Raw Cacao Mint Thins

Decadent and rich and goes perfect with coconut ice cream

These cookies are super rich, easy to make and require no fancy equipment. The recipe below is for a whole sheet pans worth which yields a lot of cookies, but you could easily divide the recipe in half.

4 cups almond flour
4 cups raw cacao powder
1 1/2 maple powder (found here)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 cups coconut butter/oil, warmed to a liquid
2 tbsp peppermint extract
2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, cocoa powder, maple powder, and salt.

In a separate bowl, combine the coconut oil with the peppermint and vanilla extracts. Then add this mixture to the dry ingredients and combine well to form a dough.

Press the dough evenly into a parchment lined sheet pan. Place the pan in the fridge or freezer to chill.

Prepare the chocolate oil:

1 1/4 cups coconut butter/oil, warmed to a liquid
1 1/2 cup raw cacao powder
5 tbsp maple syrup
pinch of sea salt

Mix all ingredients well until it forms a chocolate oil.

Take the chilled sheet pan out of the fridge and pour 1 cup of chocolate oil over the cookie dough, making sure that the oil covers the surface evenly. Return the pan back to the fridge or freezer to chill and set the chocolate.

Once chilled and hardened, grab the hardened cookie mixture by the parchment paper and flip over onto the pan, allowing for the other side to face up. Pour the rest of the chocolate oil evenly onto the surface and place back into the fridge or freezer to harden.

In about 10 minutes, remove the pan and with a sharp knife, cut into bars before the mixture has become too hard. Keep the bars in a covered container in the fridge or freezer. Makes 40-60 bars.

Recipe from Living Raw Food, by Sarma Melngailis.

Raw Mushroom Sweet Potato Sliders

Made from mushrooms, sweet potatoes and pumpkin seeds

Tasty and resonably quick dinner recipe. You do need a dehydrator but the dehydrating time is significantly less than most raw recipes. Easy to dress up how ever you like them.

Recipe can be found here.

Raw Oatmeal

Made from oats, almonds and dates

Quick, tasty and hearty.

2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup almonds soaked overnight
1/2 cup dates, pitted
1- 1 1/2 cups water
2 tbsp honey or agave
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tbsp coconut oil

Place the oats, dates and the water in a food processor and soak for 15 minutes. Then remove the skins off the soaked alnonds and add to the mixture, as well as the rest of the ingredients. Blend until smooth. Garnish with cinnamon and chopped apple if desired. Make 2-3 servings.

Raw Buckwheat Biscuits

Buckwheat and flax biscuits, perfect for jam or pb&j.

These were a great snack to bring to work. Savory and a great base for almond butter and jam. Made from buckwheat which was sprouted and dehydrated and then ground into a flour.

I sprout buckwheat every week to make something out of them because it's a filling savory grain that has a lot of protein. You can make granola, bars, or these biscuits from it.

Recipe from Ani's Raw Food Essentials: Recipes and Techniques for Mastering the Art of Live Food, by Ani Phyo.

I modified the recipe by adding ground flax seed and replaced the water with coconut oil for a more buttery flavor.

Raw Lentil Chili

Sprouted lentil chili with onions and carrots

Tasty filling chili and pretty easy to make. Just soak lentils overnight and let sprout for one day. Recipe can be found here.

Raw Caramel Bars

Chocolate covered pecan caramel filling on a maple walnut crust

Luxurious and rich treat, I've bought these from One Lucky Duck and had to attempt making them for myself. Definitely need a dehydrator and a few days planning but the assembly itself is pretty easy.

Walnut Dough
4 cups walnuts
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp sea salt

Place the walnuts in a food processor and grind until they are in very small pieces. Add the remaining ingredients and process just enough to thoroughly combine into a dough. But be careful to not over process, as the nuts will become too oily.

Line 1/2 a sheet pan (or a cookie sheet with sides) with foil (and raise the foil on the open side to create a wall. Press the dough into the pan, creating an even layer. Place the pan in the bottom of a dehydrator (remove the bottom 2 or 3 trays to make room),  and dehydrate for 24 hours.

Caramel Filling
2 cups pecans
1 1/2 tbsp coconut butter/oil
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp agave
3/4 sup water

Place the pecans and the coconut butter/oil in a food processor and process until smooth. Then add the remaining ingredients and blend until very smooth.

Spread the caramel filling evenly over the dehydrated walnut dough and dehydrate for another 24 hours.

Refrigerate the bars until the surface is chilled. Prepare the chocolate oil.

Chocolate Oil
3/4 cup coconut butter/oil melted
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp raw cacao powder
2 tbsp maple syrup
pinch of sea salt

Blend all the ingredients in a blender or in a bowl with a whisk until thoroughly blended.

Pour the chocolate oil over the chilled bars and let it spread out evenly. Place back into the refrigerator to chill and harden. In about 5 minutes,  you can cut/score the mixture into bars before the chocolate hardens too much (it will crack if you wait too long). After cutting bars, you can place back into fridge to harden (about another 15 minutes).

Makes about 23 bars. Keep stored in fridge. Enjoy!

Recipe from Living Raw Food, by Sarma Melngailis, page 293, modified slightly.

Raw Granola

 Sprouted buckwheat groats, sesame seeds, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, goji berries, and dates

Heading into the dehydrator

Simple and tasty recipe for raw granola, goes great with hemp milk. Full of protein, fiber, omega 3's and antioxidants. The sprouted buckwheat groats add a great crunch.

2 cups raw buckwheat groats, soaked over night, then sprouted for 1 day

3/4 cup raw sesame seeds

3/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)

3/4 cup raw goji berries

1 cup raw dates

2 tbsp coconut oil, melted

1 tsp cinnamon

In mixing bowl, add the sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, and goji berries and fill bowl with water and soak for 30 minutes. In another bowl, soak the dates for 30 minutes as well. After 30 minutes, drain the first bowl and add to rinsed and sprouted buckwheat. Then strain and rinse the dates and mince into pieces. Add dates to main mixture along with the cinnamon and melted coconut oil and mix everything together.

Spread onto 2 dehydrator trays with teflex sheets on them and dehydrate for 6-8 hours at 104 degrees. Store in fridge, good for a couple weeks.