Because cashews have a rich, soft and creamy texture, they can be blended up into a “cream” and used in vegan recipes instead of dairy cream, or they can be used with dates to make a flourless crust. Try the following lemon bars made with cashews…
Raw Vegan Lemon Bars
makes 16 squares
Ingredients:
for the crust:
- 1 cup pitted dates
- 3/4 cup raw cashews
- 3/4 cup raw almonds
- 1/2 cup shredded coconut
- a pinch of sea salt
for the lemon filling:
- 1 1/2 cup almond milk
- 1 cup pitted dates
- 3/4 cup coconut butter
- juice and zest from 3 lemons
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- a pinch of sea salt
Optional garnish ideas:
- additional lemon zest
- shredded coconut
- berries or nuts
Directions:
- Start by making the crust. Add all the dry ingredients together in a food processor and process until crumbly. (It’s recommended to soak the cashews for several hours before using). Now add in the dates and continue processing until you have a sticky dough. Press this into a medium-sized square pan and store in the fridge while making the filling.
- Add all the ingredients for the filling, except for the coconut butter, into a food processor/high-speed blender and process the mixture until completely smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Add in the coconut butter and continue processing until it has a creamy consistency. Pour this over the crust and flatten the top using a spatula.
- Transfer this into the freezer and let it sit overnight to set. Remove from freezer the next day and cut into squares. Let the squares sit at room temperature for 1-3 hours before serving (any longer than that you should place it in the fridge!). Store any leftovers in the freezer and it should keep for up to a month. Enjoy!
