These brownies are naturally sweetened with dates and incorporate rich cacao powder for a deep chocolate flavor.
Blended with creamy peanut butter and coconut oil, they offer a smooth and satisfying texture.
Optional additions like a mushroom powder blend provide a superfood boost, while dairy-free chocolate chips, raw walnuts, and hemp seeds add extra crunch and nutrition.
This recipe is part of my Feel Good Treats Summer series, where we’re all about enjoying your favorite treats but making them healthier so you feel really freaking good! All the treats are damn delicious and also happen to be gluten-free, dairy-free, refined sugar-free, anti-inflammatory, and mostly vegan.
I started developing these feel-good treats after being diagnosed with Lyme disease. Check out the story and video here!
Watch the how-to video for this recipe on Instagram and TikTok.
Adventure Brownie Bars
Cuisine: Dairy Free, Gluten Free, No Refined Sugar, Vegan16
servingsI like these bars even better after a night in the fridge – as they turn more fudgey with hard chunks of chocolate.
If eating the brownies right away they will have a cake-ier consistency, whereas after cooling in the fridge overnight – they turn into fudgey bars. Store in a covered container in the fridge for a week or the freezer for longer.
Ingredients
2 cups tightly packed dates, pitted *
¼ cup warm water
½ cup natural, peanut butter (unsalted and unsweetened)**
2 Tablespoons melted coconut oil
⅓ cup cacao powder
Pinch salt
1 teaspoon 7 mushroom powder blend (optional)
⅓ cup dairy-free chocolate chips
½ cup roughly chopped raw walnuts
¼ cup hemp seeds
2 Tablespoons of dairy free chocolate chips (optional)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 ºF (175ºC) and line a standard loaf pan or 8×8 pan with parchment paper and set aside. 8×8 pan will yield shorter yet larger bars, while the loaf pan brownie bars will be taller.
- Add dates*, water, peanut butter and melted coconut oil to a food processor and blend for a few minutes until a sticky date paste forms. Scrape down the side periodically.
*If your dates are firm, soak them for 10 minutes in boiling water to soften. Drain and use. - Add cacao powder, optional mushroom powder and salt and blend until incorporated.
- Add hemp seeds, walnuts, and chocolate chips and pulse until just incorporated, still leaving some larger chunks for crunch.
- Transfer the batter to your lined pan and press down to smooth out for a flat, even surface.
- Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of chocolate chips along the top and lightly press them into the batter.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes and let cool completely
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