Lavender Lemon Cake Energy Bars

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So this sort of happened as an accident…I meant to make these with an added spice of black pepper, but I didn’t think I’d need to grind the peppercorns up prior to throwing them in the food processor. They didn’t get ground up much, so I was left with whole peppercorns. Not the most pleasant thing to crunch on.

I’d recommend grinding the peppercorns prior to adding them to the food processor, or you can even leave them out. I do want to mention though how I think the addition of ground pepper to these taste pretty good. The peppery taste added a unique flavor of some spice to the sweet and mellow tones of lemon, vanilla, and lavender.

The lavender was a part of the “flower pepper” spice grinder I received as a gift. The lavender was not too strong here, so I would definitely recommend to add some more.

If you do not want to add in pepper and/or don’t have lavender, then feel free to make these without them. These remind me of a vanilla lemon cake.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup almonds

1/2 cup walnuts

1 1/4 packed cup dates

Zest of one lemon (and a few juice squeezes too)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tbsp lavender pepper, ground!!

OR 1 tbsp dried culinary lavender

Add nuts and dates into a food processor and process until combined.

Blend until the dates and nuts are broken down a bit and then add the vanilla and lemon. I just added one light squeeze of lemon, but I recommend you taste it sans juice (only zest) before any juice is added. Your taste preference, always.

Blend and then add in the lavender and/or lavender pepper. Blend a bit more until the mixture is moldable.

Form your preferred shape! I’ve realized my favorite is making these into spherical halves. They are they easiest method for me and are the perfect bite-sized snack. It helps with portion control as well.

Store these in a sealed container in the fridge.