I realize that this is a recipe that would have made a lot of sense to post on or before Valentine’s Day, as it would make for an easy but decadent treat to whip up for your sweetheart.

I assure you though, these little beauties are just too good to relegate to but one day of the year.

Now, I am typically not a jam-lover. I will choose the “quadruple-chocolate white chocolate chip with macadamia nuts and lugnuts and madness cookie” any day over some ole’ jam-studded thumbprint cookie. But for a tart, well to me a tart needs fruits to really be a very good tart at all, and so for these sweet little tart babies, only jam would do.

You can’t very well have a tart without a crust though! I made this simple rawish chocolate crust pretty quickly in my food processor:

• 1/2 cup raw cashews
• 1/2 cup raw almonds
• 1 tbsp. + 1 tsp. cocoa powder
• 1 and 1/2 tsp. agave nectar
• 1 and 1/2 tsp. chocolate almond butter
• 1 tsp. coconut butter
• less than a pinch of salt

Just blitz the nuts first til they’re teeny, then add everything else and blitz again.

I used a mini muffin pan to mold my tart shells. First, I sprayed the pan with non-stick spray then added little strips of wax paper to the bottom so that I could use them to pull the completed tart shells out later.

I put heaping spoonfuls of the mix into each cup and came up with enough for 14 shells. Just press the mix tightly into the bottoms and press up the sides, then press around the tops to make them smoother. Make sure to press them very tightly so they hold together.

A little dollop of jam goes in each, then a bit of chocolate almond spread tops it off.

I used Crofter’s jam and the same MaraNatha spread that I used in the crust (and on my toast some mornings.)

Biting into one of these for the first time had my eyes rolling back into my head!

Sooooooo…..insane!

I started off wanting to make a raw dessert but the almond butter and jam are not raw ingredients.

You could absolutely make a raw dessert out of this though by filling the cups with something like mashed bananas with cinnamon or maybe a raspberry cashew cream. You’d need to replace the chocolate almond butter in the crust too, not sure what I’d use there though.

Raw or not, I’m really proud of these.

No-bake chocolate jam tarts

Simple chocolate jam tarts in easy molded no-bake shells.

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Yield: About 14 tarts

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup raw almonds
• 1/2 cup raw cashews
• 1 and 1/2 tsp. agave nectar
• 1 and 1/2 tsp. chocolate almond butter
• 1 tbsp. + 1 tsp cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. coconut butter
• less than a pinch of salt
• jam and chocolate almond butter for filling

Cooking Directions

1. Pulverize nuts in food processor.
2. Add other ingredients and pulse to incorporate.
3. Mold crusts in a mini muffin pan and set in freezer to harden.
4. Fill with jam and top with chocolate almond butter.
5. Store in refrigerator.

What kind of filling would you use in these little tarts?

February 19, 2011 Alayna Discussion, Recipes 13 comments

Mmmm, these are so good!

I wanted to make something that could be versatile for me. Something I could have for breakfast alone, or crumbled over oatmeal, as a not-too-sweet dessert, or something to grab as just a snack.

These carrot cake bars work perfectly. Subtly sweet and packed with healthy whole ingredients, they are a great choice anytime!

Carrot cake breakfast bars

A healthy breakfast bar with the flavors of carrot cake.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Yield: About 6 bars

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup raw cashews
• 3/4 cup raw almonds
• 1 and 1/2 cups shredded carrot (not packed, squeezed of juice)
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 1 tbsp. maple syrup
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• pinch of salt, nutmeg, and clove

Cooking Directions

1. Shred carrots then squeeze out excess liquid using cheesecloth or nut milk bag.
2. Run nuts through the food processor until pulverized.
3. Add all other ingredients to processor and pulse until fully incorporated.
4. Form mixture into a disc about and inch thick on a sheet lined with parchment paper.
5. Bake at 300 degrees for 50 minutes.
6. Cut into wedges and top with vanilla yogurt or cream cheese if desired.

The center is so soft and chewy, but they hold together nicely like an oatmeal square.

These would be insane with the cinnamon cream cheese spread I made for my apple bars a while back.

What is your go-to snack?

February 7, 2011 Alayna Discussion, Recipes 8 comments

It is fair to say that I am officially obsessed with these.

Amber Shea of Almost Vegan came up with an amazing recipe for a raw blondie that is to die for! Somehow, it actually tastes baked although it’s completely raw.

You may check out the recipe and think, “Whatever, just another Larabar configuration,” but you’d be wrong. The mixture is drier than a Larabar, so it has a crumbly bread-like texture that really feels like a chewy blondie when you bite into it. The brown sugar gives it an unmistakable dessert-like quality, rather than a fruity energy bar. And the salt! I don’t know how but the salt really does the job of imitating a golden buttery baked good quite well.

I just made myself a stash of these to last me a while. I actually ran out of dates and subbed apricots for the version you see pictured, still insane but not as good as the original. I eat it directly out of the ramekin rather than plating it cause I just can’t wait.

I don’t follow a raw foods diet at all, but whenever I see a recipe like this that allows me to enjoy all the pleasures of a rich dessert while giving my body a dose of whole and healthy foods, I get excited.

OMG, make yourself one. You won’t be disappointed!

January 27, 2011 Alayna Discussion 10 comments