Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Imagine this: cookies baked without any flour that have the same delicious flavor as flour-baked cookies. For people who are intolerant or allergic to gluten or for people looking for decadent cookies, these gluten-free cookies are filled with peanut butter flavor and pieces of chocolate.

Don’t be scared when you read the ingredients because the combination makes the perfect cookie.

The recipe was taken from the Texanerin Baking blog.

~ 1 1/4 cups canned chickpeas
~ 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
~ 1/2 cup peanut butter
~ 1/4 cup honey or agave
~ 1 teaspoon baking powder
~ 1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Rinse and pat dry the canned chickpeas.
2. Combine all ingredients except for the chocolate chips in a food processor and process until very smooth. Scrape the sides and top to incorporate chunks of chickpeas. Process until combined.
3. Stir in the chocolate chips.
4. Form dough into 1 1/2-inch balls and place on greased baking sheet. Leave in a ball or press down to form a flat cookie.
5. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

The peanut butter component of these cookies distract you from the chickpeas included in these cookies. Instead of the normal flour-based peanut butter cookies, give these cookies with healthy fats a try!

Cranberry Oatmeal Bars

After a short hiatus from baking, I’ve lured myself back into the baking world. Usually my inspiration for a recipe comes from the flavors that I’m craving. This time it came from a  mistakenly purchased tub of Greek yogurt. While Greek yogurt is one of the many health foods that I spoil myself with every day, only the non-fat or low-fat varieties satisfy my stomach – the others proving to be too rich. Since I stick to the same brands of Fage and Chobani usually, I decided to give Oikos a try per a friend’s recommendation. With good intentions to try a new brand, I mistakenly bought the whole milk variety.

Instead of throwing away the tub of yogurt, I decided that perfect use of it would be in baking. So many baking recipes call for tons of butter or vegetable oil, when yogurt is a sufficient substitute. Hence, we get the cranberry oatmeal bars. They have a dense oatmeal base and a thick, rich yogurt topping. Friends commented that they are so delicious and rich that they couldn’t even consider having another piece, yet others came calling back to me for another piece the next day.

Ironically enough, the recipe was adapted from one taken from Chobani.com.

For the oat-based crust…

~ 1 cup all-purpose flour
~ 1 cup quick-cooking oats
~ 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
~ 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
~ 1/4 tsp baking soda
~ 1/4 tsp salt
~ 3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
~ 3 tbsp vegetable oil
~ 3 tbsp orange juice

For the yogurt topping…

~ 3/4 cup Oikos plain whole milk Greek yogurt
~ 1/2 cup sugar
~ 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
~ 1 large egg white
~ 1 1/2 cups dried cranberries
~ zest of 1/2 orange

1. Preheat oven to 325°. Lightly coat an 11×7-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
2. Whisk together the flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
3. In a small bowl whisk together the butter, vegetable oil and orange juice. Add the juice mixture to the flour mixture, stirring until crumbly.
4. Reserve 1/2 cup of mixture for later. Press rest of mixture into pan and up sides, using bottom of a measuring cup to even out crust.
5. Whisk yogurt, sugar, flour and egg white in a medium bowl. Stir in cranberries and orange zest.
6. Spread over crust in even layer. Sprinkle reserved oat mixture on top.
7. Bake until edges are golden-brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Cool completely and slice into bars.

If you’re looking for a healthy yet rich recipe high in protein and calcium, these cranberry oatmeal bars are sure to please. They are quite sweet so if you’d like to reduce the amount of sugar in the yogurt topping, I would recommend adding only 1/4 cup instead of 1/2 cup. To give it a little more of a kick and flavor, you can add some sprinkle of cinnamon on top before baking.

Nutella Fudge Pops

What better way to beat the summer heat than with chocolatey popsicles? Better yet, these popsicles are made mainly with banana, nutella and chocolate. The simplicity makes the flavors stand out. When I served the fudge pops, I asked the lucky dessert-eaters if they could identify what the ingredients were – they identified all of them.

The recipe was taken straight from Chocolate-Covered Katie, the healthy dessert blog.

~ 3 frozen bananas
~ 1 tbsp cocoa powder
~ 1/2 cup Nutella
~ 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1. Blend all ingredients in a food processor until super smooth. (A blender may also be used.)
2. Eat as ice cream, or scoop into popsicle mold and freeze for fudgsicles.

Note: The bananas are best thawed a little so that they blend easily.

The recipe makes 6 to 7 servings. Each serving has 95 calories, 5g fat, 12g carbs and 5g protein. Not too bad!

These delicious fudge pops are decadently delicious. Even chocoholics will want a glass of water or milk at hand.

Raw Brownies with a Twist

Every so often I come across a recipe that inspires me to do something different. I stray from the tried-and-tested recipe completely to give my own recipe a try. After making the raw brownies with avocado, dates, pecans and of course chocolate, I decided that I wanted to try making a different version of raw brownies. I loved the consistency from the sticky dates and crunchy pecans, but I wasn’t too sure about the flavor from the avocado.

To change it up but keep a similar consistency, I thought of ingredients of similar texture to the original ingredients. Banana replaced avocado, dried apricots replaced dates, walnuts replaced pecans and the chocolate stayed the same! Since I was trying something new and just wanted to get the ratios right, I made a small portion.

~ 1/2 banana
~ 7 dried apricots
~ 1/3 cup walnuts
~ 2 tbsp cocoa powder

1. In a food processor, mix all base ingredients.
2. Press down the mixture of base ingredients in a bowl.
3. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.

While the ingredients created a slightly different consistency, overall I liked the flavor of the raw brownies with a twist more. Anything with banana flavor is going to lure me in. If I were to try the recipe again, I would use dates instead of apricots because the apricots were too dry and didn’t have the adhesive sticky component as well as the sweetness that the dates added to the original recipe.

What do you think of the raw brownies with a twist? What ingredients would you try if you created your own version? Share in the comments section!

Chocolate Ricotta Mousse

This is the summer of experimenting with different types of desserts. In the past I have tried cookies with various ingredients from chocolate chips and butterscotch chips to dried cranberries and almonds. Cupcakes and brownies have also been fun to explore. However because of a desire to eliminate gluten from my diet, I no longer bake cookies, cupcakes and brownies unless they are solely for someone else to consume. But sometimes, I want to make something just for me.

Ricotta cheese has an interesting consistency which apparently makes it a good ingredient for pudding. I wasn’t very familiar with ricotta cheese, but before I knew it I was eating the stuff by the spoonful. This chocolate ricotta mousse as it’s called is more like a pudding to me. It has just the right combination of chocolate and creaminess that isn’t overpowering at all.

This recipe is from Real Simple Magazine, because it’s really simple!

~ 15 ounces (about 2 cups) ricotta cheese
~ 2 tbsp confectioners’ sugar
~ 4 oz semisweet chocolate, plus more for topping

1.  Melt the chocolate in a double broiler.
2. In a food processor, blend the ricotta, sugar and melted chocolate until smooth.
3. Divide among bowls and top with the shaved chocolate. Refrigerate until you’re ready to serve, for up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.

It’s as easy as that. This simple recipe is a great one to try out since it requires such a short list of ingredients and is so quick to make. I loved the consistency that the chocolate and ricotta had together. Once again, chocoholics rejoice!

Raw Brownies

When you see the name raw brownies, what does that make you think of? I was initially drawn to this recipe when reading The Oprah Magazine because I love chocolate but also because these health movements are all the rage right now. The raw food diet is one of the most extreme in which you can’t eat foods cooked above 104 degrees. Other than the raw food diet, recently gluten-free diets have risen in popularity. Initially gluten-free eaters were only those who suffered from celiac disease. Now some people are choosing to eliminate anything with wheat in it, purely for health benefits.

So when I saw raw I knew it was going to have veggies in it. How do veggies and brownies go together? Simple. Lots of cookies and other baked goods incorporate veggies into their ingredient list such as cookies with zucchini and sweet potatoes. The raw brownies that I made have avocado as their vegetable ingredient.

The recipe was taken from The Oprah Magazine.

Base:
~ 2 cups pecans (or walnuts)
~ 13 oz pitted dates
~ 1/8 tsp coarse sea salt
~ 1/8 tsp orange zest
~ 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
~ 1 avocado, pitted and peeled
~ 1/2 cup cocoa powder

Frosting:
~ 2 avocados, pitted and peeled
~ 1/8 tsp sea salt
~ 1/2 cup cocoa powder
~ 1/2 cup agave nectar, plus more to taste

Note: The original recipe calls for 3 avocados in the frosting. I used two and there was a heaping amount of frosting to cover the brownie base.

1. In a food processor, mix all base ingredients.
2. Press down the mixture of base ingredients in an 8-inch square baking pan.
3. Puree all frosting ingredients in a food processor and spread on base.
4. Cover and freeze at least 3 hours. Cute into 2-inch squares and serve cold.

Because there is no liquid component in the base, mixing the ingredients in a food processor can prove difficult. Instead make sure that the pecans, dates and avocado and broken into small enough pieces to be integrated; then mix by hand in a bowl.

This recipe is good for those who want to have a decadent dessert to serve but don’t have time to prepare it right beforehand. Beware that if you tell people what is in the brownies, they may be resistant to eat them. In reality, the brownies don’t taste like they have avocados in them if the base mixture is integrated well enough. Also be sure to taste the frosting before covering the brownie mixture as extra agave nectar may be required to offset the avocado flavor.

On another note for those who love to eat healthy (even when you’re eating dessert), these are perfect for you. While dessert without fat is sometimes hard to avoid, these brownies have healthy fats from the nuts and the avocado. Indulge because you can feel good about what you’re eating.

Would you try these brownies if you knew the ingredient list? Comment with your answer below!

Blueberry Crisp

It’s all about fruit this summer from strawberries to watermelon. Now it’s time for blueberries to have their minute in the spotlight. Blueberries are among the highest antioxidant fruits. The compounds in them fight off degenerative diseases, aging, cancer and infections. They are known as a super food for this very reason.

As with the watermelon granita, this blueberry crisp recipe is simple to make since the natural flavor of the fruit adds an integral level to the sweet. I made this recipe as the finishing piece to a delicious summertime BBQ. The juicy character of the crisp will leave everyone’s mouth watering for another piece.

The recipe is adapted from Martha Stewart in order to be gluten-free. White rice flour was substituted for all-purpose flour and gluten-free rolled oats were used instead of the classic Quaker oats.

Blueberry Filling:
~ 6 cups (3 pints) blueberries
~ 1/2 cup sugar
~ 1 tbsp cornstarch
~ 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
~ 1/4 tsp coarse salt

Oat Topping:
~ 2/3 cup white rice flour
~ 1/2 cup rolled oats (or chopped nuts, such as almonds)
~ 1/2 tsp baking powder
~ 1/2 tsp coarse salt
~ 3 ounces (6 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened
~ 1/3 cup sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Make the filling: mix the blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and salt in a bowl. Transfer to an 8-inch square baking dish. (Tip: I recommend using a larger baking dish, such as a 9-inch square baking dish.)
2. Make the topping: Stir together the flour, oats, baking powder and salt. Cream butter and sugar in a mixer until pale and fluffy. Stir dry ingredients into butter. Using your hands, squeeze topping pieces together into clumps.
3. Sprinkle topping evenly over filling. Bake until bubbling in the center and brown on top, about 1 hour. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool for 30 minutes before serving.

Blueberry Crisp Before Baking

Blueberry Crisp After Baking

Some tips from experience: be sure to use a big enough baking dish for the amount of blueberries that you use. Also depending on the selection of blueberries that you have, you may want to use less sugar than called for if the blueberries are naturally sweet.

Blueberry crisp is a perfect way to end a summer BBQ for those fruit lovers out there. Those who were chocolate lovers made a sundae with the crisp by adding ice cream and chocolate syrup. Let your imagination run wild!

Watermelon Granita

Watermelon is the perfect summer fruit. Not only is it sweet, but it also has many health benefits. Watermelon quenches the inflammation that causes asthma, diabetes, colon cancer and arthritis. It’s also very high in vitamins A and C. It also contains lycopene, which is a carotenoid that has antioxidant and cancer-fighting properties. Since watermelon benefits your well-being in so many ways, why not enjoy it as a dessert?

Granita is a frozen dessert, similar to frozen ice. If you only have ten minutes to prepare a dessert or want a dessert that you don’t have to bake right before serving, this is the perfect recipe. The recipe is from Whole Living.

~ 7 cups seedless watermelon chunks
~ 1/2 cup sugar
~ juice of 1 lemon

1. Pulse watermelon, sugar and lemon juice in a food processor until smooth.
2. Pour into an 8-inch glass baking dish and freeze.
3. Scrape with a fork into 8 glasses or bowls and serve.

How much simpler can it get! If you want to add a touch of another flavor, try drizzling chocolate syrup over the top.

Creamy Secret-Ingredient Frozen Treat

When I saw the recipe for this rich creamy pudding, I thought it would be the perfect treat for a hot summer day. I had never made pudding before, so this was an entirely new adventure for me, stepping into an unknown world. Following the directions to a T, something happened along the way because the pudding didn’t solidify and instead it was a chocolate soup. While chocolate soup is delicious, I decided to improvise as you sometimes have to do when things don’t turn out the right way. I stuck the pudding in the freezer, forming a decadent chocolate frozen treat.

You’re probably asking What’s the secret ingredient? That’s up to your imagination. To me the secret ingredient is the soy milk since most pudding recipes use whole milk. The soy milk makes the recipe a bit healthier and suitable for lactose-free eaters. (In each serving, there are 170 calories, 3 g protein, 29 g carbohydrates, 5 g fat and 2 g fiber.)

The creamy secret-ingredient pudding recipe is from Fitness Magazine. To make the frozen treat version, just stick it in the freezer once it’s made.

~ 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
~ 1/2 cup granulated sugar
~ 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
~ 2 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
~ 1/4 tsp coarse salt
~ 2 cups plain light soy milk
~ 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch and salt. Gradually whisk in soy milk until mixture is smooth.
2. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, about 4 minutes, or until mixture begins to bubble and thicken. The consistency is perfect when the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon. Whisk in melted chocolate.
3. Pour into six 6-ounce ramekins. Lay a piece of plastic wrap over surface of each pudding to prevent a skin from forming.
4. Chill 2 hours, or until well set.

If you’re looking for a decadent, refreshing dessert for the chocolate-lover, this is sure to satisfy.

No Posts Til June

Please excuse the lack of posts from February until June, as I am out of the country and don’t have access to a kitchen to bake. Check back in June for some delicious treats!