Vegan And Gluten Free Fruit And Almond Shortbread Bars Food

VEGAN AND GLUTEN-FREE FRUIT AND ALMOND SHORTBREAD BARS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease an 8-inch or 9-inch square pan.
• With a hand or stand mixer, beat the vegan butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and almond extracts.
• In a medium bowl, mix the flours, starch, and salt.
• Add the dry ingredients to the "butter" mixture and mix until just incorporated.
• Press two-thirds of the dough into the pan and bake for about 10 minutes, or until the crust is pale light brown. Remove it from the oven.
• When the pan has cooled enough to handle, spread the preserves evenly over the crust.
• Break the remaining dough into little tiny pieces and drop them evenly over the jam. Top with the almonds.
• Bake for another 25 to 30 minutes, or until the top is a nice golden brown.
• Cut into bars and serve immediately, while still warm, or store them in the refrigerator.

VEGAN MILLIONAIRE'S BARS

Steps:

• Grease a 20cm square cake tin and line with baking parchment. Tip the cashew nuts and oats into a food processer and blitz to crumbs. Add the dates and coconut oil, and blend again. Transfer to the tin and use a spoon to press the nutty mixture into a compact, even layer that covers the base. Chill while you prepare the filling.
• For the filling, add the dates, almond milk, maple syrup and coconut oil to a saucepan with a generous pinch of salt and bring to a simmer. Boil for 2-3 mins until the dates are really soft, then tip into the blender, add the vanilla extract and blitz to a smooth purée. Add a little more salt if the mixture is too sweet. Pour over the nutty base and spread to the sides of the tin, getting the surface as smooth as possible. Chill while you prepare the topping.
• Gently heat the coconut oil in a saucepan until melted. Remove from the heat and whisk in the cocoa and maple syrup until there are no lumps. Cool for 10 mins, pour over the caramel layer and return to the fridge for at least 3 hrs or until firmly set. To serve, cut into squares. Will keep in the fridge for up to 1 week.