Freezer Brownies

I have lots of aspirations.  I'd like to eat more raw food, I'd like to eliminate refined sugar from my diet (and my family's), and I'd like to be one of those that can stomach (and afford) to pack half the produce aisle into a single green smoothie for breakfast every morning.  Some people's lifestyles are just so inspiring.  But my current standard, as exemplified by my wide-ranging posts (do you want to run a marathon? or go into a sugar coma?  we've got it all...), is "just doing my best and improving my habits as I go."  We're all at different points on our journey; so remember to be patient, kind, and respectful to others who may not share your food philosophies.

This recipe comes from mynewroots.blogspot.com.  I can't even remember what recipe in this blog a friend originally linked me too, but naturally I quickly averted my attention toward the desserts.  My oldest daughter and I tried the "raw brownie" recipe this afternoon.  My ingredients were not as pure (completely raw) as the blogger's (forgive me), but I think the end result was probably pretty close to the intended.  And I'll make them again.  My 10-yr-old wondered if they'd be better without all the nuts...I was thinking maybe ground oats could be substituted.  We also thought maybe some dried cherries would be a yummy addition.  But in the meantime, as is, I'd say this is a good go-to chocolate-craving mommy (adult) dessert, as it's on the dark side of the chocolate spectrum.  And would make a good post-exercise snack too, as it's full of protein from the nuts, and natural carbs from the dates. 

2 cups walnuts
1 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
2-1/2 cups pitted Medjool dates

Put the walnuts through the food processor until finely ground. 

Add the cocoa and salt, and then the dates one at a time. 

You'll end up with what looks like chocolate cake crumbs. 

Press into an 8 x 8-inch pan.  I lined mine as directed, but I don't think it's really necessary.  And we actually used about 1/4 cup of pumpkin seeds with the walnuts because we didn't have quite enough (which I think accounts for the white specks in this picture; when made with just walnuts you can't really see them).

Cover with plastic wrap and foil and put in the fridge or freezer for an hour or two before cutting. 

These sort of melt in your mouth after a few seconds.  Store them in an airtight container in the fridge or the freezer (even though we all know keeping sweets in the freezer so they aren't as handy is a farce...)