No-Bake Tahini Fudge Crispies, Vegan & Gluten-Free
Hi friends!
I’m so excited to be back today with my first new recipe post-maternity leave!
First, a little update on what’s new in our house. I mentioned in this post that after Baby L was born I wanted to take a real maternity leave, without doing any work. Well, I did it folks! Honestly, it wasn’t that difficult because with a toddler and a newborn in the house there’s really no time for anything other than changing diapers, trying to coordinate nap schedules, bickering with Ross about which one of us is more tired (spoiler alert- everyone is exhaused!), figuring out how to be out and about with two kids (seriously, why didn’t anyone tell me how insane it is to load in/out of the car??) and watching Frozen and Doc McStuffins for the 10000th time. Oh, and of course soaking up all the newborn baby cuddles!!
We even snuck away to Florida for a week to escape the cold and spend some time in the sun.
Now that Baby L is 9 weeks old, we’ve fallen into a more predictable routine, and while I wouldn’t say things are easier, I’m feeling more adjusted to life with two and finally able to make space in my brain for work, which right now means finishing up the photography and edits for cookbook #2 and easing back into sharing new recipes on the blog.
I’m really excited for everything I’ve got on deck for 2019, especially finally sharing all the recipes I’ve been making for the cookbook when it comes out this fall!
Before I get to today’s recipe, I also want to mention that The Colorful Kitchen Tote is back!! I’ve been getting tons of requests for them to be available for sale again- so they are for a short time! Click here to get yours.
Ok, let’s get to the recipe! It should come as absolutely no surprise that it’s been a little more difficult lately for me find time to cook, let alone bake up treats. Weirdly, I’ve been craving the sugar-filled rice crispy treats from my childhood, so I came up with this incredibly easy, elevated version.
These No-Bake Tahini Fudge Crispies are vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar-free and oven-free! If you love tahini like I do, you will LOVE these babies since they basically taste like tahini + caramel with crunch. They’re sweetened with dates instead of sugar so I don’t feel as bad when Baby V asks for seconds (and thirds…). Side note- I LOVE that Baby V is a tahini lover like I am! Ok, time to get no-bake baking!
- 12 pitted dates, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes
- ½ cup tahini
- ¼ cup coconut oil, softened
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- dash of salt
- ½ cup puffed rice
- handful chocolate chips
- Line a 9"x5" loaf pan with parchment paper.
- Drain the dates and place them in a blender. Add the tahini, coconut oil, vanilla extract and salt, and blend until smooth.
- Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and stir in the puffed rice and chocolate chips, then transfer the mixture to the loaf pan. Use a spatula to press it down firmly and spread the top out evenly.
- Place the pan in the freezer for 1 hour to harden. Remove from the freezer and tug on the parchment paper to pull everything out. Use a knife to slice into bars, then store the bars in an airtight container in the freezer.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread mixture out on parchment paper. Use hands to form rectangle about ¾" thick.
- Place in freezer for 45 minutes to set. Remove and slice into squares. Store in freezer.
While I admire your creativity, I hope you will reconsider using coconut oil in your recipes. It has more saturated fat (90%) than butter (64%) and lard (40%), all of which contribute to heart disease.
Oh no! These were an almighty disaster 🙁 I used a stick blender and it appears that all the liquid has separated, so I’ve got a big lump of dates and tahini swimming in oil. I’ve made a very similar recipe before with maple syrup instead of dates which worked perfectly. I’m not sure what’s gone wrong. I transferred it to the food processor to see if I could get it to combine but no such luck 🙁
Yay, I’ve given the recipe a second (and much more successful) attempt. I had more luck with the nutribullet this time, so obviously I needed a high powered blender. The mixture never really achieved ‘smooth’ consistency, more thick and a little lumpy but after freezing it you can’t tell at all! It tasted delicious!
Hi!
Your “no bake tahini fudge crispies,” could they fit into the
requirements for the Mediterranean Diet?
I’m not familiar enough with the diet to say!
I generally am not the biggest fan of fudge but I do love a crispy element and some tahini and chocolate involved! The tote bag also looks absolutely adorable–I can never acquire too many tote bags. Most women love a giant collection of shoes but I love a giant collection of reusable totes!