Amber Shea Crawley & Almost Vegan Chef’s 5 Minute Raw Blondies

By The Blender Girl on Oct 06th 2012 - Slices, Bars & Sweet Treats

We continue DAY 6 of "Gluten Free Vegan Recipes with Breville" with the fabulous Amber Shea Crawley, a.k.a Almost Vegan Chef. Amber joins this event by popular demand after I received several emails, blog comments, and Facebook posts asking WHERE she was in the "Raw Food Recipes with Excalibur" event. Amber clearly has many devoted fans, and with good reason!

Amber Shea Crawley is a gorgeous linguist, chef, and author specializing in healthy vegan and raw food. Known for her flexible recipes and friendly voice, she was classically trained in the art of gourmet living cuisine at the world-renowned Matthew Kenney Academy, (formerly known as the 105degrees Academy) in Oklahoma City, OK studying with Russell James. Her first cookbook, PRACTICALLY RAW, debuted in March 2012 and contains over 140 flexible raw and vegan recipes, including these luscious blondies.

After graduating in 2010 as a certified raw and vegan chef, she earned her Nutrition Educator certification in 2011 at the Living Light Culinary Arts Institute. Amber now offers personal chef, recipe development, personal shopping, one-on-one cooking instruction, and nutritional coaching. After being “almost vegan” since 2008, and having been recently diagnosed in 2012 with Hashimoto’s disease and a number of other autoimmune ailments, Amber is on a quest to heal her body with a high-raw, gluten-free, low-glycemic diet. Consequently, Amber has a special interest and knowledge of autoimmune diseases, thyroid disorders, adrenal dysfunction, hormonal imbalances, food allergies and intolerances, and other mysterious symptoms and unresolved health problems, and is available for personal consultations regarding these issues.

She also maintains her very popular blog, Almost Vegan Chef where she shares posts about health, her travels, her life, and her many scrumptious recipes. Some of my favourites include: Raw Red Pepper Pistachio Bisque, Indian Curried Lentils, Raw Graham Crackers with Marshmallow Creme, and Raw Almond Pear Tartlets with Cinnamon Caramel Cream. But there are tons of others. The thing I LOVE about Amber's recipes is that they are SUPER EASY, really accessible, and tasty!

Amber has won numberous recipe competitions, and was proclaimed 2011 Sweet Valentine Hot Raw Chef™ by Living Light International. Her first cookbook, PRACTICALLY RAW: FLEXIBLE RAW RECIPES ANYONE CAN MAKE is 100% vegan and loaded with fabulous recipes such as Almond Butter Sesame Noodles, Vegetable Korma Masala, Fiesta Taco Roll-Ups, Primavera Pesto Pizza, Maple-Pecan Kale Chips, Cherry Mash Smoothies, Parisian Street Crêpes, and many more.

Amber is graciously sharing her famous 5 minute raw blondies with us today. Amber says about this recipe, "I can’t say enough good things about these blondies! The oils released by the ground nuts combine with the succulent dates to make them astonishingly moist, yet they’re also nutty and slightly crumbly. The vanilla, sugar, and salt marry seamlessly into a butterscotch-like flavor. You’ll really feel like you’re biting into a chewy baked dessert." I couldn't have said it better myself! These blondies are DEELISH!

The thing I love most about Amber's blog is her flexible relationship with food, and her "no judgement, all are welcome" approach that is much the same as my own. Trust me, check out this lovely lady, and you will discover what thousands of others already know -- Amber Shea ROCKS! She is also a newlywed. She married her beloved Matt last month. Congratulations! We wish them a long happy life together.

Amber, thankyou for sharing your delicious recipe as part of this event.
I cannot wait to see what amazing things you do next!

Learn more about Amber Shea Crawley at Almost Vegan Chef
Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest

Amber Shea Crawley & Almost Vegan Chef’s 5 Minute Raw Blondies

Vegetarian Vegan Raw Dairy Free Gluten Free Egg Free Soy Free Processor

1 cup dry raw macadamia nuts
1 cup dry raw walnuts
1/4 cup coconut palm sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp sea salt
3/4 cup pitted dates

Combine the macadamia nuts, walnuts, and sugar in the Sous Chef® food processor and pulse until the mixture is coarsely ground.
Add the vanilla and salt and pulse several more times, until combined.
Add the dates, 2 to 3 at a time, pulsing between additions until each date is well-incorporated. The mixture will be sticky.
Transfer the mixture to an 8-inch square pan (or similar-sized dish) and use your fingers or a spatula to pack it down tightly.
Refrigerate or freeze for at least one hour before cutting.
Yields: 16 servings
Nutritional Information per serving:
141 calories, 11.4g fat (2g sat), 10g carbs, 2g fiber, 2g protein
Substitution suggestions from Amber:
macadamia nuts: cashews
walnuts: pecans
coconut palm sugar: sucanat, date sugar, maple sugar, or brown sugar (not packed)
dates: soft golden raisins

Learn more about Amber Shea Crawley at Almost Vegan Chef
Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest

Piggy Cooking Tips

How to prevent sticking when chopping dried fruits

Chopping dried fruits such as dates, apricots and raisins can be a sticky mess. The fruit sticks to the knife, the board and your fingers. To get yourself out of a sticky situation just rub a tiny drop of cold pressed oil onto the blade of your knife. The fruit will slide right off after cutting.

Please Wait Generating high res recipe layout for print

Print Layout Ready Print Again ?