This post contains affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy.
Happy Holidays from Denver, Colorado!
I’m here visiting Maxx’s family for the week. It’s been pretty cold the last 2 days, but we haven’t gotten snow. I’m okay with that because in the week before I left NYC it snowed three times! It was a sludgy winter wonderland mess. It’s so nice to be with family during the holidays. Tomorrow night, I’m flying the Atlanta to be with my parents and grandmother. Then I can share this Sweet potato recipe with them!
Speaking of family…
On Thanksgiving, Maxx’s aunt Cathy made these delicious no-bake pumpkin bars from a recipe she found on The Kitchn. They were delicious, healthy, and versatile––meaning they could be enjoyed for breakfast, snack or dessert. The only thing was, I made my raw gingerbread cookies for the dessert, and couldn’t help but eat the two together. The combination was spectacular! Like pumpkin pie mixed with gingerbread cookies!
And what’s better than pumpkin pie? Sweet potato pie, of course! Which led me to adapting the yummy recipe into my dream holiday dessert. Sweet potato bars with raw gingerbread crust. Delicious!!
I made them with pumpkin for Maxx’s family, and I cannot wait to make them for my Nana in Atlanta next week. Maybe we’ll munch on them while opening presents under the tree.
Check out the video below, and the recipe too.
I hope you have an amazing Christmas!
Love,
Jenné
No-Bake Sweet Potato Bars with Raw Gingerbread Crust
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 cup almonds, or 1 cup dry almond pulp
- ½ cup shredded coconut, unsweetened
- 1 ½ cup Medjool dates
- 3 tsp molasses
- 1 1/2 inch ginger, minced
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- pinch of black pepper
- pinch of sea salt
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
Filling
- 1 1/2 cups sweet potato puree, 1 large baked sweet potato or canned
- 1/3 cup maple syrup or coconut nectar
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon cardamom
- 3/4 teaspoon ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon cloves
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour
Instructions
Crust
- Line an 8x8” baking pan with parchment paper.
- Place the crust ingredients in the food processor and blend until well combined.
- Remove the lid and gather some of the crust into your hand, squeezing it to form a tight ball in your palm. If the crust crumbles, and doesn’t stick, you’ll need to blend it some more, or add another date.
- Pour the crumble into the baking pan, and press it firmly to the bottom to create a tight crust. Now you can make the filling...
Filling
- Place all of the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Taste, and add more maple syrup if necessary.
- Spoon the filling into the crust and smooth down with the back of a large spoon or rubber spatula.
- You can eat it right away, but I recommend letting it firm up and set. Place it in the refrigerator overnight, or for about 6 hours.
- Pull the parchment paper out of the pan, and cut into squares. Any uneaten squares can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week.
We used canned sweet potato and it didn’t firm up at all. Do you think fresh sweet potato might have helped? Also I can try to add more flour or oil like you mentioned above. The flavor is delicious!!!!
Very delicious, spice-forward and oh so satisfying! I didn’t have the coconut flour, so substituted almond flour. I also used part maple syrup and part Lyle’s Golden Syrup. Shared with the neighbors who said Wow! Thank you for this tasty treat recipe!
These were wonderful, although sweeter than I expected! My crust was a bit crumbly but it was all delicious. Note: for some reason this doesn’t appear on the main recipe page.
Hi Lavern! Yes, you could use almond flour.
Thanks! Good question. You could use sunflower seeds 🙂
These are incredible! I made this recipe last night for a vegan Friendsgiving potluck this weekend and I know my friends will love it. I was licking the blender! I added a half cup of soaked cashews for extra creaminess/firming, about 1.5T lemon juice instead of 1tsp, and left out the coconut flour (don’t have). Stuck the pan in the freezer to firm up and will thaw in the fridge overnight. I can’t wait for everyone to try them!
Amazing!! thank you so much 🙂
I like your idea of using cashew in place of the coconut flour. I’m allergic to cashews, but I will try that with mac nuts.
Happy Thanksgiving Robin!
I made these but the filling didn’t set. They’re delicious, but I wish the filling would have set. I used pumpkin instead of sweet potato, but otherwise followed the recipe as is for the filling. I wouldn’t be able to serve these to others as is, but they’re so tasty that I’d try again so I could share them. Any thoughts?
For the crust, I didn’t have near enough molasses so I used maple syrup and it still came out yummy and gingerbread tasting.
Hey there!! What texture was the filling? It firms up a bit, but otherwise stays pretty soft. Not as firm as the filling for a sweet potato pie. However, the pumpkin (if canned) could have had more moisture in it than sweet potato (especially if it was baked at home). In that case, to firm it up more you can add more coconut flour and/or coconut oil (which firms when chilled). Bon appetit!!
Made them yesterday! My coworkers loved them! Sooooo delicious!
This look amazing! I have a free Saturday so I may give this a try this weekend!
I can’t wait to try this! So happy I helped inspire it. Love the video.