Rawnies

This recipe has been sitting in my drafts folder for too long, I think I made these Raw Vegan Brownies early this summer and it's about time to share it with all of you.

Last week was a pretty productive and busy one: organizing my schedule (Christmas is not so far away my dear food bloggers!), making new recipes, being a good aunty (my niece's birthday is in two weeks, she's turning 8 and I already feel so old! lol) and preparing one of the most specials posts of the year...cause Cinnamon Girl celebrates its 4 anniversary, woo hoo!

These brownies are perfect for those days you need your chocolate dose but you want to keep it healthy and easy. They are vegan and sugar-free and the topping accepts many variations so you can always add your favorite nuts (I'm thinking about chopped pistachios right now...mmmm), some dried fruits or a crazy mix to create a yummy crumble. I love the subtle date flavor of these rawnies (raw + brownies = rawnies!), you can taste the dates but you won't find it overwhelming because they are above all super chocolatey, rich and juicy. So don't worry if you're not very keen on dates (like me) you will love these rawnies anyway!

Now I'm off to check what's cooking in the blogsphere.

Hope you like my recipe!

Receta en español aquí!

Rawnies

Ingredients
- For the brownies:
1/2 cup raw cacao powder.*
1 1/2 cup unroasted hazelnuts.
1/3 cup natural dried coconut.
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon.
1 tsp pure vanilla extract.
2 cups medjool dates, pitted and chopped.

- For the topping:
1/2 cup macadamia nuts.
1 to 2 tsp coconut oil.
organic coconut flakes (for decoration).

*If you can't find raw cacao powder you can use pure cocoa powder. Pure usweetened cocoa powder will work equally fine in this recipe but it won't be 100% raw, obviously. 

Directions

Pit dates and chop them, set aside.

In the bowl of your food processor stir together hazelnuts, cacao powder, coconut and cinnamon, blend until finely ground. Be careful not to over-process this mixture, otherwise you will get nut butter and the mixture will become oily. 

Slowly add in chopped dates and keep processing until well blended. Finally add in the vanilla and mix until combined.

-To make the topping:

In the bowl of a food processor blend macadamia nuts and coconut oil until coarsely chopped.

Line the bottom of an 8x8-inch (20x20cm) pan with parchment paper. Dump the mixture into the brownie pan and firmly press it down using your hands. Cover with topping, decorate with coconut flakes and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. 

Once the brownies firm up in the fridge you can cut them into small squares and enjoy!