• First, soak 1 cup of cashews in enough boiling water to cover them for at least 1 hour. After 1 hour rinse and drain and proceed with the recipe.

Crust:

• Line a 6” round cake pan (deep) with parchment paper. Set aside.
• Put dates and pecans in the container of a Vitamix blender or a food processor fitted with the “S” blade. Process until mixture is resembles a coarse meal and is uniform throughout.
• Add the rest of the to the blender/food processor and blend/process until the mixture just starts to clump together. (Do not over process here or the bites will become oily)!
• Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and press it evenly into the bottom of the pan.
• Put the pan with the crust in it in the refrigerator while you make the filling.

Filling:

• In a microwave safe dish or in a small pan over medium-low heat melt together the peanut butter, chocolate, maple syrup and coconut oil until smooth. Set aside.
• Place the soaked, rinsed and drained cashews and the coconut cream into the container of your Vitamix blender. Blend until smooth.
• Add the melted chocolate, peanut butter & coconut oil mixture, vanilla extract, cocoa powder and salt to the Vitamix/blender. Blend for 30-60 seconds or until silky smooth. You may need to stop, scrape down the sides and continue blending.
• Pour the filling into the prepared pan and evenly spread it over the crust.
• Place the pan back in the refrigerator until it sets up and becomes solid (about 1-2 hours).

Topping:

• Melt ¼ cup chopped semisweet chocolate or chocolate chips with 2 TBS peanut butter and stir until smooth. Evenly spread over firm filling. Return to fridge to set.
• To serve, remove from fridge and let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes. This tastes the best when it’s not straight out of the fridge and has a little time to sit at room temperature!