I often spend a few minutes a week coloring. My aunt gave me an adult coloring book years ago, and I’ve spent that time chipping away at it little by little. I like some of the designs better than others, and I try not to get too artsy and overthink it; this is meant to be a relaxing activity to clear my mind and have some fun.
That’s one of the reasons I use crayons instead of colored pencils, which are too high maintenance with the constant sharpening. I’ve barely dented most of the shades filling in this entire book, and there have only been a few casualties that cracked in half.
There are a lot of colors in this box, and sometimes it is incredibly difficult to tell them apart. Aquamarine and turquoise, sepia and desert sand, indigo and cerulean. They all serve a certain purpose and appeal at different times, but I often find myself drawn to the maroon crayon.
This surprises me since maroon and gold were the colors of my high school, and let’s just say I wasn’t drawn to it like I am the crayon.
Don’t mistake this for a moment of absence making the heart grow fonder. There’s no fondness in this heart for high school.
But maybe I now have enough distance to separate things, appreciate things, and understand that as much as I disliked high school, other people loved it there. Plus, it’s not maroon’s fault.
This recipe is adapted from Half Baked Harvest’s Lunchroom Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars. I never bought lunch at school, and I really and truly do not believe anything like these were ever in a lunchroom I ate in, but if they are for some students that’s awesome.
Now I can make them for my own lunch, or breakfast.
It’s kind of hard to tell you how good these are. But when you think about the components of these bars, you’ll probably get an idea for just how good these are.
A chewy almond butter cookie bar is the base for a thick layer of almond butter smeared on top and then a thick fudge frosting.
These are sweet tooth satisfying, hunger crushing, totally decadent bars that we all wish were served in the cafeteria. But they also happen to be grain free, dairy free, and refined sugar free as I have prepared them, and no one will ever know.
Almond Butter Cookie Bars with Fudge Frosting
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 18 bars 1x
Description
Chewy almond butter cookie bars topped with more almond butter and finished with a rich frosting.
Ingredients
Cookie base
½ cup coconut oil
¼ cup olive oil
½ cup creamy almond butter
¾ cup coconut sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla bean powder
2 teaspoons espresso powder
2 large eggs
2 cups paleo flour blend (2 cups almond flour, 1 1/4 cups tapioca starch, ¾ cup coconut flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon sea salt
Topping
1 ½ cups creamy almond butter (if you have vanilla or salted all the better)
¼ cup carob or cocoa powder
2/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 ½ cups carob chips
2 tablespoons coconut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla bean powder
1 teaspoon espresso powder
Additional ¼ – ½ cup unsweetened almond milk and ¼ – ½ cup water
Instructions
Make the cookie base. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/325 degrees F convection. Oil a 9 by 13 inch baking pan.
In a large microwave safe bowl, combine oils, almond butter, sugar, vanilla, and espresso. Microwave on high in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until melted. Beat in the eggs, and then stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt until combined.
Pour into the prepared pan and smooth into an even layer. Bake about 20 minutes until golden brown. Dollop almond butter for topping onto the baked cookie. Allow to melt slightly and then spread into an even layer.
Make the frosting. In a medium microwave safe bowl, stir together carob or cocoa, milk, chips, coconut butter, vanilla, and espresso. Microwave on high in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until fully melted. Whisk in additional milk and water until a smooth, pourable fudge frosting forms. Pour evenly over almond butter and allow to set at least 1 hour before slicing and serving. Bars may be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Half Baked Harvest
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
These look awesome! And no, nothing like this was ever serve in my high school either. Although now you have me wondering exactly what my high school colors were — can you believe I’ve totally forgotten? 🙂 Anyway, good stuff — thanks.
You can probably look up your high school colors, but it still won’t make up for our schools not serving these bars 😉
Another brown dessert that looks great! And looks delicious. Would love to be sinking my teeth into one of these!
★★★★★
Haha, thank you – wish I could share!