Raw salted vanilla nut butter cookies.

I love raw desserts! I stopped eating processed sugary foods about two years ago. Once I gave it up I felt so much better. I then shied away from desserts until I had a few “raw” desserts and fell in love. These came together so quickly in my food processor and then I store in the refrigerator. I prefer them cold. Perfect summer treat too! You can sub out the almond butter for whatever you have in your pantry. Peanut butter, of course, is heavenly which is normally how I make them. This time I used Justin’s Almond Butter in their vanilla flavor and added vanilla paste (you can use extract) for a super vanilla packed flavor. These are gluten free and vegan but I hope that doesn’t scare anyone from trying these. There is a weird stigma with vegan food, as I’m learning. People think it’s flavorless… it’s quite the opposite. You get to actually taste the ingredients because nothing is masked with oils and preservatives. Kids totally love these too!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup of raw almonds
1/4 cup of peanuts
2 tablespoons of hemp hearts (optional)
1/3 cup (heaping) nut butter (I used Justin’s vanilla almond butter)
1 cup of Medjool dates, pitted and squished down into your measuring cup
1 teaspoon of vanilla paste or extract
1/4 tsp salt + more for dusting

Directions:

Add your almonds/peanuts to your food processor and blend until it becomes a flour texture. Then add your hemp hearts (if using), nut butter, dates, vanilla and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Blend until it forms a large dough ball or is able to be pinched together. Then scoop out tiny dough balls and roll in between your hands. I place on a large platter and criss cross fork marks like traditional peanut butter cookies. Sprinkle some sea salt on top of each cookie. I store in a large covered container layering with parchment paper so the cookies don’t stick together.