Tasty Tuesday: Gooey Berry Bars

In my non-vegan life, I was never a fan of cheesecake.  Something about it just didn’t appeal.  A few weekends ago, I set out to make a snack bar for T and to my surprise it came out very cheesecake-like.  And it was really good.  This “snack” came out more like dessert and the “bar” was more suited to be eaten with a fork but all in all it was a success.  Gooey and sweet, it would be a perfect summer recipe when berry season rolls around, but frozen berries are just as nutritious and just as good!

Gooey Berry Bars

Ingredients:

-3 cups white beans

-3 cups Medjool dates, pitted

-4 tablespoons pumpkin seed butter (mine was seasoned like this recipe, but any nut or seed butter would do)

-1 scoop plant based vanilla protein powder (I used Pure Food brand)

-1 tablespoon vanilla extract

-1 teaspoon baking powder

-1 teaspoon cinnamon

-1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

-pinch sea salt

-1/2 to 1 cup fresh or frozen berries of choice (depending on how berry-heavy you want your bars)

To make:

-Preheat oven to 275 degrees.

-Blend beans, dates, nut or seed butter, vanilla, and baking powder until smooth creamy.  (If mixture is not blending well after 10 or 15 minutes, add some water 1 tablespoon at a time until creamy consistency is reached.)

-Once creamy, add protein powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt and blend until thoroughly mixed.

-Transfer 1/2 the batter to parchment paper lined 8×8 pan.  Spread half of berries on top.

-Cover berries with the remainder of the batter and top with remaining berries.

-Bake for 50 minutes until top and edges brown.

-Cool for 30 minutes then transfer to freezer for 1 hour.

-Store in fridge.

Recipe inspired by Zain’s Vegan Blondies

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Made from plants and berry very yummy!