Ingredients
Scale
For the crust
- 1½ cups pecans
- 1 cup pitted dates (finely chopped)
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
For the cheesecake
- 2 cups cashews (soaked for at least four hours or preferably overnight)
- ½ cup canned coconut milk (shaken)
- ¼ cup coconut oil (melted and cooled (use refined coconut oil if you want no coconut flavor))
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract or 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ginger
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Line an 8” square pan with parchment paper for easy removal, and lightly grease with coconut oil. Set aside.
- Add the pecans, pitted dates and salt to a food processor or high-powered blender and pulverize until it comes together into a sort of sticky dough, with small pecan bits remaining. Press the pecan date dough evenly along the bottom of the prepared pan.
- In a high-powered blender (I used my Vitamix, but most powerful blenders should do the job), combine all of the ingredients and blend for about 2 minutes, or until the mixture is silky smooth and creamy. You may need to add a bit more coconut milk or lemon juice to get it to blend smoothly if your blender isn’t super high-powered.
- Once it’s smooth, taste the mixture and adjust the sweetness/tartness/spice levels, if desired.
- Pour the smooth filling into the prepared pan over the pecan crust. Smooth out the top and tap the pan hard against the counter a few times to release any air bubbles.
- Place in the freezer to set for at least 3 hours or until completely firm before cutting into 16 squares. I recommend running your knife under hot water to warm it up before cutting the bars with the still-hot (dried) knife.
- Serve frozen or let them thaw at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before serving. Store in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
For the topping, I mixed up a bit more of each of the spices used in the recipe along with about a tablespoon of coconut sugar, sprinkled it on, and topped with a pecan!
Nutrition
- Calories: 234
- Sugar: 10
- Fat: 19
- Carbohydrates: 15
- Fiber: 1
- Protein: 4