RAW CRANBERRY + SWEET CACAO NIB ICEBOX COOKIES



My friend Britney and I usually have this 3 o'clock snack craving everyday.  Not sure why that is but, its there. Does anyone else have that problem?  Maybe we just love food.  But because of that, we are constantly trying to find healthy snacks to keep handy for those occassions.  I LOVE this recipe.  The flavors of the sweet cacao nibs with the cranberries and nuts is just divine.  I shared these with my friend Alicia at work and she loved it!  I have a few taste testers close by and she is one of them.  Thanks Alicia for being a guinea pig for my new recipes!  (And thank you Sydney, Kelsey, Jackie and James for being my other taste testers! ~They live around the corner from me.)



We are all about ridiculously simple recipes here.  We may create a few, slightly more intese recipes, but overall we are all about simplicity and ease.  This recipe only took a few minutes, literally.  I hope you like it as much as I did.  Here it is...



RAW CRANBERRY + SWEET CACAO NIB ICE BOX COOKIES

1 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup raw almonds
1 cup dates
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean
2 tablespoons maple syrup or agave
1/4 cup sweet cacao nibs
1/4 cup dried cranberries chopped small

Process the nuts in your food processor until finely chopped.  Add in the dates and process until the ingredients are mixed well and it starts to get moist from the dates.  Add in the vanilla and maple syrup or agave and process to combine.  Pour all the ingredients into a bowl and fold in the nibs and cranberries.  Mix with your hands until combined.  Shape the dough into 1-1/2" diameter cookie dough logs and wrap with parchment and saran wrap, then put it in the freezer for 1 hour.   Finally, remove the saran wrap and cut the logs into half inch cookie dough rounds. 

Makes about 2 dozen.

Enjoy!!



Join the discussion!

Do you have a favorite raw chocolate spread recipe? We would love to hear what it is! Share it in the comments below. Links are welcome.

RAW CRANBERRY ALMOND BARS WITH RAW CACAO FROSTING

 

Written by Contributor Britney Manuel of BtanJerine, Family Sponge and A Simply Raw Life.  This recipe was originally posted on Family Sponge HERE. It was so popular, that we had to bring the recipe to our viewers as well.  Enjoy!

 

 

At about 3 o’clock PM everyday a little man inside of me says, “it’s time for chocolate!”, and when he talks…I listen! And sometimes much to my dismay, this little man has cheap taste. So in an effort to be proactive I knew I had to at least make a healthier version to tame this wild beast of a chocolate monster within me. So this is what I did!

 



 

 

Raw Cranberry Almond Bars with Raw Cacao Frosting

Bar Ingredients

---

4 cups raw almonds
2 lbs. dates
1 cup shredded coconut
2 tablespoons chia seeds
2 cups dried cranberries

Frosting

---

1/2 cup maple syrup or agave nectar
1/4 cup coconut oil, warmed to liquid
2/3 cup cacao or carob powder

Directions

---

For the Bar

 

Blend the dates in a food processor until it makes a thick chuncky paste, and place in a bowl.  The pulse the almonds in the processor until they are finely chopped and add to the bowl. (I left some bigger chunks so that the texture varied).  Next, pulse the shredded coconut for a few seconds and then add to bowl followed by the chia seeds and dried cranberries.  Work mixture together with your hands until it makes a sticky ball.  Line a 9×13 cookie sheet with parchment paper. Add mixture to parchment paper. Cover ball with another sheet of parchment paper and use a rolling pin to flatten the ball into about 1 1/2 inches. Place the flattened mixture into the freezer for 1 hour.  Cut the bars in individual bar size pieces, then frost.

 

For the frosting

 

Add the maple syrup to the blender first followed by the coconut oil and cocoa powder. Blend well until smooth and then spread desired amount onto each bar. 

After frosting, wrap each individual bar in plastic wrap and store in the freezer for up to a week.  They are now ready to eat!   (I'll tell your right now, they won't last that long!)
 

 

Amazingly delicious!!

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Join the discussion!

Do you have a favorite raw bar or granola bar recipe? We would love to hear what it is! Share it in the comments below. Links are welcome.