socks off.

It’s almost Fourth of July and what better way to celebrate by serving up these beautiful, tasty and healthy red, white and blue treats. Trust me, no one will even know they are healthy treats they are so good. These are so easy to make and I bet if you serve this up at your July 4th BBQ people will be begging for the recipe. The cashew date cream isn’t stark white, but still gives the red, white and blue feel I was looking for. I could have made a coconut whipped cream – that would have been more white – but I felt this was the way to go. The cashew date cream is so sinfully good. It compliments the sweetness of the strawberries and tartness of the blueberries. It is the perfect marriage of flavors – I had to fend off my family from eating them so I could just get one good picture! My 3 year old was so happy I was done, she ate every single one off the plate, minus the one my poor husband got. I have plenty of leftover cream, strawberries and blueberries in the fridge to make more today, so he’s happy.

I am going to be making the cashew date cream for other recipes since it is so good. It would make a good icing for cupcakes or banana bread muffins. I’m going to make my Healthy Vegan Banana Bread into muffins to update the recipe for you, and of course a gluten-free version of both – I am working on it. Can I make home-made twinkies and fill it with this? Oh, yes, I’m so on it!

These are also great for a tea party, shower, dinner party – actually you can serve them at any party, or anytime. =) Make the cashew cream sauce ahead of time and store in the refrigerator.

Cashew Date Cream Stuffed Strawberries

Author: Jennifer Strohmeyer

Recipe type: Dessert

Ingredients

1 pint of fresh strawberries, washed and dried
1 pint of fresh blueberries, washed and dried
1 cup cashew date cream (recipe follows)

Instructions

Cut a thin slice from bottom of strawberries so they stand upright. Remove tops of strawberries with a paring knife and gently scoop out some of the inside of the strawberries. Another option is to not cut off the top off the strawberries, but cut the strawberries from the top into wedges, like a + sign ( but not all the way through).
Use a pastry bag with a decorative tip, or fill a zip lock bag with one corner cut off with cashew date cream.
Fill the strawberries with the cream and top with a blueberry. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
Serve immediately on a pretty platter (strawberries will get mushy if you make too far ahead of time).

Notes

I couldn’t find my pastry bags and decorative tips so I had to resort to using a ziplock bag to fill my strawberries. They would look a little fancier using a decorative tip, but I still think they look beautiful without, so don’t worry if you don’t have this. I also left the bottoms on my strawberries because they all stood nicely on their own ( I guess I got lucky). This serves 4 people, so double it up for larger crowds.

Cashew Date Cream

Author: Jennifer Strohmeyer

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 1 cup

Ingredients

1 cup raw cashews, soaked in cold water for 4 hours
1 cup pitted dates, preferably Medjool, soaked in cold water for 4 hours
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
1-2 pinches ground cinnamon, to taste
Non-dairy unsweetened vanilla milk, for thinning

Instructions

Soak cashews and dates separately in cold water for 4 hours.
Drain cashew and dates. Add dates, cashews, vanilla and cinnamon to high-powered blender or food processor fitted with S-shaped blade.
Puree until creamy and smooth adding a tiny bit of non-dairy milk if too thick.
Chill in Refrigerator minimum 1 hour or until ready to use.

Enjoy!

Jennifer

Cherry Almond Coconut Macaroons

May 11, 2011 By Jennifer

I had this recipe filed away and planned on posting it eventually. I decided to pull it out – and what a perfect time to do so – since I was forwarded a twitter link to an article on Dr. Fuhrman’s Blog about the health benefits of eating cherries. Cherries not only boast a distinctive flavor – ranging from sweet to tart – but this high-antioxidant fruit will help reduce inflammation, pain and may help you get a good night’s sleep. You can check out the full article here Diseaseproof.

These Cherry Macaroons are slightly tart, creamy, and nutty with a natural sweetness that keeps you coming back for more. These are also incredibly easy to make, it’s a perfect treat to make when you don’t have much time to spend in the kitchen. I thought they tasted great before, but somehow got even better after reading this article. I know you will enjoy eating this good-for-you treat as much as my family and I did.

I made another fruit paste as part of my growing fruit paste experiments. The dried cherries I used are slightly tart and I am really happy about the flavor they give these macaroons. However, if you prefer a sweeter variety try a differnet type of cherry. I definitely want to start macerating my fruits – without refined sugar of course – to try out in some healthy dessert recipes in the future.

These are nutrient-rich and delish, enjoy!

Cherry Almond Coconut Macaroons

Prep time: 10 minutes

Total time: 30 minutes

Yield: Makes 20

Ingredients:

¼ cup light coconut milk

1 ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut

¼ cup raw almonds

¼ cup date syrup Organics are for Everyone Date Syrup

3 tbsp cherry paste

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

3 tsp Ener-G Egg Replacer mixed with 4 tbsp warm water (replaces 2 eggs)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a nonstick baking mat or parchment paper. Place all ingredients in a food processor with an S-shaped blade and process until well combined.

2. Form mixture into 1 tablespoon mounds onto lined baking tray, 2 inches apart. Bake macaroons for 15 minutes or until golden brown on bottom and edges.

3. Let cool on sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer to wire racks, and cool completely.

4. Store in airtight container for up to a week.

Cherry Paste

Yield: About 1 cup

½ cup unsweetened dry cherries

Water for soaking

Directions:

1. Cover cherries with cold water and soak for 4 hours.

2. Remove cherries and reserve water. Place cherries in blender or Cuisinart and process until smooth (I like to use my Cuisinart Mini Prep for this). Adjust consistency with some of the reserved water, if needed.

3. You can store cherry paste in an airtight container in a refrigerator for up to two weeks. Use as needed.

Acai Berry Tart

April 24, 2011 By Jennifer

This is a slightly revamped version of my delicious Berry Pie recipe. I volunteered to bring dessert for Easter Sunday and my mother-in-law – this is her favorite – is happy to know this Berry Tart will be showing up. When I originally made this I used my ceramic pie dish knowing I wanted this to be a tart from the beginning and of course min-tarts for a dinner party. I’m just going to buy those cute things instead of waiting for my birthday because you know I love making all things mini. Mini-treats of all kinds just taste better to me – so cute and delish. With mini-desserts, I can have my beloved treat and most importantly, not overindulge. I had this ceramic tart dish sitting in a box and had completely forgotten about it – you see it was packed away in the basement from our move. I was elated when I found it recently and couldn’t wait to make this again. It looks way prettier this time, don’t you agree?

The recipe is basically the same as the original. This time I only mixed blueberries into the pie filling and saved the strawberries for decorating. I would also like to add kiwi and/or raspberries to this next time. You can substitute your favorite nut for the crust if you don’t like almonds. Pecans would be awesome in this, or you can use mixed nuts as well.

This tart has a creamy, irresistible texture with just the right amount of natural sweetness that will have you going back for seconds – you might even have to hide the leftovers for yourself. This Berry Tart is also antioxidant rich and full of many health benefits – you wouldn’t see a recipe here that wasn’t great tasting and also great for you. All in all, this tart is completely fabulous.

I can’t wait for everyone to dig into this berry tart today. I encourage everyone reading this to make this, you will not be disappointed. This has been added to my go-to dessert recipe and it will probably be added to yours.

No Bake Date Almond Tart Crust

Ingredients:

1 cup raw almonds

¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1 cup pitted dates (preferably medjool dates), soaked in cold water for 30 minutes (skip this step if dates are aready super moist, I usually need to rehydrate my dates because of where I live)

2 tbsp date syrup Organics are for Everyone Date Syrup

Directions:

1. Place the almonds in a food processor with an S-shaped blade and process until it reaches a crumbly consistency. Drain dates and add to food processor with coconut, date syrup and process until the dates are broken down and mixed in well with other ingredients. It should be a thick paste-like mixture.

2. To shape the crust, place crust mixture into a tart pan and shape and mold the crust to the pan with fingers.

3. Chill the crust in the refrigerator for an hour or until ready to use.

Acai Berry Tart Filling

3 1/2 cups blueberries

1 1/2 cup sliced strawberries

1 (3.5 oz) defrosted package unsweetened Acai smoothie pack (I use Sambazon which I buy at Whole Foods in the freezer section)

¼ cup date sugar Aunty Patty’s Organic Date Sugar

¼ cup light coconut milk

2 tbsp pure vanilla extract

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

3 tbsp tapioca flour

Directions:

1. Place 2 cups blueberries, defrosted acai pack, date sugar, coconut milk, vanilla, lemon juice, and tapioca flour in food processor with S-shaped blade and process ingredients until smooth.

2. Place berry tart filling in small saucepan and heat on low to medium-low heat stirring constantly for 3-5 minutes until it thickens to a consistency of pudding. Tart filling should be nice and thick. Allow pie filling to cool completely.

To assemble pie:

1. Add 1 cup blueberries to saucepan and fold into pie filling until combined.

2. Pour tart filling into prepared tart pan and top with remaining blueberries and sliced strawberries.

3. Place in the refrigerator to set for minimum 1 hour or until ready to serve. This can be made a day ahead.

Nutrient-rich and delish. Enjoy!

* Note: This crust is a raw crust and will not be the same consistency of a baked crust. When serving, run a knife along the edge of the tart and remove slices with a pie server. Should hold together quite nicely. This would probably work really well in a tart pan with a removeable bottom. When I get one I will try that!

Sunflower Seed Butter Oatmeal Cookies

April 6, 2011 By Jennifer

This healthy and delicious cookie post was inspired by my neighbor’s son who has a nut allergy. The one thing he can eat and does use often is sunflower seed butter. I had never used sunflower seed butter before in baking, I usually opt for cashew, almond or peanut butter for my granola bars or cookies. I purchased SunButter at my local Whole Foods and after dipping my spoon into the jar for a taste test, I was hooked. Sunflower seed butter is naturally sweet, creamy and has a subtle nutty flavor that made me asking myself why I waited so long to try it.

What’s so great about sunflower seed butter? It’s peanut-free, tree-nut free, and gluten-free, so it’s great for people with these types of food allergies. It also has 1/3 less saturated fat than peanut butter and 27 percent of your daily recommended allowance of Vitamin E in one serving, and it’s high in iron, fiber and protein. The SunButter brand is also sugar and salt-free which is an added plus.

The first time I made these I was blown away by how delicious these cookies were. My kids kept coming back for more. I brought them over to my neighbors for a taste test and before I knew it the plate was almost empty. I hid the last three to see how the cookies would taste the next day, and you won’t believe what happened? They turned slightly green on the inside. I quickly opened SunButter’s FAQ questions and this is what I found. The chlorogenic acid (chlorophyll) in sunflower seeds will react with the baking soda/powder when baked causing the product to turn green when cooled. This isn’t a bad thing at all and what makes sunflower seeds so good for you, just a little strange. SunButter recommends adding some lemon juice or reducing the amount of baking soda/powder in the recipe. I made these again and added 1 tbsp of lemon juice to the recipe and this reduced the green color. I am going to make them again and reduce the baking soda to 1 teaspoon. I don’t even mind the green color and I love the flavor of sunflower seed butter. I cannot wait to try it out in other recipes.

Anyone use sunflower seed butter before in baking? Please share some of your experiences.

I also added some unsweetened vegan carob chips to the cookies and I’m so glad I did. If you haven’t tried carob chips or carob powder in your recipes I highly recommend trying it, just make sure they are unsweetened. Carob is a great substitute for chocolate (especially if you have a chocolate allergy) and it has about one-third of the calories of chocolate and is low in fat. Carob chips do not taste like chocolate, they are slightly nutty, sweet and completely irresistible. I love the way they melt too.

Have you used carob chips or powder before? Do you like it?

Sunflower Seed Butter Oatmeal Cookies (vegan, gluten-free)

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

30 mins

Author: Jennifer Strohmeyer – Virtually Vegan Mama

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 24 cookies

Ingredients

2 cups gluten-free rolled oats
2 tsp baking soda
¼ cup date sugar or light brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp sea salt
¾ cup unsweetened apple sauce
⅓ cup sunflower seed butter
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
1 tbsp lemon juice
3 tsp Ener-G Egg Replacer plus 4 tbsp warm water
⅓ cup raisins
⅓ cup unsweetened vegan carob chips or vegan chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with either parchment paper, a nonstick baking mat or lightly spray a non-stick baking sheet with cooking spray.
In a large mixing bowl, stir together the oats, baking powder, date sugar (or light brown sugar if you are using that), cinnamon and sea salt.
In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the apple sauce, sunflower seed butter, vanilla, lemon juice and egg replacer. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir to combine completely. Fold in raisins and carob chips. Place 1 tablespoon of batter, spacing cookies 2 inches apart, onto the prepared baking sheet and flatten a little.
Bake at 350° for 15-25 minutes (15 minutes for a chewy cookie and 25 minutes for a crisper one). Remove from the oven and cool for a couple of minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

Jennifer

Healthy Tea Party Takeover

March 21, 2011 By Jennifer

This month Foodbuzz and Kelly Confidential are partnering to host an Electrolux Top 9 Tea Party Takeover on Friday, March 25^th to raise money for ovarian cancer research. Please visit http://www.kelly-confidential.com/ to learn more and select the perfect tea party outfit for Kelly’s Tea Party for a Cause. For every vote Electrolux will donate $1 to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. Plus, you’ll be entered for a chance to win an Electrolux Perfect Steam washer and dryer

All Featured Publishers on Foodbuzz were invited to participate in the Top 9 Tea Party Takeover by creating the perfect tea party recipe. For every Tea Party recipe created, Foodbuzz will donate $50 to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund.

I was so thrilled to get started on developing the perfect healthy tea party recipe for this I woke up several times throughout that night thinking about it! What a great cause and what a great opportunity to come up with another healthy dessert recipe. I googled “Tea Party Recipes” and found the likes of scones, creampuffs, shortbread cookies, pound cake. Are you getting hungry yet? Stop right there. Pull up some of those recipes and look at the ingredients list. I’m sure you have even made some of these yourself, me included in the past. This is what I see when I look at these recipes. Refined sugars, butter, heavy cream, eggs and bleached white flour. Definitely unhealthy and not on my list of foods I eat now.

My diet primarily consists of plant-based, nutrient-rich foods. I have grown to understand that food has powerful disease-protecting properties and a diet consisting of green-leafy vegetable and fruits will help protect me and my family against these. Here’s the food pyramid my family and I follow.

I used to make Berry Pie years ago from The Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen. I don’t even have it anymore, but this recipe is based loosely on it from what I can remember. I’ve replaced the regular pie crust with a raw almond, date and coconut one and removed white sugar replacing it with date sugar.

Hey, we don’t want to eat desserts all the time, it causes use to crave them more and overeat. However, I love dessert and my family does too. This Healthy Berry Pie is a great alternative to traditional desserts that I feel good about serving to my family and friends. Oh and did I say how scrumptious it is. This one didn’t make it through the day. I had it tested and everyone kept coming back for more. If you make this one you will be hooked too.

The health benefits:

This pie is antioxidant rich and full of many health benefits.

Almonds have been shown to lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease. Dates are high in fiber and contain essential minerals like vitamin A, thiamine, potassium and riboflavin to name a few. Blueberries and strawberries fight free radicals and protect against certain cancers. There are a lot of unproven claims about Acai berry, but it is still high in antioxidants and a great addition to your diet. I love it in a smoothie and I’m so glad I added it to this pie. It made it even more fantastic. Incorporating colorful fruits into your daily diet is crucial and promotes optimum health! So here it is.

My Healthy Tea Party Takeover Recipe

No Bake Date Almond Pie Crust

Ingredients:

1 cup raw almonds

¼ cup fresh grated or unsweetened shredded coconut

1 cup pitted dates (preferably medjool dates), soaked in cold water for 30 minutes

2 tbsp date syrup Organics are for Everyone Date Syrup

Directions:

Place the almonds in a food processor with an S-shaped blade and process until it reaches a crumbly consistency. Drain dates and add to food processor with coconut, date syrup and process until the dates are broken down and mixed in well with other ingredients. It should be a thick paste-like mixture.

To shape the crust, place crust mixture into a pie pan and shape and mold the crust to the pan with fingers.

Chill the crust in the refrigerator for an hour or until ready to use.

Berry Pie Filling

4 cups blueberries

1 cup sliced strawberries

1 (3.5 oz) defrosted package unsweetened Acai smoothie pack (I use Sambazon which I buy at Whole Foods in the freezer section)

¼ cup date sugar Aunty Patty’s Organic Date Sugar

¼ cup light coconut milk

2 tbsp pure vanilla extract

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

3 tbsp tapioca flour

Directions:

Place 2 cups blueberries, defrosted acai pack, date sugar, coconut milk, vanilla, lemon juice, and tapioca flour in food processor with S-shaped blade and process ingredients until smooth. Place berry pie filling in small saucepan and heat on low to medium-low heat stirring constantly for 3-5 minutes until it thickens to a consistency of pudding. Pie filling should be nice and thick. Allow pie filling to cool completely.

To assemble pie:

Add 1 cup blueberries with 1 cup sliced strawberries to mixing blow. Stir in cooled pie filling and fold in until combined. Pour pie filling into prepared pie pan and top with remaining 1 cup of blueberries. Place in the refrigerator to set for minimum 1 hour or until ready to serve. This can be made a day ahead.

I would have added raspberries to this too, but they didn’t look good at the store, next time. I would also like to do this in tartlet pans, but I don’t have any. Maybe for my next birthday? Hi, Honey. =)

Enjoy this delicious, antioxidant rich healthy recipe for your next tea party.

It’s nutrient-rich and delish.

Quinoa, Apricot and Oat Muffin Clusters

March 17, 2011 By Jennifer

Quinoa, Apricot and Oat Muffin Clusters

Flourless, gluten-free granola muffin clusters. These light and healthy clusters boast an irresistible creamy, crunchy sweetness. They will disappear quickly so watch out!

So today I actually decided to clean and organize my pantry…I know what a shocker! I am constantly grabbing things and putting them back in no particular order. I mean, I would like to be more organized about certain things, but this particular feat just gets away from me. You know who likes to do this? My wonderful and amazing husband, Matt. God bless him. He loves to straighten out the pantry and even the refrigerator. Are you saying ‘Whoa’ yet?! I know…I know…I love him too. We seriously balance each other out in so many ways and this is just a small area that most people wouldn’t even mention. For me this little thing he likes to do means so much to me. I feel I just have to tell the world…aaaahhh….thank you my love!

So what I found today, in the abyss I call my pantry, was a package of Turkish Apricots I bought at Whole Foods a while back. Oh, a little light-bulb went off and even though I’ve been stuck on date paste as my sugar alternative, I found myself making apricot paste. I love my date paste, but why not expand and make all kinds of fruit pastes.

Yeah…superb idea!

Apricots are good for you too. They are rich in iron, potassium, vitamin A and fiber and the Turkish apricot is supposed to be the sweetest, tastiest of all the world’s apricots. I will have to make a different kind to test this and let you know. The apricot paste came out delicious and I was excited to test it out in this recipe and many others.

We are in desperate need of new granola snacks this week. They sure go quickly around here and I wanted something a little different. Since I am big into throwing quinoa into a lot of my recipes, here we go again and why not? It’s the Mother Grain and I love it.

I thought Quinoa Apricot Clusters sounded like fun. I googled to see if there was anything similar out there and I found these from Martha Stewart. I adapted mine into these cute little mini-cluster things or maybe they are more like flourless oat muffins. Whatever they are, they are REALLY good. I had to get my pictures done quickly because they kept disappearing off the plate!

Since I can’t decide whether they are muffins or granola clusters, I guess I will call them Quinoa, Apricot and Oat Muffin Clusters!

I think I like the sound of that.

Quinoa, Apricot and Oat Muffin Clusters

Author: Jennifer Strohmeyer-Virtually Vegan Mama

Recipe type: Breakfast

Ingredients

For the Apricot Paste: Makes 1 cup

1 cup of unsweetened dried apricots
water for soaking

For the Quinoa, Apricot and Oat Muffin Clusters: Makes 24 Muffins

¾ cup cooked quinoa
1 ½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats
½ cup ground mixed nuts of choice (I used almonds, pecans and sunflower)
½ cup raisins or unsweetened dried fruit of your choice (I only had raisins, but would mix different kinds here next time)
¼ cup almond butter
½ cup apricot paste
2 tbsp flaxseed meal mixed with 6 tbsp warm water
½ cup unsweetened almond milk
¼ tsp cinnamon
2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Instructions

For the Apricot Paste

Cover apricots with cold water and soak for 4-6 hours.
Remove apricots and reserve water.
Place apricots in blender or food processor. Process until smooth. If needed, adjust consistency with some of the reserved water.
Store the apricot paste in an airtight container in your refrigerator for up to two weeks. Use as needed.

For the Quinoa, Apricot and Oat Muffin Clusters

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray a non-stick muffin pan with cooking spray.
Cook quinoa according to package directions, set aside.
Mix together flaxseed meal with warm water and set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, stir together quinoa, oats, mixed nuts, and raisins.
In separate mixing bowl, add almond butter, apricot paste, flaxseed meal, almond milk, cinnamon and vanilla. Stir until combined.
Fold in dry ingredients and stir well.
Spoon the granola mixture into each muffin cup filling almost to the top. Press mixture down firmly into each cup with the back of a spoon and/or your fingers. Bake in oven for 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool slightly before removing.

Enjoy these yummy and good for you treats….they are nutrient-rich and delish!

Are you wondering if I got my pantry organized…not a chance!

Okay, now I’m feeling guilty. I think I will try cleaning the pantry now.

xoxo,

Jen

Quinoa Date Nut Truffles

March 8, 2011 By Jennifer

What do we like to snack on around here? And no, it’s not store-bought chips and cookies! Well, honestly, the kids do sometimes get their hands on those and I’ve been known to sneak a bite too…Uh Oh! Don’t you just love that expression? It is my 1 year olds favorite thing to say and I find it so cute, I just can’t resist throwing it out there all the time too! But, seriously, that’s okay if my kids eat unhealthy snacks sometimes, we try and follow a 90/10 rule around here and it definitely works for us. I have so many other things to worry about than…gulp…watching my kids devour a hydrogenated-oil filled Girl Scout cookie. Coming up with a healthy alternative to a Samoa is on my list btw! Oh yeah! I am always making super nutritious snacks around here and offering them to my kids. My kids have developed a preferred liking to what I make. That makes me extremely proud when I see my kids choose the fruits, veggies and healthy snacks over the ‘bad’ stuff.

I adapted these truffles from the Date Nut Pop’ems recipe in Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s Disease-Proof Your Child. There are so many variations to making these, but since I am quinoa crazy lately, I thought why not try it out in these. The creamy, crunchy texture of the quinoa makes an irresistible combination with the chocolaty nuttiness of these truffles.

Another nutrient-rich and delish snack your whole family will love. Have the kids help make these too! Oh what fun!

Quinoa Date Nut Truffles

Makes: About 20 Truffles

Time: 10-15 minutes

Equipment: Food Processor

Ingredients:

1/3 cup chopped dates (pitted)

¼ cup raw pecans

1 tbsp raw cashew butter

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 tbsp date syrup

¼ tsp cinnamon

2 tbsp clementine juice

1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup cooked and chilled quinoa (cooked dry and on the crunchy side)

Unsweetened shredded coconut or ground nuts of your choice for coating the truffles

Directions:

Add all ingredients to a food processor and blend until well combined.

Remove from processor and place in a bowl. Place coatings of your choice on a plate. Remove about a tablespoon of mixture at a time and make into bite-sized balls. Roll each ball in coating and place on parchment-lined baking tray. Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Store these in a refrigerator for a week, but they probably won’t last that long!

Happy healthy eating! ENJOY!

Heart-Shaped Almond Coconut Granola Bars

February 9, 2011 By Jennifer

Okay, so I could have made some sugar-filled cookies dipped in chocolate to celebrate Valentine’s Day this year, but I didn’t. This plant-strong family needed a healthier version. I was now on a mission to come up with a recipe that would make my family happy and not miss those cookies. We love granola bars around here and making the home-made ones are so easy to do. If you have kids, granola bars are a great kid-friendly recipe for them to help make – it’s fun and easy. Most any combination of ingredients will be yummy and so much better than the store-bought ones. Believe me, once you make your own you will never buy store-bought again.

I really loved Almond Joys growing up, so I wanted to come up with a granola bar that is reminiscent of that. OH MY GOSH, I think I did it! The whole family really loved these and I swear you will think you are eating something unhealthy (hee hee) they are so good. They also looked so cute heart-shaped which the kids really loved. Heart-shaped and heart-healthy, I’m loving this recipe. These are even better the next day and they are a very moist, cake-like granola bar.

Heart-Shaped Almond Coconut Granola Bars

I adapted this recipe from Dr. Fuhrman’s Yummy Banana-Oat Bars. I did not put bananas in mine because I didn’t want a granola bar that tasted like bananas this time. Those are great, but I am a little anti-baking with bananas now from perfecting my Banana Bread Recipe. I sure was obsessed with that one. Try them out and let me know what you think.

Happy Valentine’s Day to all!

Heart-shaped Almond Coconut Granola Bars

Author: Jennifer Strohmeyer – Virtually Vegan Mama

Recipe type: Snack

Serves: 12 hearts

Ingredients

Equipment needed: 3-inch Metal Heart Shaped Cookie Cutter

3 dates, pitted and chopped
¼ cup almond butter
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
½ -1 cup unsweetened almond milk (I used 1 cup and it made a very moist, chewy bar)
¼ tsp cinnamon
1-2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder (depending on how chocolatey you want these)
1 ½ tsp almond extract
1 ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
¼ cup almonds, chopped
2 cups old fashioned oats (not instant)
½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
½ cup mixed raisins and cranberries (you can use any combination of dried fruit you would like here)

Instructions

Cover dates in water and soak for at least 1 hour, up to 4 hours.
Drain dates and combine them with almond butter, applesauce, almond milk, cinnamon, cocoa powder, almond and vanilla extract in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Transfer mixture to small saucepan and heat on low for 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Preheat oven to 350 Degrees F.
Line a large baking tray with parchment paper.
In a medium mixing bowl mix; almonds, oats, coconut, raisins and cranberries. Fold in the almond butter mixture. Place cookie cutter on the parchment lined baking sheet and spoon batter into cookie cutter filling halfway. Press down firmly with your fingers. Gently lift the cookie cutter away from the granola and press down around inside edges to help keep its shape. Reform granola hearts with your fingers if necessary and repeat.
Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool completely before eating. These can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks.

Enjoy!

XOXO,

Jen