Vegan Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars

Grease and line a 1lb loaf pan with parchment paper, allowing the paper to hang over the two longest sides for easy removal.

Stir together the crushed Oreos, coconut oil, and maple syrup until evenly moistened.

Press the crust into the bottom of the pan and freeze while we make the cheesecake.

Drain the cashews and place into a high speed blender along with the coconut cream, maple syrup, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. If your coconut cream is pretty firm, microwave it for about 20 seconds to loosen it up. If it’s too thick and firm, the mixture will be difficult to blend.

Blend until completely smooth, then stir in the chocolate chips. The batter will be warm from the friction of the blender so it may cause the chocolate chips to melt a bit. If you would like the chips to remain in tact, allow the batter to cool before adding in the chocolate chips.

Pour the batter over the frozen crust and spread even. Return to the freezer.

Add the softened butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla to a bowl and use a fork to mash and mix together.

Once smooth, mix in the heat treated flour followed by the chocolate chips. If the dough appears too thin for scooping (since vegan butter tends to soften very fast), chill the dough for about 15 minutes before scooping on top of the cheesecake.

Once the dough is at a scoopable consistency, scoop tablespoon-sized balls on top of the cheesecake and sprinkle with a handful of chocolate chips.

Return to the freezer and allow the cheesecake to chill for at least 4 hours or until firm.

When ready, lift the bars out of the pan and slice when frozen. Then allow the bars to sit at room temp for about 20 minutes to soften before eating. Enjoy!