Salted Chocolate Paleo Almond Butter Blondies
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Presenting my PB&J VEGAN CHEESECAKE BARS, and let me tell you… OMG These are dangerously good! I definitely have a weakness for Cheesecake so when I went completely dairy-free it was my mission to create the perfect Vegan version. And after trail and error and TONS of recipe testing I finally nailed it. The cheesecake filling in these is super smooth and creamy and has a slight tangy flavor. You would swear it was real dairy. The PB&J Flavor comes from some added all-natural peanut butter in the filling and topped with my 3-INGREDIENT STRAWBERRY CHIA SEED JAM (for the original blog post CLICK HERE) I finish these off with a drizzle of runny, creamy Peanut Butter. For the best ever peanut butter to drizzle with CLICK HERE.
These bars are Vegan, Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free and Refined Sugar-Free so they’re a perfect guilt free dessert. They aren’t the lowest calorie dessert on this blog, coming in at 578 per piece. BUT they can definitely be fit into a healthy diet as a treat! AND they are SUPER rich and indulgent so 1 Bar gets the job done for sure!
I have the EASIEST method EVER for the crust of these PB Vegan Cheesecake Bars!! I dump one full package of Emmy’s Organics Coconut Cookies in the food processor, pulse for a few minutes until it’s crumbly and transfer it to a baking tin and pack it down to form the crust! LITERALLY takes 3 minutes and it’s a full proof crust! I’ll stick it in the freezer to firm up while I’m preparing the filling. For this recipe I used the Peanut Butter flavor of Emmy’s Coconut Cookies but they have a bunch of different flavors. The ingredient list on the cookies are super clean and all whole ingredients and they’re gluten free and Paleo friendly! The base of the cookies is made up of coconut which adds a nice layer of flavor to these PB&J Bars. BUT like I said, this is an easy crust hack I use for a lot of my raw treats and layered desserts.
STORING TIPS: These Bars stay good in the fridge for about 5-7 days, or up to 3 months in the freezer in a sealed freezer proof container or bag. Just pop one or two out of the freezer and let it defrost on the counter for about 30 minutes whenever you’re in the mood!
ingredients:
CRUST:
-1 package Emmy’s Organics Coconut Peanut Butter Cookies
FILLING:
-1 3/4 c. raw, unsalted cashews (soaked overnight or at least 8 hours)
-3/4 can full-fat coconut milk (scoop “cream” off of the top + 2 tbsp liquid)
-2 tbsp coconut oil (melted + cooled)
-1/3 c. grade-a raw maple syrup
-1/2 c. creamy all natural peanut butter (salted)
-2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
-1 tsp vanilla extract
TOPPING:
-1 batch Strawberry Chia Seed Jam; prepared and chilled (for full recipe CLICK HERE)
-2 tbsp creamy, all-natural peanut butter (I used THIS kind)
instructions:
1. Line an 8 x 8 pan with parchment paper.
2. Add in entire package of Emmy’s Organics Coconut Peanut Butter Cookies to a food processor and pulse until crumbly. Add to the lined pan and press down firmly until its evenly packed down. (I use the back of a measuring cup to do this)
3. Add all the filling ingredients to the food processor or high speed blender. Blend until COMPLETELY smooth! Blend for a full 5 minutes.
4. Pour filling over crust. Bang on the counter a few times to get rid of any air bubbles. Place in the freezer for 3 hours (or the fridge for at least 6 hours)
5. Once ready to serve, remove cheesecake from freezer. Spread a generous layer of the chilled Strawberry Chia Seed Jam over the “cheesecake” layer. (For original recipe CLICK HERE)
6. Drizzle 2 tbsp runny, creamy all-natural peanut butter over the jam layer.
7. Let sit on counter 10-15 minutes to slightly defrost before slicing (if chilled in fridge instead of freezer OMIT this step)
MAKES 9 cheesecake bars/ APPROX. 578 CALORIES PER bar
VEGAN/GLUTEN FREE/DAIRY FREE/REFINED SUGAR FREE/GRAIN FREE