Walnut Coconut Bars

Place walnuts in a blender or food processor and blend for about 20 seconds or until nuts are fairly well ground.

Meanwhile put the coconut oil into a microwave safe small bowl and microwave it for about 20 seconds or until melted. Add melted coconut oil, cherries, almond butter, flax seeds and honey into the blender, and blend until the entire mixture is well combined. The mixture should be sticky. If it’s too dry, add a little bit more nut butter or vanilla extract or coconut oil to create moisture.

Meanwhile, place a piece of wax or parchment paper into a loaf pan (the pan should be in the range of 8″ x 4″), allowing the paper to hang over the sides.

Remove mixture from the blender and press it into the base of the loaf pan using the back of a spoon or other implement to flatten and smooth it down.

Sprinkle the surface of the mixture with raw pumpkin seeds and coconut, pressing down gently with your fingers so that they adhere to the surface.

Fold both sides of the hanging wax or parchment paper inward over the mixture and gently press down one last time with your hands.

Place the pan in the freezer and allow the mixture to solidify somewhat (so it’s in a solid slab) for about 1 hour.

When you’re ready to slice the bars, simply remove the pan from the freezer and gently elevate the slab by pulling up on the ends of the wax/parchment. Set it on a cutting board and pull off the paper.

Slice the slab into bar shapes or squares as desired. Store any remaining portions in the fridge.