AfroVeganChick Turns Six With Raw Cacao, Cherry, And Peanut Butter Oat Bars

Happy New Year! Starting another it off right with yummy treats! 

Goodbye 2017! Hello 2018!
Six years has passed already. The time has flown by with so much happening in between the posting of recipes, personal experiences (family and friends still making those uncomfortable, unfunny animal jokes), the glorious, ever changing art world, adventure traveling across the globe, eating out vegan, and other miscellaneous entertainments that my writing has come to on this blog.
I will always be grateful for the countless visits, comments, and shares. I wouldn't have thought anyone cared, especially in the beginning when post views were so few. It was discouraging that one could open up a social media account at the same time as someone else and their numbers blow up considerably while the other barely peaks. Giving up is a lot easier than staying on the path. I got bitten by a friendly bug, often super excited over a new recipe that turned out better than hoped. Sure, my photography skills lacked and were likely the cause of little word-of-mouth buzz, but still, I was loving vegan creating in a way that my prior thirteen years of vegetarianism hadn't revealed.
Today, I share a raw vegan recipe that sort of commemorates the road I have been venturing at home. In case you haven't noticed, I use less oils more and more, relying on other fats. These simple cacao, cherry, and peanut butter oat bars have the oils of peanut butter helping to hold bars together as well as delicious sticky cacao and cherry mixture that acts as a sweet glue. They have an irresistibly, chewy peanut butter and jelly taste with a chocolaty edge.

Raw Cacao, Cherry, and Peanut Butter Oat Bars Ingredients and Preparation

2 cup dried cherries, soaked
3 tablespoon cacao powder
2 1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup salted peanut butter (I used crunchy but creamy is okay)
1/4 cup slivered almonds

Soak cherries overnight. Drain a little of the water. Add in cacao powder and pulse cherries and cacao together until creating a thick, even mixture.

In a large bowl, combine the cacao-cherry pulp with oats, peanut butter, and almonds.

Mix well. 

Press into a rectangular container. This one pictured is 4 1/2" x 8" x 1 1/2." Refrigerate for four to six hours. Cut into bars.

Serve. Try not to eat all the bars in one sitting. 

Gift Idea: Pumpkin Rice Crispy Treats

A special someone would be utterly charmed by this tasty concoction.

Christmas is just five days away!
There's something so special about a rice crispy treat. Imagine giving that away as a present.
Put a little sweeter twist with additive pumpkin flair. Pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, and pumpkin seeds are mixed in traditional batter, and when cooked together with melted Dandies marshmallows expect the kitchen to be a fragrant autumn enchantment only lacking colorful leaves falling downward.
I sampled a few for breakfast, impressed by the scent and delightful flavor, the pleasing warmth blended well together. Plus, being a visual person, I adored the family of orange colors with pops of green.
If this is too risky of a gift idea, especially if your special someone doesn't like pumpkin, try these original rice crispy treats-- my first foray into making a childhood classic! 

Six ingredients away from a treat!

Pumpkin Rice Crispy Treats Ingredients and Preparation

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 10 oz bag Dandies Miniature Marshmallows
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
5 cup Crispy Rice Cereal
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds (optional)

In a medium temperature skillet, heat up olive oil with marshmallows, pumpkin puree, and pumpkin pie spice. Blend well. When melted, turn off stove and add in crispy rice cereal a cup at a time and pumpkin seeds a tablespoon at a time.

Press mixture down onto foil or parchment paper in a pan. Store at room temperature or refrigerate.

Cut into bars and prep for gift wrapping, but save a few for yourself. Tis the season.

Vegan Rice Crispy Treat Bars

Finally! A childhood treat has become revived with refreshed vegan life.

Hello Virtual Vegan Linky Potluck! Today resides in memories thanks to Chicago Vegan Foods' Dandies Marshmallows. So long ago, was one of my first experiences helping Ma prepare homemade dessert snacks-- a must for the chilly winter nights. Every time a generic box of Rice Crispies made it in the grocery cart alongside two bags of plain marshmallows, we knew what that meant. As a family, we used to make it together starting with oiling the wide skillet and melting in the marshmallows. The kitchen would soon smell like sweet vanilla. After stove is turned off, it was time to stir in ample amounts of cereal and listen to the mesmeric popping sound. Although the stores supplied ready made treats, it was the homemade version that tasted far better. It was watching marshmallows turn milky, taking irresistible turns mixing with the big spoon, and eating cooled treats. Just warm and pleasant love impossible to package and market.
Here arrives the amazing vegan version. Still as simple as the old fashioned days. Plain rice crispy cereal is transformed, taking on the sugary divine flavor profiles melted marshmallow madness provides. These chewy, ooey gooey bars trigger happiness and light up taste buds with promises of delicious flashbacks sans the politically incorrect usage of gelatin. Win win!


Vegan Rice Crispy Treat Bars Ingredients and Preparation

2 tablespoon coconut oil
1 package Dandies Air Puffed Marshmallows
8 cups Trader Joe's Rice Crispy Cereal

Grease or lay parchment paper onto a baking sheet.
In a large skillet, melt coconut oil and add entirety of marshmallows. Stir and stir until marshmallows are a gooey and browning almost to caramel proportion.
Turn off stove and quickly add in cereal, one cup at a time.

Spread mixture onto prepared surface.

Let cool for an hour or so.

I, however, cheated and ate some 30 minutes afterwards. 

It is hard to stay at one treat. Or two. But try your best. And share the rest!

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cherry Almond Cookie Bars

Less than an inch thick, these little squares are filled with delicious surprises via decadent chocolate chips, sweet cherries, and crisp almonds.

So according to my body that weekend trip definitely wasn't the brightest idea without hand sanitizers and whatnot. It felt like death came crashing down on me last Tuesday. I had high fever, inability to lift my swollen, painful neck, an excruciating headache, and disgusting cold symptoms as well as a voice on the verge of disappearing. Turns out pharyngitis and pesky lymph nodes got me out of commission. I missed final critiques, peeking in on MFA reviews, and May First Friday- where one of my classmates' parents had a show in Olde City. I only consumed orange juice, water, broth, and tea hence the lack of recipes and such. I apologize greatly.
Right now, I'm finishing up preparing works for the Post Baccalaureate show (that should have been up this past weekend!) and planning the vegan part of the reception menu for Friday. Swamped!
Today, our soon-to-be-disbanding class (including our four lovely critics) had a yummy sumptuous picnic up in Lemon Hill (the first lemon tree in America was planted here). Yes, I did get lost looking for it. Again, sometimes Google gives THE worst directions, especially from a bus point of view.
I brought along two delicious eats- Tropical Chickpea Salad with Avocado Coconut Dressing and these wonderful Chocolate Chip Cherry Almond Cookie Bars- try saying that three times fast. The small, soft cookie bars are light and airy. Filled with chocolaty cherry goodness and amazing almond crunchiness, absolutely perfect treats for outdoor celebrations.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cherry Almond Cookie Bars Ingredients and Preparation

1/2 cup pumpkin puree (or applesauce)
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup almond milk
1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Whip together pumpkin puree, sugar, and vanilla extract. Set aside.
Mix all dry ingredients together.
Blend pumpkin mixture with dry ingredients.
Add almond milk, chocolate chips, cherries, almonds, and cinnamon.
Stir evenly.

Layer onto greased cookie sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Close up.

Topped with Soyatoo's infamous Soy Whip and bonus chocolate chips.

Pumpkin puree gives these cookies a beautiful orange.

Eat these plain or with vanilla (or banana) soft serve.

Vegan Chocolate Cherry Oat Bars

Yummy mini chocolate cherry oat bars that will cause a little addiction!

My first oatmeal bars.
After they were out of the oven and a few were devoured (one or two, maybe three, lost count) with a glass of cold almond milk, I felt like a greedy chocoholic Santa hovering over complimentary warm plates of delicious homemade treats, taking everything under the sun that's vegan. Haha!
I truly loved these.
Even ate the bowl batter which tells a whole lot.

1 cup Hodgson Mills Multi Grain Cereal With Milled Flaxseed & Soy
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 ripened banana
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
9 pitted cherries
1 teaspoon maple syrup
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare a cookie sheet.

Stir all dry ingredients together.

Blend banana and applesauce and add to dry mixture.

The mix should be a thick, even consistency. Not too dry. Not too moist.

Pit and drop in the cherries. Stir and mash cherries into the mixture. Then lastly maple syrup and salt.

Spread evenly onto parchment paper or a greased cookie sheet.

20-25 minutes later, ready to be squared away!

Cut them into any shapes & don't cry if a bar or two goes missing in action.

Oh my goodness!
I screamed to the top of the heavens after the first bite.
Chewy, moist, thin, and chocolaty, these chocolate cherry oat bars are so delightful and not too overly sweet even though I did sprinkle an additional bit of turbinado sugar on top which gave the bars that scone like crunch. With those warm, juicy cherry surprising the taste buds and that pleasant oatmeal texture, it's very easy to grab another bar from the pan. After all, they are small and oil free!
Of course I already made plans to make these again, maybe turn them into thick, mouthwatering brownies, and have considered adding various ingredients including walnuts or pecans, shredded coconut, dates, and other dried fruits, and yes, peanut butter- chocolate's soulmate.
The possibilities are utterly endless.
Anywho, back to eating just one more bar for the night....