mini birthday cake bars

happy… thursday? yes? is that right? i’m still never 100% sure these days and coming off a long weekend and super not sure. the last week has been a whirlwind in the very best way and i’m still coming down from back to back dinners and friends and lots of food and lots of beer and wine. my boyfriend was in town for a few days (long distance manpanion, as i prefer to reference him) and we jam-packed all the activities into sub-100 hours. we made pasta, we got vietnamese cocktails with my sister and her boyfriend, we ate lamb tacos and churros with salted caramel at an actual restaurant and it almost felt like normal times! we went to crossfit and squatted a bunch, we sipped coffee in bed and appreciated the cool, dark mornings, and we nibbled on mickey mouse-shaped waffles because of course i have a mickey mouse waffle iron, and then we repeated this process just with different food and different locations and he golfed a lot and i worked a lot in between. it was exhausting and beautiful and i’m bottling up that snuggly, warm feeling til i see him next (re: next week because i have a spare day and a half to fly across the country, wahoo!)

anyway, none of that has anything to do with mini birthday cake bars except that all of the above and they are kind of celebratory? like hey, heck yeah, you are doing life and maybe even crushing it! you are, i assure you. i’ll be popping these cuties in between playing around with new recipes, reading harry potter - went with prisoner of azkaban because i feel that’s where the story arc really starts to bear the weight of it all; would love to discuss - and fully embracing a slower pace after the tidal wave of excitement last week.

a couple things before you start: this batter will be different for everyone. totally expected, and totally fixable no matter what. too dry? add more almond milk. too sticky? add more coconut flour. and please please do not skip either chilling step - you need both for the bars to set! lastly, more is more is more with the sprinkles, in my opinion.

mini birthday cake bars
makes: 36 mini bars
prep time: 10 minutes
cook time: 10 minutes + 1 hour, for chilling

1c unsalted cashews
1c dates, pitted and soaked to rehydrate
1/2c vanilla protein powder (my all-time favorite is sfh and BONUS!! they have brand new plant-based protein powder!)
1/2c coconut flour
3/4c cashew butter
1/4c honey
1/4c unsweetened vanilla almond milk (may need more, hold tight!)
1tsp vanilla extract
2tbsp sprinkles, plus more for topping

combine all ingredients in a food processor until a sticky dough forms. if the dough is too dry, add almond milk. if the dough is way to sticky to handle, add more coconut flour. once you’ve got an almost-workable consistency, chill the dough in the fridge for 10 minutes.

prepare a square 8x8 dish with parchment paper that’s been sprayed with cooking spray - this will ensure the bars don’t stick! then, pour the batter in and spread as evenly as you can. add more (re: lots) sprinkles to the top, and press them in lightly. chill the bars for 1 hour, then cut into small squares - I did a 6 by 6 pattern.