This no-bake brownie recipe saves you from having to turn on the oven during these hot summer months and preserves all of the nutritional integrity of each ingredient, because they do not need to be heated. Not to mention, this is a wonderfully sneaky way to feed your children (or yourself, hehe) fruit and nuts disguised as a confectionery dessert.

Yield: 8-12 brownies
Active time: 15 minutes
Inactive time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
2 cups shelled walnuts
½ cup gourmet chocolate whey isolate
¼ teaspoon fleur de sel salt
Seeds scraped from ½ of a vanilla bean
2 ½ cups dates, pitted
½ cup Italian pine nuts

Preparation:

1. Blend walnuts in food processor on high until finely ground.
2. Scrape down sides of bowl; add cocoa, fleur de sel and vanilla seeds, pulsing until combined.
3. Add dates and process on high speed until mixture comes together.

4. In a 9” round cake pan, fold pine nuts into brownie “batter” until evenly distributed.
5. Press “batter” into cake pan with the flat side of a rubber spatula, or the bottom of a dry measuring cup.

6. Freeze for thirty minutes, sparsely sprinkle top of brownies with cocoa powder and cut into 8 or 12 triangular shaped pieces. They’re ready to eat, straight out of the freezer!

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