No Bake Turtle Walnut Brownies (Gluten Free, Vegan) – Secret Recipe Club

#secretrecipe club

This is my second secret recipe club post this month.  I volunteered to take over for another member of the secret recipe club was unable to post since her site was going to be down.  I was assigned to Simple and Savory.

Anne is a holistic food coach.  She loves to cook and eat healthy foods.  I was excited to look through her blog.  Even though I don’t always eat healthy, I do love eating healthier foods.  I just wish my husband was more on board with healthier eating.

Top 5 Recipes

1. Overnight Oats Three Ways – The berry overnight oatmeal looks delicious!  So does the maple walnut recipe.
2. Buckeye Balls Redone – Being from Ohio, you find Buckeyes everywhere.  This is a “healthified” version of the recipe.
3. Almond Joy Bites – I love the combination of chocolate, almonds, and coconut.
4. Greek Pasta Salad  – I enjoy the flavors of the Mediterranean.  When we were at the Toronto Zoo, I had a version of a Greek pasta salad that was so delicious.  I’ve tried to recreate the flavors.  This recipes looks semi close to what I ate there.
5. Minestrone Vegetable Soup – Yum!

What I ended up making

Once again, I was looking for a recipe to serve to our vegan family member when he comes to visit.  I was going to make my vegan brownies but then I found the no bake turtle walnut brownies.  I had all the ingredients necessary for the brownies so I made them.

While I was making them, the Imaginative One came into the kitchen and asked me if I was making popcorn or something involving butter.  This was the second time that day that he asked me if I was making one of his favorite foods.  Earlier in the day, I made myself fried egg, bacon, and toast.  He walked into the kitchen and asked me if I was cooking pancakes.

Back to the brownies – I made the batch of brownies.  As I was taste testing the brownies, I made a loud sigh because they were that good.  Hubby was sitting there and just laughed.

Hubby tried them.  He told me they were good but nothing he would really eat.

This recipe involves using cacao powder which is the purest form of chocolate.  Wednesday’s post will involve another way I used cacao powder plus a little bit of information about the powder.

The Recipe

No Bake Turtle Walnut Brownies

Stars of the recipe:

• 1 & 3/4 c. of walnuts (divided into 1 & 1/4 c. and then 1/2 c.)
• 2 c. of dates, pitted (About 20 – divided into 1 c. portions)
• 1/2 c. cacao powder
• 2 Tbsp. water

Steps:

1. Process 1 & 1/4 c. walnuts in a food processor until small pieces.
2. Add 1 c. of the pitted dates.  Blend until combined.
3. Add the cacao powder until the mixture forms a dough.
4. Remove from the food processor.  Press into a 6 by 9 pan.
5. Place the other 1 c. of dates in the food processor.  Gradually add the water until it becomes spreadable.
6. Spread the date caramel over the brownie mixture.
7. Put the remaining 1/2 c. in the food processor.  Pulse a few times until they are smaller pieces.  Sprinkle on top of the brownies.
8. Store in the fridge.
9. Enjoy!

For more recipes:

This recipe has been linked to Miz. Helen’s Full Plate Thursday.

Happy eating,
Traci