Cultured Coconut Cranberry Pistachio Bars

January 16, 2014 by abundantlifevegan 7 Comments

I am super excited about sharing this recipe for several reasons,

#1—It’s SUPER easy and takes next to no time to make.

#2 —It’s not only VEGAN but also gluten free and soy free.

#3 —It’s part of the So Delicious 3 Course Recipe Contest—in the “dessert” category. (Although I think you could eat them at any time…)

My husband and I have often joked that we should actually buy stock in “So Delicious” because we consume so much of it. He is obsessed with the coconut creamer, which he puts in his coffee multiple times daily, and has even been known to travel to several different stores if he can’t find his preferred vanilla flavor.

I am the coconut yogurt junkie myself. I love the “Greek style” and the plain, and it’s pretty much a fridge staple in our house.  I eat it in smoothies, make popsicles, and even bread dough using coconut yogurt. This recipe was what we call an experiment gone well…and there are only 3 total ingredients!

Ingredients:

Serves 16, 10 min Prep Time, Total time 1 hr 10 minutes (or more depending on how long you let them freeze)

1 16 oz container So Delicious Cultured Coconut Milk (Plain or vanilla)

½ cup crushed pistachio kernels

¼ cup dried cranberries

Directions:

Combine yogurt, pistachios, and cranberries in a bowl until well blended. You might have to crush the pistachios using a food processor depending on how finely they are crushed.

Line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper and spread mixture evenly in the pan, flattening with a spatula.

Place pan in the freezer, and let it harden at least 1 hour, or overnight if you prefer.

Remove from freezer and let them thaw about 10 minutes. Slice into squares and eat immediately. Freeze any unused portions!

I imagine this recipe would be easy to do with any variation of the nuts and fruit, I just happen to really love the cranberry and pistachio combination. This would probably also work in popsicle molds—but I was really intrigued by the idea of making bars.

And if you were wondering (like I was…) if coconut milk freezes well, this shows it can freeze beautifully!

Hope you enjoy, and please go check out:

http://www.godairyfree.org/news/so-delicious-dairy-free-3-course-recipe-contest and 

http://sodeliciousdairyfree.com/ to learn more about the contest and the recipes!