I few days ago I found this recipe on the website of  Raw Epicurean for cranberry date squares. I must admit, I love the cooked version and have been trying to recreate the same gluten-free, low-fat but have never imagined to be able to do it raw!!!

The original recipe is by Natasha Kyssa (of Simplyraw) and although it did look amazing, it seemed a bit high fat for my taste! These days I am trying to keep the recipes I make more low fat and more affordable and my motto has become: the cost does not have to affect the taste! So, I used less nuts and added a few little things of my own, according to our tastebuds. In addition, my husband is allergic to almonds, so I had to replace those as well. We had our first taste test yesterday night and I must admit, I love these better than any baked version! Yeah for amazing, delicious and ingenious raw desserts!

I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did!

- Ildiko

Reduced fat cranberry date squares

( the original recipe can be seen by Natasha Kyssa here)

Crust:

1 1/2 cup of walnuts
1/2 cup of pecans
a generous dash of salt
3tbsp agave, raw honey or maple syrup
1/2 tsp cinnamon
a bit of water from the dates soaking (see below)
1 cup of sprouted and dehydrated buckwheat

Process nuts and buckwheat first in food processor until they break down. The buckwheat will prevent this mixture from forming into a ball right away.  Add the salt, cinnamon, sweetener of your choice and pulse it a few times. The mixture should start to resemble a crumble texture. If your mix is too dry, add a few tbsp of the water from the soaking dates. Spread half of your  crust mixture at the bottom of a 9inch square pan.

Date filling:

1 1/2 cup of dates soaked for 2 hrs (reserve water)
1 cup of dried cranberries soaked for 2 hrs
juice and grind of one orange (instead of the grind you can use 2-3 drops of orange essence)
coconut flakes

Process wet ingredients in food processor until well mixed and resembling a smooth paste. Spread date filling on top of crust evenly. Cover the date filling with the second half of the crust mixture. Refrigerate for 2 hrs before serving.

You can sprinkle some coconut flakes on the date squares or add them on top of the date filling, this will make it even more yummy!

Serve it at room temperature with your favorite beverage!