chocolate

Pretend

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If the weather is going to act like it’s Spring than damnit so am I!

And I’m going to pretend like it’s Sunday, even though I have to work all afternoon.   Spring cleaning, houseplant transplanting, and kitchen catch up were on the agenda this morning.  About once a week I love to spend an hour or two in the kitchen brewing, cooking, and culturing.  This mornings projects included making yogurt, kombucha, and cookies!

No bake cookies, because who wants to turn on the oven when the weather turns warm!?

 

 

It doesn’t get much easier than this, literally, it really doesn’t.

If I baby-sat I’d make these all the time with my charges, lots of stirring and no raw eggs so eating the ‘dough’ is recommended!

No Bake Cookies 

{simple name for a simple recipe!}

Makes about 20 small cookies

Unlike traditional no bake cookies these are free of refined sugar and are easily made gluten-free and/or vegan.

  • 3 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate
  • 1-2 tablespoons nut butter (sugar free to keep the cookies sugar free!)
  • 1-2 tablespoons raw, local honey (brown rice syrup or maple syrup for vegan)
  • 1 cup oats (gf if you want)
  • pinch of salt

Optional add-ins: unsweetened shredded coconut, cinnamon, ground ginger, vanilla, chopped nuts, raisins

Melt chocolate in microwave or double boiler.  Mix in nut butter and honey.

 

 

Add in oats, salt, and any optional ingredients you want and  stir until the melted chocolate mixture is evenly distributed.  Use your fingers or a spoon to form about 20 cookie balls.  You don’t want to squish it together, just enough to hold the shape.  Place cookies on a cookie sheet covered in parchment or a silpat and set in the fridge for at least 10 minutes before eating.

 

 

 

You can store in the fridge or cabinet but I prefer the texture from the fridge, the oats have a nice crunch!

 

 

Time to pretend like it’s Monday morning and get to work!

Minted

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My latest chocolate creation may be my greatest yet.

 

They’re not as pretty as Berry Bliss Tarts or as simple as Mint Bark (almost though)but they are insanely tasty.

Were you wondering what to do with all that leftover mint extract that you bought to make Mint Bark?  Yeah, me too.

 

 

I figured out exactly what to do with it.  Make ‘after lunch’ mints!

After lunch is usually when I crave a little something sweet to top off my palate and these little mints are perfect.  Sweet and minty, they provide the dessert factor and leave my breath nice and fresh!

 

After Lunch Mints 

Makes 14 little mints (or one serving 😉 )

  • 1.5 ounces unsweetened* white chocolate
  • 1/8 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
  • stevia to taste*
  • 1.5 ounces unsweetened* dark chocolate
  • 1/4 teaspoon virgin, unrefined coconut oil

Melt white chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave in a small bowl.  I recommend the microwave for this because it’s such a small amount of chocolate.  To microwave start with one minute, remove and stir.  If over half of the chocolate is still hard then put it back in for another 30 seconds.  When most of the chocolate is melted, stir for a minute or two to melt the rest.  Add peppermint extract and a pinch of stevia.  Taste and adjust stevia to desired sweetness.

Spoon melted chocolate mixture onto a silpat or parchment baking sheet in 14 little disks (about 1/2 teaspoon each).

 

 

Set in the freezer for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt your dark chocolate in the same bowl using the same method you used for the white chocolate.

 

Once melted add coconut oil and a pinch of stevia then stir until oil is melted.

Remove tray from freezer and peel the white chocolate disks away from the surface.

You must work quickly for this next part.  One at a time, drop a white chocolate disk into the melted chocolate, flip with a fork to coat and quickly remove, setting it back on the silpat/parchment paper.  Repeat with all 14 white disks.  If you take too much time the white chocolate will melt and dark chocolate will start to harden!

 

 

Set tray in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes to set the chocolate.  Devour!

*I limit my sugar intake and like to get my (near daily!) sweet fixes with honey and/or stevia as much as possible.  If you aren’t concerned about minimizing your refined sugar then these could totally be made with sweetened white and dark chocolate and eliminating the stevia.  You could also experiment with using honey for the white chocolate inside and leaving the dark chocolate unsweetened.  I didn’t have any honey or I would have tried this.

 

These little mints remind me of Andes-except free of hydrogenated oils, soy lecithin, and artificial colors, and much tastier!