By Gabby of The Veggie Nook
Makes 16 dense brownies.
- 1 cup raw pecans
- 1 cup raw hazelnuts
- 3/4 cup medjool dates, pitted and soaked for at least 4 hours (or a few minutes in hot water if you forget!)
- 1/3 cup cacao powder
- pinch salt (to bring out the sweetness)
- Icing
- 1 avocado
- 6 tbsp maple syrup (or agave for 100% raw)
- 1/4 cup cacao powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 2 tbsp coconut butter
*I’m sure this would work well with either all pecans or hazelnuts or any combination of nuts you prefer
Pulse the first four ingredients together until you get a mixture that will easily stick together when pressed into a pan. Don’t need to get all the chunks of nuts out, but most should be fairly small.
Press the mixture into an 8 x 8 baking dish lined with parchment paper, making sure to get it even and nicely compact and put in the fridge while you make the icing. The parchment paper will make it easier to get the brownies out of the pan later.
For the icing, first melt the coconut oil and butter together in a small dish over low heat. Add the rest of the icing ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Then, while the blender is running, slowly pour the coconut oil/butter mixture in and blend until incorporated (a few seconds). This will help the icing firm up a bit when you chill it!
Frost the brownies and put back in the fridge for at least an hour before slicing. Lick the blender clean. Yes this is a mandatory step. You won’t be sorry you did ;) (Just please be careful of the blades!). When ready to serve, lift the brownies out of the pan using the parchment paper and put on a cutting board. Slice to desired size. These are rich so I found cutting it into 16 was perfect.
Garnish with a raspberry or strawberry if you want and serve!
