Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookie Cake

I'm not sure what I love more between a soft, chewy bar and a crispy cookie top, so this recipe gives you both. Something quite magical happens when you add tahini to something sweet. The earthy, nutty flavor is different than using a traditional peanut or almond butter and there's a bit of a complexity when paired with other nuts - in this case, walnuts. This is a gluten free treat that has another amazing component that really raises the nutritional profile and incorporates an awesome, no - waste kitchen hack for repurposing your leftover pulp from juicing. You would never know that carrot, celery, lemon and apple pulp were added to this batter! It gives a little additional moisture to the texture and can totally be omitted, of course. I was just looking for a way to use it up. The remainder of it I froze and will be using in my next soup stock. All the winning. The finishing touch for these is a little drizzle of tahini on top just before devouring.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup raw tahini
• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
• 1 t vanilla
• 1 egg
• 1 cup almond flour
• 3/4 cup coconut sugar
• 1/4 t baking soda
• pinch sea salt

Optional embellishments

• dark chocolate chips
• chia or flax seed meal
• hemp hearts
• chopped, toasted walnuts
• dried fruit
• shredded coconut

METHOD

Preheat oven to 350. Generously oil a square or medium sized baking dish with additional coconut oil. Mix the wet ingredients into a medium bowl. Mix the dry ingredients separately then slowly add into the wet bowl, folding with a rubber spatula until completely combined. Press the batter into the baking dish using your hands to ensure it gets into the corners well. Sprinkle the top with additional chocolate or coconut and bake 25 minutes until the edges start to crisp but the middle is still slightly soft. Let the pan cool almost completely before slicing - it's worth the wait! Drizzle with additional tahini if desired. Store in the refrigerator.

ENJOY!

Dark Chocolate Avocado Fudge Bites

Hello, perfect dessert. These little bites have everything you want in a treat and nothing you don't. There isn't a single sinful ingredient and they taste heavenly! I'm always getting creative with creamy ingredients that are plant based, typically nuts and butters. But using avocado is an even better way to get super healthy fats into your favorite indulgences (like creamy chocolatey fudge) without sacrificing your better judgement. This recipe was adapted from one of my favorite food blogs written by Celine of  Farm to Table Life. I'm constantly popping in for good ideas when I stall out in my kitchen or when I want to find something to modify. I think I've done chocolate covered everything, so this a new one.

The fudge filling is mostly avocado and coconut butter. You cannot substitute coconut oil in this particular recipe, though there are certain applications where they are interchangeable. I made my own coconut butter in about 5 minutes - it's crazy easy and so cheap. A big bag of organic shredded coconut cost me under $5. If you don't want to make your own, it's available in health food stores. The difference between butter and oil is that the butter has the meat of the coconut in it, whereas the oil is strictly the oil. It's like the difference between peanut butter and peanut oil. Totally different.

To make the butter, use an unsweetened, shredded organic coconut and just dump it in your food processor or blender and away you go. Use enough to get a good mix, at least 1-2 cups. Blend it until it starts to break down and you see the consistency drastically change. Since you aren't adding anything or taking anything away, you will get exactly the amount that you put in. Store it in a glass jar at room temperature. If it hardens up, gently warm it on the stove top in a shallow pan of warm water. It's so delicious on toast and with fruit. It's naturally a little sweet and it's just like eating nut butter. Coconut in all of it's forms is one of the most incredible superfoods. The list of health benefits is lengthy so I won't go into it now, but you can look it up and take your time reading all about this super nut. A thorough post about all things coconut is coming up a little later on.

Okay - on to the fudge recipe! These are completely raw, vegan and gluten free!

INGREDIENTS
1 large avocado, mashed
6 T coconut butter
2 - 3 T organic maple syrup
1|4 t vanilla extract
pinch of sea salt

CHOCOLATE SAUCE
Equal parts coconut oil and cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder
(They're different - the former is preferred and superior to the latter)
Mix these with enough maple syrup that the sweetness tastes right to you.
You will need to warm the coconut oil to a liquid in order to get a smooth sauce. Doing this in a double boiler method works well and ensures a lump free chocolate.

DIRECTIONS
Mix all of the fudge ingredients together in a food processor, blender or with a hand mixer. You can freeze it in a bowl if you want to scoop out balls for your fudge shape or you can freeze it in a shallow square dish so that you can cut it into squares. If you have individual freezer molds, you can use that too. Silicone ones work really well. I used a plastic square dish to cut out traditional blocks but that option is totally up to you. If you choose the square, smooth out the top before you stick it in the freezer. Let is set up for about 2 hours.

When it's done, pop it out to cut or use a melon baller or miniature cookie scoop for balls. Have a piece of wax or parchment paper on a plate or sheet pan ready so that you can set them down as soon as you dip them. Start your chocolate sauce a few minutes ahead of time and have it ready to go when you pull them out of the freezer. Put a piece of the fudge onto the tongs of a fork that you are holding over the chocolate sauce with one hand. With the other hand, use a spoon to drizzle the sauce over it so that it drips back into the bowl and it doesn't waste any of that goodness. It's also less messy this way. Gently set each piece onto the prepared pan lined with paper until you have done them all. Return them to the freezer, preferably overnight or at least for 5 hours. These are something between ice cream and cold fudge, consistency wise. You can store them in the freezer in a sealed container once they have set up completely for a longer period of time. Or you can keep them in the refrigerator for about a week.

ENJOY!!

Chocolate Chip Cereal Bars

I posted an earlier version of these bars here a few months ago that were very good but totally different in texture and taste. The basic recipe is the same, using oats, nuts and a natural sweetener but obviously there are a multitude of options when it comes to just those things. The former version was halfway between a crunchy and chewy bar like a rice crispy treat. These were much softer like a true cereal bar and my kids now prefer them over the others. Wrapped individually and kept in the refrigerator, they are such a winner when it comes to quick and delicious. My fourth grader took one in his lunch everyday until they were gone!

 Toasting the oats and the nuts brings out a delicious, buttery flavor that is a must when making these.

I used whatever random cereals I had on hand, plus finely shredded coconut, oat flour and flax | chia powder. This stuff acts like flour and binds it all together. Just pulse the cereal flakes in the food processor until they are coarsely ground.

The uncut brick is so pretty in this natural light. You can just lift the parchment paper right out of the baking dish and set it on a cooling rack until it's ready to cut.

This recipe makes 8 rectangular bars in an 8 x 8 square baking dish, or you can cut them in half for a smaller treat. I used rich, dark chocolate chips and they were incredible!

INGREDIENTS
1 1|4 c gluten free rolled oats
1|2 c diced walnuts or slivered almonds
1|4 c chopped cashews
1|4 c unsalted sunflower seeds
1|2 c maple syrup + 2 tablespoons raw honey
1|2 c chocolate rice crisp cereal
1|2 c heritage flakes
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1|4 teaspoon sea salt
a big pinch of good cinnamon
1|4 c oat flour
2 tablespoons finely shredded coconut
2 tablespoons flax | chia powder
1 c dried fruit , dark chocolate chips or cacao nibs

*A note on ingredients: modify this recipe as needed using what you have on hand or whatever you prefer if there is something you don't like. The same goes for the cereals. The important part is that you use 1 c of crunchy cereal and 1 cup of nuts. Just get the ratios right and really, this recipe is pretty flexible. The sweetener can be entirely honey or brown rice syrup, if that's what you have. It will change the consistency a little though, as those sweeteners will make a tackier bar instead of something soft.

DIRECTIONS
Preheat your oven to 350. Pour the oats and the nuts onto a sheet pan and lightly toast for about 10 minutes, stirring halfway through the cooking time. Remove and allow the pan to cool before mixing everything together. Drop the heat down to 300. Put the crunchy cereals into a food processor and pulse until it's crumbly and a little coarser than flour. In a large bowl, mix the remaining ingredients together, add the cereals, and stir in the oats and the nuts you toasted. Line a square baking dish with parchment paper. Press your mixture into the corners and flatten it on top. Bake for about 23 - 25 minutes until it's slightly brown on top and fragrant. You can let it cool in the baking dish, or you can gently lift the sides of the parchment out and set the entire thing on a wire cooling rack. It will cool much faster this way. Wait at least 20 minutes before you cut into them. Wrap individual bars in parchment and tie with string for a nice presentation or wrap in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for a firmer bar or at room temperature for something a little soft and crumbly.

ENJOY!!

Dark Chocolate Super Brownies

Sometimes I don't want to put in the extra time to allow good brownies to cool because I am impatient when it comes to my treats and cookies can be consumed in half the amount of wait time. However, these were worth the extra half hour. I've tried many variations with home made brownies and I had yet to find the perfect one. Personally, I like them warm and soft on the inside and crispy on the top and edges. This is a gluten free recipe with a few super food additions (of course) and some substitutions for the usual suspects like coconut oil instead of butter and coconut sugar instead of brown sugar. I used almond meal and oat flour for the batter and studded the top with pecans. These will provide all the enjoyment of a homemade chocolate indulgence with very little guilt, if any. Making healthier substitutions in your cooking and baking can really enhance the nutritional profile of everything you create and allow you the freedom in the kitchen to experiment with new things while not giving up the ones that you love.

INGREDIENTS
5 ounces dark chocolate
1|2 cup coconut oil
1 cup coconut sugar
1|2 cup almond meal
1|4 cup oat flour
1|4 cup flax and or chia meal
1|2 teaspoon sea salt
1|4 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1|2 cup chopped nuts
cacao nibs for the top

DIRECTIONS
Preheat your oven to 350. Line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper. Melt the dark chocolate and the coconut oil in a small saucepan on low, stirring constantly until it is melted through. In a medium bowl, mix the sugar, almond meal, oat flour, sea salt and soda together. Make a well in the middle and add the eggs, vanilla and the melted chocolate mixture. Mix until it's smooth and glossy. Stir in the nuts if you want them throughout the brownie, or reserve them for the top if you just want them in the crust. Pour the batter into your parchment lined pan and smooth it out with a spatula. Stud the top with the chopped nuts and the cacao nibs. Bake for 32-35 minutes. The top will begin to crack like a flourless cake when it's done and a toothpick will come out relatively clean. When you remove them from the oven, pull on the sides of the parchment to lift the loaf out in one piece and set it on a cooling rack. This will speed up the wait time. Allow at least 30 minutes before you cut them.

ENJOY!