Amede Pecan Pie Bars

I bet many of you are questioning the name of these bars.  I created this recipe last week as I was preparing for our “Good-bye” potluck, as we were heading off to Alaska.   A dear friend of ours, Leslie, came to the party and fell head-over-heels for these bars.  She asked that I name them after her.  So to honor her I did just that!   Amede Pecan Pie Bars.  Leslie is Nigerian and her root name is, Amede (pronounced aaah-me, Amie :)  It means “Life given Water” and “Loved by a multitude”  How special is that!  So here you go my dear Leslie…. :)  This bar turned out divine.  Nobody could get over the fact that this was a raw dish.  I will be making this again for sure!  What a great dessert come Fall.  You could easily adapt this into a pie pan and serve it as a pie. Oooooh, and with raw vanilla bean ice cream….Hmmm, my wheels are turning.

We love you Leslie!

Ingredients for batter: 

This made a 9×9″ square Springform pan

• 1 cup raw pecans, soaked
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup raw agave nectar
• 1 1/2 cups Mejool dates, pitted
• 1/2 Tbsp almond extract
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp ground  cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Ingredients for the crust:

• 2 1/2 cups of raw macadamia nuts (no soaking required)
• 1/8 tsp sea salt

Ingredients for topping:

• 2 cups raw pecans, roughly chopped (soaked and dehydrated)

Preparation for crust:

1. In the food processor, using your “S” blade, process the macadamia nuts and salt to dough like consistency.  Be really careful to not over process.  If you do, you will release to much of the oil found in the nuts.
2. Press “crust” in spring form pan.

Preparation for filling:

1. In the food processor, blend just the pecans, bringing them to a fine dust.  Be sure to stop before it gets to pasty.  Set aside in a bowl.
2. In the food processor now add; water, agave, dates, almond extract, salt, cinnamon and cayenne pepper.
3. Add in the pecan “meal”.
4. Blend to a beautiful paste!
5. Layer the filling on top of the crust and add the roughly chopped pecans and chill for a few hours to have it set up a bit.  Cut into squares, serve and enjoy!

 

Posted on Wednesday, December 1st, 2010 at 1:48 pm. Filed under: Bars Tags: Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Soy Free, Vegan RSS 2.0 feed.