These no bake margarita bars are the stuff of my pregnancy dreams. My vivid, vivid pregnancy dreams. See, both this time and with my first, I craved margaritas constantly. I’ve even tried finding tequila flavoring, hoping that somehow someway I can satisfy my craving without, you know, popping open a bottle of Patron. So far, no luck. It’s something about the tang of the fresh lime juice and the salt rim, the honey-spiked shake-up (if you’re making my paleo honey margaritas, that is) and the heady tequila. I just yearn for them when pregnant.
But seeing as how it’s frowned upon to actually consume worthwhile amounts of tequila when pregnant, I’ll settle for these no bake margarita bars. And when I say ‘settle,’ what I really mean is holy mama mother of earth and all things moving goodness almighty slap me slap me AKA… they’re damn good. The no bake margarita bars start off with an easy, no-bake crust loaded with toasted cashews, toasted coconut, and plenty of coarse sea salt to take care of that deliciously salty rim’s contribution to the best drink of all time (See? I’m jonesing over here). The crust is topped with a creamy, citrusy layer that tastes just like a key lime pie to me but a bit more complex – a touch of fresh-squeezed orange juice and yep, a tiny bit of tequila make things just right. I topped mine with whipped, lightly sweetened coconut cream and more toasted coconut for that wow factor and a way to cut through the citrusy layer beneath it with pure, cool creaminess. So good. These no bake margarita bars are, uh, no bake, duh, because the weather’s getting warmer and why bake and cool a dish if you don’t have to? And, even better, they’re made from totally whole foods, so they’re healthy! Maybe the only healthy dessert I’ve had this pregnancy, but that’s another story for another time (And hopefully not an “How I Developed My Gestational Diabetes After Literally Being Paleo All the Time” article). These no bake margarita bars are vegan and paleo both, making them work for just about everybody!
The only tricky thing about these no bake margarita bars is that they need plenty of time to chill before serving. Making them the day ahead is a fab idea and uh, yeah, my assistant and I ate them for breakfast the entire week. Just saying!
