These no-bake raw brownies dusted with powdered dried strawberries and a hint of chipotle pepper are so easy to prepare! I may have included a few obscure ingredients like dried strawberries and strawberry medicine flower extract but you can easily replace these items with easier to find ingredients. Dried mango, cranberries, cherries, and freeze dried raspberries are equally delicious and pair well with the chipotle in the icing! ( freeze dried raspberries are available at The Banff Tea Company) I buy my dried strawberries at The Light Cellar in Calgary and sometimes dehydrate fresh berries to use in this recipe.
Ingredients:
The Brownie
- 11/2 cups of raw pecans or walnuts
- dash of sea salt
- 1 cup of soft pitted dates
- 1/2 cup raw cacao powder
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup of dried strawberries, chopped into smaller pieces or dried fruit of your choice
Line an 8 X 8 inch brownie pan with parchment paper leaving enough around the edges so that you can lift the brownie with the paper out of the pan once set.
Chop 1/4 cup of the pecans or walnuts roughly by hand or in a food processor. Set aside to mix into the batter later.
Chop the remaining pecans or walnuts in a food processor until finely ground. Add the vanilla, cacao powder, and dates.
Process until the mixture comes together. It should stay together when you pinch it into a ball. If it is too dry and crumbly add a small amount of water and process again until it comes together.
Transfer the mixture to a medium sized bowl. Add the reserved roughly chopped nuts along with the dried fruit. Mix well with your hands to combine. Press the mixture into your prepared baking pan using the back of a spoon to ensure that it is pressed in firmly and evenly.
Set aside while you prepare the icing.
The Icing:
- 1/3 cup raw cacao powder
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/2 cup brown rice syrup
- a dropper full of Strawberry Medicine Flower Extract (available on line or from Bite Market in Inglewood in Calgary) If you can’t find this extract, substitute 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract or a few drops of essential oil of orange.
To prepare the icing set up a double boiler over medium heat on your stove. (place a stainless steel bowl over a small saucepan filled with a few inches of water) Add the coconut oil first, allowing it to melt. Whisk in the brown rice syrup, and then finally the cacao power. Continue to whisk until the mixture comes together and thickens.
With a spatula scoop the icing out of the bowl onto the prepared brownies. Using an offset spatula smooth the icing over the prepared brownie. Set aside while you prepare the strawberry chipotle dust.
Strawberry Chipotle Dust:
- 1/2 cup dried strawberries (for the dust the berries need to be fully dehydrated and not pliable. If you don’t have any really dried out berries use freeze dried as an alternative)
- 1/2 tsp. chipotle pepper powder
- 1/4 cup xylitol powdered in your blender (a sweetener made from birch trees that is non-caloric and also toxic to dogs!)
In a blender powder the dried strawberries until finely ground. In a small bowl combine powdered berries with chipotle and powered xylitol. Place a tbsp. or so of the powder into a small sieve tapping gently with your hand over the iced brownies to distribute evenly.
At this point I set the brownies into the freezer for about 1/2 hr. before removing them from the pan to slice. You can slice them right away but they are easier to handle frozen and will keep their shape once cut and thawed.
Cut into 2 in. squares. Place a little piece of whatever dried fruit that you used in the brownie on top of each square! Refrigerate until ready to serve.