Welcome back Monday!

Happy Monday everyone!

I hope you all had an amazing Christmas spent with your family and friends.

With New Year’s around the corner I am sure there are plenty of people with resolutions to eat healthier. Today I will share my favorite healthy dessert with all of you!

I spent Christmas Eve making my favorite dessert and now I get to share the recipe with you. This healthy dessert is the perfect thing to eat when craving something sweet. I wanted to use Motivational Monday to encourage some of you readers to make this great treat! It is perfect for all of you who are making New Year’s resolutions to eat healthier.

Being allergic to milk, wheat and gluten it is hard to come up with great desserts.This recipe is a modification from raw “bakery” that serves all gluten free, vegan, dairy free and “cane” sugar free sweets . Their desserts are raw and even sometimes nut free. This delicious recipe, is nut,fructose, gluten and dairy free. It is loaded with anti oxidants, zinc and healthy fats from coconut oil and pumpkin seeds. It is however high in calories, but the calories are good for you instead of junk.

My mom and I made the Chocolate Mint Nut Free Brownies together. My mom, Elizabeth Trattner, is a doctor of Integrative and Chinese medicine as well as a certified Chef from the Natural Gourmet Cooking School in New York. She assisted me making these brownies as raw and gluten free baking can be challenging. Below are the ingredients and steps for this delicious recipe (I recommend doubling or even quadruplicating it since this recipe can be a little difficult for first timers).

Brownie

1 cup of pumpkin seeds (Raw for the best results)
2 cups of dates (with the pit removed)
3/4 cup of raw cocoa powder
1/2 cup of desiccated coconut
2 tbsp of organic rice malt syrup
add a few drops of 100% peppermint extract

Chocolate Frosting Topping

1/3 cup cold pressed coconut oil
1/4 cup of raw cocoa powder
1/4 cup of organic rice malt syrup

*do not use a blender to make the frosting, the heat will ruin the consistency and it won’t freeze correctly. Just whip it yourself for the best results*

Lightly grease an 8×8 pan, preferably a silicone pan to remove the brownie easily at the end and facilitate cutting.

First grind pumpkin seeds into a fine meal. Use a strong food processor. Then add dates slowly so everything is uniform. Follow with cocoa powder and coconut . At the end, add the brown rice syrup and peppermint extract and slowly the mixture will uniformly come together. This will take some time, and remember to scrape the sides of the food processor to ensure the mixture is uniform and smooth.

Remove the mixture and divide in half. In you use a pan, place half the mixture in and press down with a smooth ramekin or other object to create a flat surface. Your brownie should be level as shown in the video. Place this in the freezer for 10 minutes so the first layer can set .

Now make the icing! Warm up the coconut oil in hot water. This method is better than a microwave or even using the oil in it’s solid state. We have made this recipe many times. (Do not use a blender because the velocity will make the icing off) With a whisk, mix the oil, rice syrup and cocoa powder. You will have a runny chocolate icing. We like using a Pyrex measuring cup with a lip so it is easy to pour.

Remove your bottom brownie from the freezer. Drizzle half of the icing onto the top of your brownie and use a spatula to ensure the icing is uniform. Place back into the freezer for another ten minutes.

Remove the brownie and icing from the freezer and add the second half of the brownie. Pack down with the ramekin or other flat surface. Return to the freezer for another 10 minutes.

Finally, add the remainder of the icing to the top of the brownie and smooth with a spatula.Return to the freezer to set up for at least 1-2 hours depending on the climate where you live.

Remove brownie from freezer and let it sit on the counter top for a few minutes. If you used a silicone pan you can gently slide the brownie out and place on a cutting board to cut in uniform squares. either way, use a knife that has been placed in hot water to facilitate cutting through the brownie.

Note: These should be stored in the refrigerator because the coconut is not stable at room temperature.

This recipe was multiplied 8 times because we had a large crown of guests to feed. Your brownies will be flatter so make sure you remember this when making them!

*The measurements stated earlier are the original measurements, not the multiplied ones*