节日鳄梨食谱（5）Creamy Avocado Mint Bars

Serves 16

Ingredients

1 c deglet noor dates
1 c warm water
½ c almonds
½ c walnuts
¼ c cocoa powder
1 tbsp ground flaxseed
1 tsp vanilla extract

Cream Filling:
2 small ripe Avocados from Mexico – peeled, pitted and cut into quarters
¼ c melted coconut oil
⅓ c honey
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp peppermint extract

Chocolate Topping:
100 g dark chocolate or semi-sweet (in pieces, chunks or chips)
2 tbsp coconut oil

Directions

1. Soak dates in the warm water for 5-10 minutes or until soft. Drain and discard the water. Pat the dates dry.
2. Meanwhile, in a food processor combine the almonds and walnuts until finely chopped but not pasty. Add the dates, cocoa powder, ground flaxseed and vanilla and pulse until the fruit is finely chopped and the mixture begins to clump and stick to the sides of the bowl (1.5-2 minutes).
3. Line an 8x8 inch baking pan with parchment paper and grease with olive oil.
4. Using a spatula transfer the mixture from the food processor to the pan. Flatten and spread the mixture out evenly (you may want place a piece of parchment paper over the mixture to help flatten and spread it out).
5. Place the pan in the freezer while you make the cream filling.
6. In a food processor blend the ingredients for the cream filling until smooth.
7. Take the pan out of the freezer. Using a spatula, spread the cream filling evenly over the crust.
8. Place the pan back into the freezer for 2 hours (overnight is even better).
9. About 15 - 20 minutes before you want to serve the bars, melt the chocolate and coconut oil on the stove over low heat stirring well until smooth.
10. Pull the pan out of the freezer and pour the chocolate topping evenly over the cream layer, tilting the pan to evenly distribute.
11. Put the pan back into the freezer until the chocolate firms up. Do not leave the pan in the freezer too long or the chocolate will become too firm and will crack when you cut into the bars.
12. When ready, pull the bars out and cut them into 16 equal sized bars. Place bars in a Tupperware container lined with parchment paper in the freezer.

CHEF'S TIP: The chocolate is bound to crack at least a little bit when you cut up the bars. The type of knife that you use is very important! Use a small knife with a sharp serrated blade. Dip the knife into hot water each time you cut into the bars. Start at one end and slowly drag/pull the knife across the length of the pan to make a straight line. Make 3 straight lines one way and 3 more straight lines the other way to make 16 equal bars. Run the knife over each line slowly until the bars are cut all the way through. Don’t let the bars sit out for more then 15 minutes because they will start to soften and fall apart. Store the bars in the freezer.