Raw Key Lime Cheesecake Bites

I'm a sucker when it comes to anything Key Lime, add cheesecake to that and I'm all for it. Unfortunately both of those things tend to not be very healthy for you. I have been looking at several raw cheesecake recipes for months now trying to figure out how to put my own twist on it and I came up with this treasure over the weekend! You have to try it, they are gluten free, dairy free, and don't require any baking! Sounds perfect right? That's because they are, you're welcome :)

• Ingredients 
• Cheesecake Filling
• 2 1/3 cup cashews
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 cup maple syrup or coconut nectar (could use honey if you like)
• 1/3 cup fresh lime juice
• about 2-3 tablespoons lime zest (about 6-8 limes)
• 1/4 cup water
Crust
• 1 cup almond meal/flour
• 3-4 medjool dates (or 1-3 tablespoons maple syrup)

Directions

1.  Begin by placing almond meal and dates into a food processor. And pulse until combined.
2. Take crust mixture and spoon into your mini cheesecake pans (or one large pie pan) and press into the pan. Set aside.
3. Next make the cheesecake filling.
4. I recommend soaking the cashews before blending and giving them a nice rinse.
5. Place nuts, maple syrup, lime juice, lime zest and water into blender.
6. Blend for a little bit.
7. Then add in your coconut oil and continue to blend until everything is well blended and the batter is nice and smooth. Adjust lime taste to your liking by adding more lime zest. (I like mine really tart)
8. Spoon lime cream filling on top of crust in mini cheesecake pans.
9. If you want more of a lime flavor, top each one with a little lime zest.
10. Then place in freezer or refrigerator and let set for a few hours.
11. Remove from freezer and pop out the mini cheesecakes and keep in refrigerator until ready to enjoy at room temperature.
12. Recommend freezing leftover slices for longer shelf life.

{side note: I had shallow cupcake/square pans so I had a lot of leftover filling, I just made some extra crust and put a thin layer of the filling in a pie tin, but if you have normal cupcake or muffin tins, it should be just enough filling for those.}