White Chocolate Cranberry Bars

My dad was in town this week and I decided to have him over for dinner. He's an incredible cook, so needless to say I was more than a little intimidated cooking for him. I made the Honey Mustard Chicken & Plantains with some zucchini shreds sauteed in coconut oil. He said he liked it, and we spent the rest of the meal - and after - talking about different things we could do to recipes. You know, the kinds of flavors you could add to different recipes, things like that. I wish he lived here. He had some incredible ideas.

Anyway, I made these for dessert. The original recipe had two versions - one using leavening and the other without - and I've made them both ways. The version that used leavening agents turned out more like a cake, but these had a texture that was far more dense. I know it sounds a little odd to bake without leavening, but trust me, the unleavened version is the better of the two. Naturally I still made a few substitutions from the original. I highly recommend trying these.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup oat flour (grind up oats in the blender)
1/2 cup cashew flour (same thing - grind up cashews in the blender until they resemble a powder)
2 T. liquid egg whites
1 large egg
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 T. melted butter (or coconut oil)
1/4 tsp sea salt
3 T. dried cranberries
3 T. coarsely chopped white chocolate

For the topping:
1/2 c. powdered sugar
Soy milk
Dried cranberries and chopped white chocolate

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8x8 baking dish with foil and coat with cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the oat flour, cashew flour and salt, whisking together. Add the egg whites, egg, honey, applesauce and butter, stirring well to combine. Let sit for a few minutes to allow the nuts and oats to absorb a little of the moisture.

Pour half of the batter into prepared baking dish. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons each of the white chocolate and cranberries over top of the batter. Drizzle remaining batter on top. If necessary, use a spoon or tip of a butter knife to ensure the cranberries and white chocolate are completely covered by the batter. Use this method rather than mixing them in to the batter to ensure they don't sink to the bottom.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until edges are golden and it starts separating from the sides of the pan.

Remove from oven and place on cooling rack. Let cool completely.

For the icing, combine the powdered sugar and about a teaspoon of soy milk at a time, whisking well, until icing is combined and still slightly thick. Pull the sides of the foil away from the bars and press flat, but keep the bars on the foil. Spread icing over the top. Immediately sprinkle additional cranberries and white chocolate over top. Cut into squares or triangles and serve.