This raw cookie bar recipe is chewy, fruity and totally irresistible!
Coconut-Frosted Date Pockets are a fruity, chewy treat—great as a dessert, to pack in lunches, or to snack on for a quick boost for in between meals. They’re a perfect complement to a raw food diet, and although they take some work, you’ll find they’re worth the wait!
Equipment
- Dehydrator
- Food processor
Ingredients
Cookie Crust:
- 2 cups pumpkin seeds (soaked 2 hours)
- 1 cup sunflower seeds (soaked 1 hour or more)
- ½ cup ground flax seeds (purchased pre-ground, or ground in a coffee grinder)
- 1 ½ - 2 cups dates (soaked 2 hours)
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tablespoon salt (or to taste)
- 1-2 teaspoons lemon juice (to taste)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ cup of raisins (soaked 1-2 hours)
Cookie filling:
- 1 cup date paste (see instructions below, #2)
- ½ cup dried, chopped apples (soaked 2 hours)
- ½ cup dried, chopped apricots (soaked 2 hours)
- ½ cup raisins (soaked 2 hours)
Directions
- Grind the seeds (reserving ¼ cup of the sunflower seeds) in a food processor until ground into fine pieces. Remove from processor and set aside.
- Remove dates from water, rinse, and place in food processor. Add water, lemon juice, salt, and cinnamon, and blend until the mixture forms a smooth paste.
- Add seed mixture and blend with the date paste until it forms a doughy-like substance. If the mixture is too runny and moist, continue adding flax seeds until the mixture thickens. Stir raisins in by hand.
- Spread the date and seed mixture on a Teflex sheet, about ¼ inch thick or thinner (should make about 2 sheets). Sprinkle with coconut flakes and remaining sunflower seeds. Set the dehydrator at 105 degrees and heat for 3-5 hours.
- When the dough begins peeling away from the Teflex sheet, flip it over onto the mesh screen and peel away the Teflex. Cut into bar-sized pieces, about 4 inches by 2 ½ inches.
- Blend date paste and chopped fruit until the fruit is thoroughly moist, but still visible.
- Spread fruit mixture onto a piece of the crust, leaving about ¼ an inch around the edges.
- Using a spatula or the flat side of a long knife, flip an empty piece of crust on top of a fruit covered square. Using your fingers, press along the side until it forms a pocket. If the sides are too crusty, use some warm water to soften and close the sides, so that the fruit is sealed inside the crust. Continue this process until you’ve used all the dough.
- Return the fruit pockets to the dehydrator for another 8-12 hours, until the cookie bars are chewy on the outside and still slightly moist on the inside.
- Terrific warm with a glass of almond milk.
Timing
If you're a working stiff, this recipe is probably best left for the weekend. Begin soaking after noon, begin blending around 2 pm, dehydrate your crusts between 2 and 6 (more or less), and begin stuffing your pockets around 6 or 7. That way, you can pop them back in the dehydrator over night and wake up to warm cookies for breakfast!
Variations on a Theme
If you like this recipe, try substituting different fruits in the filling. Dried, soaked apricots can blended with fresh strawberries or raspberries into a thick puree (you may need to add a teaspoon of honey). Throw in a few dried cranberries for added chewiness.
Coconut-Frosted Date Pockets keep best in an airtight container or in the refrigerator. They should stay fresh for about a week, if they last that long!
Related articles
Raw Chocolate Banana Creme Pie
