Matcha Choc Bars
by Buffy Ellen of BeGood Organics
Green tea and chocolate you say? I know it sounds odd, but they ended pairing perfectly together. The matcha has a bitterness too it, similar to cacao, both of which are nicely offset by the natural sweetness of the dates in these. What’s more, given we were away with limited tools, I made these bars simply with a food processor and reused plastic ice cream container as the tray. Which goes to show you don’t need a lot of fancy equipment to create really delicious, quick and easy, plant-based whole food.
These super tasty bars are really fast to make too. This was the version I made for us, but you could easily switch up the ingredients - the walnuts for almonds, the dates for raisins or sultanas (I’m planning to try these versions once we get home and I restock our matcha supplies). But here’s my holiday-original - straight from the simple ice cream container, and brimming with goodness. Yes, these marvellous Matcha Chocolate Bars are…
These super tasty bars are really fast to make too. This was the version I made for us, but you could easily switch up the ingredients - the walnuts for almonds, the dates for raisins or sultanas (I’m planning to try these versions once we get home and I restock our matcha supplies). But here’s my holiday-original - straight from the simple ice cream container, and brimming with goodness. Yes, these marvellous Matcha Chocolate Bars are…
- Done in 10 minutes
- One food processor only
- A double dose of antioxidants from the matcha and cacao
- Low in sugar, as well as naturally dairy, gluten and refined sugar free, and
- A great way to try out matcha!
- 1 c walnuts (dried activated*)
- 1 c cashews (dried activated*)
- 1 c dates
- 1/2 c cacao powder
- 1/4 c tahini
- 1/4 c cacao nibs
- 3 tbsp liquid sweetener (coconut nectar, brown rice syrup, yacon syrupÂ
- ​or maple syrup)Â
- 2 tbsp matcha powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
Additional matcha powder to sprinkle on top
HOW TO
- Blend walnuts, cashews and dates in a food processor until they reach the consistency of a chunky couscous.
- Add remaining ingredients and pulse gently until combined enough to stick together between your fingers, but still retaining some texture.
- Press into a square baking tray lined with biodegradable plastic wrap (I actually used a reused plastic ice cream container here as we were on holiday and didn't have anything else!). Place in freezer for an hour to set.
- Remove, sprinkle with extra matcha powder, then slice into bars. Keep stored in the freezer for up to a month.
- I've used walnuts and cashews here as that's what we had with us, but the mellow flavour of almonds and cashews would also work really nicely in these.
- I always like to use dried and activated nuts and seeds where possible, as they're easily digested, have the phytic acid removed, and are super crunchy which gives your raw treats a really nice firm texture once set. I make these activated nuts and seeds in large batches once a month and store in glass jars, ready to use in recipes like these as well as on salads. You can buy pre-activated nuts and seeds from our online store here. Otherwise you can easily make these bars with raw nuts instead.Â
- If you want to make these bars nut-free, swap the walnuts and cashews for a blend of sunflower seeds, watermelon seeds and desiccated coconut.
- I used maple syrup in these bars, but you can use whatever liquid sweetener you have to hand- I always have coconut nectar, brown rice syrup, yacon syrup and maple syrup in the cupboard and all are great, with slightly different tastes, textures and nutrient profiles.
- I've made these only very lightly sweetened with 3 tablespoons of sweetener, but please taste the mix before pressing into your container and if you want them slightly sweeter add an extra 1-2 tablespoons of sweetener.
