I know what your thinking, raw and brownie don't belong together in the same sentence. I hope this recipe shows you some of the possibilities of raw food.
Why raw? Raw food is full of enzymes and gives your digestive system a much needed break. Also, up to 75% of vitamins and minerals can be lost in cooking, and proteins are 50% less absorb able after being heated.
Am I 100% raw or am I telling you to be...NO! I do believe in abundance though and I think the more raw foods you adopt, the more raw food you will eat because it makes you feel good. After some time you may even want to try a 100% raw diet. If you do you will find yourself cleansing like never before and your body will finally get a chance to move some nasty stuff out. This is hard at first but you feel soo good later! But more about that later, this is about eating yummy treats and not feeling bad about it so enjoy!
Photography is not my forte...What you will need:
Food processor
Pastry bag and cone
High speed blender optional for frosting
For the Brownie Bites:
3 cups Pecans
2 Tbsp Almond Butter
1/4 cups Agave, Honey, Yacon or other favorite sweetener
1/4 cups Cacao
Pinch of quality salt
For the Frosting:
2 cups Cashews
2 tsp Vanilla
1/4 cups Agave, Honey etc.
1/2 cups Water
Preparation:
Let’s start with the frosting as it needs a few minutes in the fridge to set. Dump your cashews into the food processor/blender and process into a fine flour. Add in the vanilla, your choice of sweetener and half of the water into your processor/blender. Because this frosting is going to be thick, it can be hard to get it all mixed up by the blades. Add in more and more water (no more than the 1/2 cup) to thin it out and pause every few seconds to mix things up by hand. Be careful of the temperature of the frosting, it will heat up fast. Once you have the frosting mixed up, fill up your pastry bag, cone, press, etc. and set it in the fridge to firm up.
Now for the brownie goodness. Dump the pecans into your food processor and process them down to a fine flour, then until it stops moving — some of the pecans will break down and release their oil and they will start to clump and turn into pecan butter (yum!). Give it a good stir by hand and then toss in the rest of the ingredients. Continue to process until the mixture forms a solid ball. Transfer to a bowl and give the dough a good stir by hand to make sure it is mixed well.
Grab a small amount of the dough and roll into a ball with your hands. Press the ball down with your thumb to flatten it out and make an impression in the middle. Place the flattened brownie bite onto a plate. Prepare the rest of the dough in this fashion. Next, take your frosting out of the fridge and have at it! Fill up the indentation of each brownie bite with ‘a healthy amount’ of the frosting.
These can be eaten right away, though the brownie dough is soft at room temperature. Put into the fridge for thirty minutes to firm up, or if you will not be serving them right away.
Now for the brownie goodness. Dump the pecans into your food processor and process them down to a fine flour, then until it stops moving — some of the pecans will break down and release their oil and they will start to clump and turn into pecan butter (yum!). Give it a good stir by hand and then toss in the rest of the ingredients. Continue to process until the mixture forms a solid ball. Transfer to a bowl and give the dough a good stir by hand to make sure it is mixed well.
Grab a small amount of the dough and roll into a ball with your hands. Press the ball down with your thumb to flatten it out and make an impression in the middle. Place the flattened brownie bite onto a plate. Prepare the rest of the dough in this fashion. Next, take your frosting out of the fridge and have at it! Fill up the indentation of each brownie bite with ‘a healthy amount’ of the frosting.
These can be eaten right away, though the brownie dough is soft at room temperature. Put into the fridge for thirty minutes to firm up, or if you will not be serving them right away.
These are soo good, and easy to make. I used yacon root syrup to sweeten mine but you can use whatever you desire. In retrospect I think a lighter color sweetener would be better for the frosting because it would give a nicer contrast of color. An added bonus to raw dessert is it doesn't take any oven or stove top space for your nights of grand feasting. Hope you get to try the recipe and have a happy holidays!
