• Note: Place the can of coconut cream or milk in the fridge or freezer for at least 1-2 hours before making these brownies to allow coconut cream to separate.

  Chill your mixing bowl and electric beaters or whisks in the fridge or freezer for 15 minutes.

Brownie Base

• Line a 8 x 8-inch baking pan or dish with parchment paper on the bottom and sides leaving some overhanging to act as a handle to get the bars out easier for cutting.

  Add almonds to the food processor and process until broken down and crumbly. Add dates, oats, cashew butter, protein powder, cocoa, milk and vanilla extract and continue to process until a dough is formed and everything is well combined.  

  Be careful not to over process as its nice to have texture variance and different sized “bits” in your brownie base

  Press the mixture into the bottom of your pan or dish evenly. Refrigerate while you prepare the peppermint frosting.

Peppermint Frosting

• Open chilled can and scoop out the cream that has separated and set hard on the top into the food processor. Save the remaining coconut water to use in a smoothie, drink,or discard.

  In the chilled mixing bowl, add the hardened coconut cream and set aside.

  Place chocolate chips in small dish and microwave with 20 second bursts stirring between each one until melted and smooth.

  Or use double boiler method - (pot of boiling water with a bowl resting on top) melt the chocolate chips and the coconut oil together.

  Add the melted chocolate to the bowl with the hardened coconut cream and mix until thoroughly combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill the frosting for 1-2 hours until it firms up.

  Then, remove the bowl of frosting from the fridge and whip it until it becomes fluffy.

  Pour over the top of your brownies spreading it evenly with a spatula or back of a spoon.

Candy Cane Topping

• While you have the food processor out, rinse it again and then process the candy canes until a crumble forms.

  Sprinkle candy cane crumbs on top of peppermint layer.

  Place the pan back in the fridge and let it set for an additional 1-2 hours, or until the topping is firm.

  Serving: once fully set, remove the brownies from the pan using the parchment paper handles. Using a sharp knife run in hot water and dried, cut the brownies into 16 bars or more smaller squares.

  Store in the refrigerator or up to 1 week or freezer for up to 3 months.