These are really good. Miss A likes them, though Big E didn't want to try them. All the rest of us like them. I found the weight and the cup measurements didn't match for mine and so I used the weight ones. The cup of dates wasn't 220g, even mashed into the cup. It was a bit more than 1 cup. The cashews were about 3/4 cup at 100g. I found the recipe here.
• 1 cup pitted dates (220g)
• ½ cup raw cashews (100g)
• 2 Tablespoons raw pumpkin seeds + 1 tablespoon raw pumpkin seeds (garnish)
• 2 Tablespoons unsweetened coconut flakes
• ¼ cup rolled oats OR ¼ cup vanilla protein powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• ¼ cup pure pumpkin puree
Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. This may take some time, but just be patient with it - you can always leave the mixture a little chunky if you like as well!
In an 8x8 baking pan, place parchment paper on the bottom.
Add in the energy bar batter from the food processor - it will be quite sticky, so it's advised to work with wet hands to prevent it sticking to your hands!
Press down the mixture into a pan and use the back of a wet spoon to smooth the top.
Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of pumpkin seeds.
Freeze for 2-3 hours or until solid, and cut into 8 bars.
Store in the freezer (if left at room temperature these bars will soften and become mushy, so it's best to enjoy right out of the freezer where they keep a good consistency!) (Rachel's note: They are much softer out of the freezer, but not so soft that you can't eat them, just have hand wipes available, or eat them between some sweetish type of cracker, not ritz or saltine.)
Enjoy!
NOTES
If you prefer the bar to be more dense at last longer at room temperature, double the oats or protein powder to make the batter less moist! This will change the nutritional facts however.
