Strawberry Bars

Raw Vegan Strawberry Bars

With berries season here I am so tempted to just go all berry and I might turn into one big berry myself HA! Now, talking seriously I love all summer fruits and if you ask me which one is my seasonal favorite fruit I love them all but have a slight preference towards watermelon.

Baking in mid summer is a bit tricky since most homes in Seattle have no air conditioner and it’s okay since it occasionally gets pretty warm but turning the oven on turns the house itself in one big oven so working on raw desserts is convenient and quite refreshing; not quite warm yet but these bars hold pretty well in the freezer (once sliced) and it is always handy to have something sweet ready in case of sporadic cravings.

In short, raw vegan is healthier and it has sugar only that is natural, it has no processed ingredients so think more of a frozen creamy treat (sometimes, they aren’t frozen), for the most part they are gluten free, paleo and even keto friendly. They are full of healthy fats what makes one small piece a complete satisfaction from my kitchen I share this simple yet sweet and creamy bar’s recipe.

Raw Strawberry Bars

Vegan

Makes: 16 servings

Prep time: 30 mins

Cook time: 8 hrs

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup oat flour
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 6 pitted dates, soaked in hot water for 10 minutes
• 1 ½ Tbsp water, from soaked dates
• 2 Tbsp hemp seeds
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp coconut oil

FILLING

1/2 cup cashews, soaked overnight

8 medium strawberries, cut in half and extra for decorating

1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp agave

Instructions:

1. Lets start by getting your mold ready, I used a bottomless square 6.5” mold, placed it in a pyrex mold lined with plastic and parchment paper..so step one is done
2. Now, we start working on the base by adding all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse a few times until you get a very crumbly but sticky dough and then press it at the bottom of your mold; set in the freezer while you work on the filling.
3. For the filling, drain the overnight soaked cashews and cream in a blender until you have no lumps, then add the rest of ingredients
4. The assembling, make sure your base is solid enough after the freezer and pour over the filling, arrange some diced strawberries and let freezer preferably overnight
5. Unmold, and cut while cold and frozen and let rest 5 minutes prior sharing….it is a great snack or dessert for a warm day creamy and sweet!!