Super cute, delish, healthy and festive finger-food style brownie bites!
- 1 cup packed pitted medjool dates (approx. 10)*see notes
- 1/2 cup almond or cashew butter **see notes
- 1/2 cup almond meal (or almond flour)
- 1/2 cup cacao powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup almond butter **see notes
- 3 tbsp cacao powder
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1-2 tbsp plant milk (use ONLY if needed - see recipe instructions)
- 12 fresh strawberries
- 1 can CHILLED full fat coconut cream ***see notes
- 1 tbsp monk fruit icing sugar substitute (or regular organic icing sugar) ****see notes
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Ensure you have a can of chilled coconut cream that has been refrigerated at least overnight. (See recipe notes and description above for notes on this). Remove the can of coconut cream from the fridge and be careful not to shake it, as the coconut cream should have separated and you want it to stay that way!
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Place a small mixing bowl in the fridge to chill for at least 10 minutes prior to the following step.
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Carefully open the can of coconut cream and scoop out the hard parts, which should be approximately half the can (200mL). Add them into the pre-chilled mixing bowl and use electric beaters to whip the hardened cream for around 30 seconds to a minute. Add in the monk fruit icing sugar replacement and whip for a further 10 seconds to combine. Place the whipped cream in the fridge to firm up more while you move on to the rest.
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Line a 21x21cm baking tray with parchment/baking paper, then add all the brownie base ingredients to a food processor and process to a fine crumb consistency. Tip into the prepared baking tin and press the mixture down firmly and evenly. You can use the back of a spoon towards the end to help even it out. Place in the fridge.
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Add all the chocolate frosting ingredients - except for the milk - to a small blender (ideally a bullet blender) or small food processor and blend/process until smooth. If the blender struggles, add some plant milk 1 tablespoon at a time until it blends into a smooth frosting. Transfer into a small bowl and place in the fridge.
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Prepare the strawberries by cutting the green ends off to create a flat base, then cutting approx. 1/2 cm off the top of each to create a flat surface for the Santa hat tips.
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Remove the brownie base from the fridge and use a 5cm round-ish cookie cutter of choice (star/circle/snowflake) to cut shapes from the brownie and arrange them on a serving plate. Depending on the size and shape of your cookie cutter, you should get 9-15 pieces. You can re-roll the excess to make extra shapes or even just roll them into bliss balls.
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Dollop heaped teaspoonfuls of the frosting onto each shape.
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Prepare a piping bag with a star-shaped nozzle and fill it with the whipped coconut cream. Pipe little circles of the cream on top of the chocolate frosting.
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Place the prepared strawberries on top, then finish with a little extra piping of coconut cream to top off the Santa hats! Serve immediately or return to fridge to serve when ready :)
*Or sub regular dates that have been soaked for one hour prior in filtered water then well drained (not too wet, or your brownies will end up too moist).
**Use raw nut butter if keeping this recipe completely raw, otherwise use roasted nut butter for a more rich flavour.
***See recipe intro above for notes about which coconut cream brands work for whipping. Some brands won't work, so important to try them out first or Google search "coconut cream brands that work for whipping in [insert your country]." You can also sub with a specific vegan whipping cream substitute (just watch out for nasty additives)!
****See recipe intro above for a pic of the awesome organic monk fruit-based icing sugar replacement I use. Hopefully you can find something similar!