LEMONY COCONUT BLONDIES

I love lemon….anything. When I saw these beauties, I knew they would appear in my kitchen soon. The texture of these bites is somewhat soft, but firms with chilling.  I didn’t need to add any more oats, but if you want a firmer texture, add another 2 tbsp of rolled oats.

This recipe is from Plant Powered Kitchen and the fabulous Dreena Burton.

Total time: 10 minutes (plus any refrigerator time)

Makes 16-20 dough balls

Sugar free, soy free and can be gluten free

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup raw cashews
  • 3/4 cup rolled oats (use certified gluten-free for that option)
  • 1 cup pitted dates (I use medjool dates)
  • 1 1/2 – 2 tsp lemon zest (reserve some for coating)
  • 1 1/2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • seeds scraped from one vanilla bean (see note; or 1/4 – 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract)
  • couple pinches sea salt (about 1/8 tsp)
  • 2 – 3 Tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut (as desired)

Optional coating: 
Extra lemon zest (about 1/2 tsp; optional) 
few teaspoons coconut mixed together.

Instructions

  1. In a food processor, add the cashews, oats, dates, zest, lemon juice, vanilla seeds, and salt and process. It may take anywhere from 2-5 minutes to to become sticky (be patient)!
  2. When it does start to become a little sticky, add the coconut and process again. Continue to process until it forms a ball on the blade.
  3. Stop and remove the dough.
  4. Take small scoops of the dough (about 1 – 1 1/2 tbsp in size) and roll in your hand. Repeat until you have used all of the dough.
  5. If using coating, mix ingredients in a small bowl. Toss or roll the balls in the coating if using, and refrigerate.

Dreena says “Eat and repeat often.”

NOTE: Do you know how to remove the seeds from the vanilla bean pod? I did this for the first time when I made this recipe.

Slice the bean down the outer side using a sharp tip knife, and open pod lengthwise. Press open the sides, and using a blunt (butter) knife, scrape out the tiny (really tiny) seeds from the bean on both sides, and then add seeds to processor. The pod can be discarded or kept to infuse flavor in other dishes.