Birthday Cake Protein Bars (Vegan, Grain-Free, No-Bake)

Ingredients

• Pitted dates. Double-check that each date is pitted.
• Almonds. I suggest using roasted and salted almonds because they have so much flavor, but raw works fine. If you don't use salted almonds, add a pinch of salt.
• Coconut oil. This helps the crust for these birthday cake protein bars to set in the fridge. If you follow an oil-free diet you can omit this, although the crust may not hold together as well.
• Chickpeas
• Almond flour. Make sure it's blanched and super-fine. I like Bob's Red Mill. This recipe is designed specifically for almond flour, so I don't recommend trying to substitute it.
• Maple syrup. You can also use honey as the sweetener, although it will change the flavor.
• Vanilla extract
• Almond extract. This isn't critical, but it really helps to achieve that classic birthday cake flavor.
• Salt
• Assorted sprinkles. If you want to omit all refined sugar from these healthy birthday cake bars, then you can leave these out. Choose naturally-colored sprinkles if desired.