I absolutely love Nakd Bars, especially the Bakewell Tart and Christmas Pudding flavours, they’re just SO GOOD!  I wanted to recreate those flavours in a more economical way as it’s way too expensive to keep buying those bars!

These have a base of nuts and dried fruit (figs and dates in this recipe),  but from there you can add your own ingredients and start playing around with flavours.  In this one I focused on making a Christmas flavoured treat that everyone could eat, including those in my family following a vegan diet.  These ‘brownies’ have the beautiful spicing found in mince pies such as nutmeg and cinnamon, but also have a great chocolate hit by adding some cacao into the mix.  Give them a go and I assure you that even those who turn up their noses at raw food will be asking for more!

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 Christmas Spiced Raw Brownies

Prep Time: 10 minutes     Cook Time: 1 hour in the fridge to set     Servings: 15 – 20 bars

Ingredients

• 200g unsalted mixed nuts (you can stick to just a few nuts like almonds or pecans, but in this particular batched I used a bag which included almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, brazil and cashew nuts)
• 175g dried figs
• 300g dried dates
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 – 3 tablespoons of cacao powder
• 2 – 3 tablespoons of maple syrup or other sweetener alternative such as honey
• 1 teaspoon of mixed spice (or 1/4 teaspoon each of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and clove)

Method

1. In a food processor, start by adding in the nuts and blitz until it they are all broken down as much as possible, retaining a few chunks so it is not all powder
2. Next, add in the figs and dates (cut them up a little before adding if large) and then blitz again until it starts to come together.  This may take a while as there are a lot of ingredients in the food processor, but keep going in short bursts
   
3. Add in the cacao, spices and almond extract and maple syrup and blitz again.  It will start to come together and get sticky
4. Tip out into a baking tray and flatten out until the thickness is the same all over.  Place into the fridge for at least an hour, but it is best when left alone for a while and it start to firm up
5. Once all firm, cut into squares or slices and enjoy!