Rawfood Vegan Maple Pecan Pie Bars from Crudessence

Morning beautiful people, it's time for the dessert recipe that I tried from the wonderful Crudessence cookbook, which I reviewed recently. Did I ever mention how much I freaking love pecan pie? Poppa Bear says like but nuh uh, this is a sexy pecan love affair. Don't worry PB, you are still #1 in MB's heart, pass that slice of pecan pie would yah? Pleeeeeease.
BTW-the review and link is lower down after the lasagna picture. It's a good one, you should really check it out. This is what the Crudessence cookbook looks like:




Here is the link to the recipe for that lovely raw vegan lasagna:
http://thekinkycoconut.blogspot.ca/2015/09/crudessence-raw-vegan-lasagna-recipe.html

So, I made these maple pecan pie bars a little while back and I adjusted the recipe which did not use raw cashews but only raw Brazil nuts. As that would have made this dessert way too expensive, I chose to use half raw cashews and found that it was good because it lightened up the richness considerably. I also turned the pie into bars and left out the 1/4 tsp ground cardomom that was supposed to go in the crust as I had a bad reaction to cardamom a little while ago.
This item used to be on the Crudessence menu at their resto years ago and at healthfood stores, but sadly, it went the way of the dino. I was so so sad when I found out the terrible news, nothing has ever replaced it. I was a bit dismayed every time I went to purchase it, they had to reminded me that it was no more. Waaaaah...
I really enjoyed eating it as I am such a pecan pie fan. At the time I was a serious raw foodie so it was a joy to have a treat which was an amaze bombs stand in for the cooked, and let's face it, rather unhealthy version. I was over the moon when I found it in the dessert section of the Crudessence cookbook, which is really the best part of any cookbook, in my humble opinion.
Ladies and gents, I give you, the pecan goodness that must be devoured with wild abandon and a good cup of tea. Enjoy!

CRUDESSENCE RAWFOOD VEGAN MAPLE PECAN PIE BARS

Ingredients:
1 Coconut Pecan Crust Recipe, pressed into an 8" pie plate or a square brownie pan(recipe follows down below)
1 C Brazil nuts soaked
1 C Cashew nuts soaked
3/4 C Date paste (recipe link follows down below)
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1/3 C Melted coconut oil
3 Tbsp Maple syrup
*1/4 C Filtered water (add only if needed when blending if too thick)
12 Pecan halves (to decorate the top)

Method:
-In a blender blend nuts, water, vanilla, maple,water and date paste until smooth.
-Add coconut oil, blend for 5 seconds.
-Pour into prepared pie crust, place pecans on top evenly.
-Chill for 4 hours or overnight.
-Slice into pie slices or bars depending on type of pan you use, I used a square pan and sliced them all in advance then froze them to eat later as I wanted.
-Serve with a dollop of maple syrup.

Date Paste:
http://thekinkycoconut.blogspot.ca/2015/08/date-paste-rawfood.html

COCONUT PECAN CRUST
Ingredients:
1 1/2 C Pecans
3/4 C Unsweetened shredded coconut
3 Dates soaked no pits
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp fresh scraped nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground clove
1/8 tsp pink sea salt

Method:
-Grind nuts in blender with pecans for 60 seconds, add coconut and blend until they are a medium ground flour consistency, it's okay if it's not completely smooth. I like a small bit of mini chunkage. Try not to over grind.See the pics below for consistency, visual help.
-In a bowl add spices to those ingredients and mix well, you may add 1 tbsp coconut oil if mixture is too dry but I never had this problem,.
-Press into a pie plate or a square brownie pan evenly, I chill it for 30 minutes before pouring the crust in. Also, if you want it to be easier to take out the bars I lay down parchment paper or plastic wrap, which I allow to hang way over the edges to ease pan removal for cutting.
This made 16 bars and everybody was really diggin' on em'. Some people added way more maple syrup at serving time, this is a personal preference and health thing.
They froze beautifully, I recommend a month maximum and wrap them well as nuts pick up flavours of other foods in fridge and freezer.
I hope you try this recipe out, you will not be sad you did because they are amazing! Go for it and let me know all about your kitchen adventures, I love to hear from you.