Copycat Bulletproof Vanilla Shortbread Bars

Directions

• Line your baking dish or cookie pan with parchment paper. I prefer to use the precut 12″ x 16″ sheets, using half the sheet for this, which will go up the sides of the 9″ x 13″ baking dish about 1/2″.
• In a small mixing bowl, add 1 cup of unsweetened shredded coconut.
• In a 3.5 to 5-cup food chopper or a standard-sized food processor, add 1 cup of vanilla-flavored protein powder and the nut butter.
  
  Note for those using almond butter: I find that almond butter is more dry (grainy, with less oil) than using walnut/cashew butter or peanut butter so I will use 2/3 cup of it rather than using 1/2 cup for organic peanut butter. Of course, other nut butters may be used but you may need to modify the dry to wet ingredients ratio and recheck your macros.
  
  I also enjoy using 1/2 cup of Artisana Organics brand walnut/cashew butter with 1/4 cup peanut butter to get a light peanut butter flavor.
• Process the ingredients until it looks like its own nut butter. You may need to stir the ingredients in your processor as some of the unprocessed ingredients may creep to the top edges of the cup.
• After the above is well mixed, use a spatula to transfer the mix to your small bowl with the remaining coconut. Mix well.
• Transfer the ingredients to your parchment-lined casserole or baking dish, and flatten out so that it’s almost 1/2″.
• Now, use a butter knife or pizza cutter to pre-score the mix into twelve approximately 1-1/2″ x 4″ bars.
• Place in the refrigerator for 2 hours to let the bars harden, and then they’re ready to eat!
• Store any remaining bars in an air-tight container and continue leaving them in the refrigerator. Oils from the nut butter will soften if you leave them out too long, making them messier to eat by hand.