24.6.14

Soft Coconut Almond Chocolate Squares (Using Leftover Almond Pulp!)

I'm think I'm obsessed. Nope. I KNOW I'm obsessed.... with this almond milk. I came back from uni craving it. And so my wonderful mom made it for me. And now I can't stop drinking it. It's definitely a problem. I swear it tastes like liquid marzipan (in other words, heaven). I've been drinking it by the glass, pouring it on homemade granola and fantasizing about it for the rest of the day.

Anyways, every time we make almond milk, we're left with quite a sizeable amount of the date/almond pulp which is filled with goodness and deliciousness. I've tried substituting it in several recipes, but this one seems to handle the wetness of the almond pulp best. Another great thing about this recipe is that it can be customized to your choice of flavors - dried fruits, nuts, orange or lemon zest etc.

One thing to note is that these bars get their texture from the dessicated coconut and oats, so if you decide to substitute either or both, I would ensure to replace it with something that will give these bars a "bite". The coffee adds caramel-like undertones and the flavor is very subtle, so don't be alarmed if you're not a coffee fan as you won't taste it much, or equally, it's completely fine to omit the coffee if you're really worried about the flavor or if you simply don't have any lying around.

Apart from the oats and coconut, these bars are rather soft and have only a slight grittiness from the almond pulp/meal. Don't expect crunchy sugar cookie type bars, nor are they like a chewy blondie. What they are is yummy, healthy goodies, perfect paired with a hot cup of tea/coffee/milk. What they also are is fuss free and simple to make, like most of my recipes!


Ingredients
1 cup wet almond pulp, leftover from making homemade almond milk (if you don't have wet almond pulp, replace this with 1 cup almond meal and 1-2 tbsp almond/any milk)
1 cup baby oats
1/2 cup dry almond flour
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
5 tbsp unrefined sugar
2 eggs
3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
2-3 tbsp desiccated coconut
1 tbsp instant coffee granules
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
few drops almond extract
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 175 C.
Line a square baking pan with baking paper and set aside.
In a medium bowl, stir together the dry almond flour, baby oats, baking soda, salt and sugar.
In a separate smaller bowl, whisk together the eggs, coconut oil, vanilla and almond extracts.
Pour the wet into the dry and mix gently until well combined. Add in the wet almond pulp and mix again.
Add the coffee granules and desiccated coconut and mix once again. Lastly, gently fold in the chocolate chips.
Lightly press the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for 25-30 minutes until top and edges and lightly browned and crusty and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Cool and cut into squares. Store in the fridge. These taste wonderful cold!
Enjoy!

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