In America, we are programmed since birth to take more than we need. Grocery stores can be found within every mile with rows full of every food imaginable and we tend to buy a surplus amount of food. Much of these items we let go to waste because we forget we even purchased it in the first place or our attention is captured by another enticing food item. Granted, I spotted in my refrigerator last night a full box of strawberries in my fridge oxidizing rapidly in my fridge. The box was pushed all the way to the back behind the stacks of my meal prep and miscellaneous items. When food is wasted, I see money going to the dump with it.

This recipe is the sweet satisfaction any sugar fanatic like myself needs to keep your cravings at bay. These cheesecake balls can be made with any fruits you have lying around and it is easy to improvise to your liking. Whether you’re on-the-go in the morning heading to work or feigning for a small dessert before bed, my strawberry cheesecake bars and balls will do the trick.

The crust is a simple and generic recipe made out of dates, oats, coconut, hemp seeds, coconut oil, and coconut flour blended together in a food processor. For the main filling, I soaked cashews overnight and blended it with coconut flour, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and strawberries. If you aren’t a fan of strawberries, you can blend it with cacao powder and PB2 to make a chocolate peanut butter concoction. Another option may be adding key limes and lime juice together for a mock key lime pie cake too! The possibilities here are endless but the base recipe stays the same.

Originally, I made the batch with a cup and a half of cashews covered in water and it made so much filling, I split the mixture into two: one for the balls and one for the cheesecake bars. To finish off, I melted the coconut oil with water, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Be sure when covering the balls to use a spoon to cover them then set aside before moving forward with coating your next dessert. I got my hands in quite a mess trying to do this without any utensils so save yourself the trouble by avoiding touching the mixture!

INGREDIENTS

1 cup of soaked cashews
1 cup of chopped strawberries
1/ cup maple syrup
3 tbsp coconut flour

Crust

8 pitted dates
1/4 cup of sunflower seeds
1/4 cup coconut flakes
1/2 cup oats
pinch of salt

Cookie dough

1 cup or 1 can of cooked chickpeas
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tbsp coconut flour
1 scoop of protein powder
splash of non-dairy milk
1 tsp vanilla extract (you can substitute this for any other flavoring)
chocolate chips (or dried fruit, nuts, coconut flakes, etc)

Icing glaze

1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 cup water

DIRECTIONS

Blend the filling ingredients together or put in a food processor until smooth then put in the freezer.
Next, blend the cookie dough ingredients in the food processor and mix in the chocolate chips then set aside and put in the refrigerator.
Process the crust ingredients until it forms a sticky dough ball. Remove from the processor and flatten into a pan on parchment paper. Place the crust into the freezer.
To make the coconut glaze, melt all of those ingredients in the microwave for 30 seconds or until completely liquid. Remove and whisk together to ensure the flavors blend.
After 30 minutes, remove everything from the fridge and freezer to prepare the desserts. Take half of the mixture and use a small ice cream scoop to form them into balls. I put cut up fresh strawberries in the core and covered it up. You can choose to make the chickpea cookie dough the core of the ball or an outer layer. Once you shape those, dip each with a spoon into the coconut glaze and set on a plate then return to the freezer.
When that is done, use the rest of the filling to cover the crust in a 1.5-2 inch layer. I covered the top with more fresh strawberries but feel free to cover with chocolate chips, nuts, seeds, etc. Use the rest of your glaze to cover the top of this and return to the freezer as well. Both of these will stay in there for 30 minutes.

Strawberry Cashew NO BAKE Desserts (2 ways)