No Bake Orange Chocolate Oatmeal Bar (Vegan, Allergen Friendly)

For snack this week, I was craving some something chocolate-y but I also wanted to incorporate oranges as it is orange season here down under. I have made orange chocolate bliss balls before. So, I decided to try this no bake energy bar instead. I loved how these energy bars turned out and I think if you enjoy orange chocolates, you will enjoy these bars too. Unlike most of my bliss balls recipes, these bars do not contain any dates (as I know some of you cannot stand dates!), instead they are sweetened with maple syrup 😊

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I have. As always, please let me know what you think of this recipe. If you like what you see on this blog, you can follow me on my blog, Facebook or Instagram for some food porn. Also, if you do recreate this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram @subz_foodie 🙂

Ingredients

1/2 cup cashews, soaked in hot water for 15-20 minutes;
1/2 cup desiccated coconut;
1 cup rolled oats;
3-4 tbsp maple syrup/honey or any sticky sweetener (you can add more if you prefer it sweeter);
Zest of 1 orange;
Juice of 1/2 navel orange;
Water; and
35g dark chocolate.

Method

Grease or line a small baking bread loaf pan with olive oil or baking paper. Discard the hot water from the soaked cashews;
In a food processor, place the cashews, desiccated coconut, rolled oats, maple syrup, orange zest (I saved some for the topping) & orange juice and process until well combined. The mixture will start to resemble cookie crumbs now;
Add 1 tbsp of water at a time to the mixture and continue to process until the mixture resembles a cookie dough;
Once the mixture resembles resembles a cookie dough, press the mixture into your prepared pan and place in the freezer for 1-2 hours to harden;
In the meantime, melt your chocolate in a double boiler or microwave. Remove the pan from the freezer and pour the melted chocolate over the muesli mixture. Working quickly evenly spread the melted chocolate (as the mixture is frozen, the chocolate will harden fast) and sprinkle with some leftover orange zest. Return the pan to the fridge for 2-3 hours to harden;
An hour before you would like to cut your muesli bar, remove from the freezer. Use a serrated knife and cut into 9 bars;
Enjoy and stores in the fridge for up to two weeks 🙂