Chocolate Chips | The Wannabe Chef

Tag Archive: Chocolate Chips

Gluten-Free Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Written on July 11, 2012 by Wannabe Chef in Breakfast

One of the funniest misconceptions of a gluten-free diet is that it’s a low carb diet.

Hardly.

Yes, eliminating gluten from your diets limits the number of carbs you can eat. And when you’re eating on-the-go you’re limited to options like salads and nuts that are low carb. But at heart most gluten-free eaters are still carb lovers like everyone else, and when given the chance we’ll gladly make a meal out of gluten-free muffins, pancakes, and waffles. And don’t forget the syrup.

Thinking back, I can’t really remember the last time I ate a muffin(because why bake muffins when you can make cupcakes). Banana nut would probably be my favorite, but since we were out of nuts when I made this chocolate chip would have to do. Who could say no to banana chocolate chip anyway?

Don’t have brown rice flour? You can substitute oat flour instead. If you don’t have that you can always make your own by grinding 2 cups of gluten-free rolled oats in a food processor.

Gluten-Free Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients(Makes a dozen muffins):

1 1/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup corn starch
3/4 cup sugar
2 ripe bananas, mashed
6 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Method:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, sift together the brown rice flour, corn starch, and sugar.
Add in the mashed bananas, oil, water, and eggs and stir the batter together.
Add in the cinnamon, salt, and baking soda and mix completely.
Pour the batter into twelve lined muffin tins.
Drop an even amount of chocolate chips onto the top of each muffin.
Bake for about 30 minutes until the tops start to brown and the muffins are cooked in the center.
Remove from the oven and let the muffins cool slightly before touching.

Soft, spicy and studded with chocolate chips. Tomorrow morning’s going to be tasty.

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Gluten-Free Cookie Dough Truffles

Written on June 15, 2012 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

I tried to hold out on the cookie dough truffle craze. I really did. But all the cookie dough recipes floating around blogs these days and now a whole cookie dough cookbook wore me down.

Anyone who’s tried gluten-free baking knows that—while the baked result may be delicious—gluten-free flours make the raw dough taste horrible. That’s a problem for truffles where the whole point is to be eating raw dough. Thankfully, almond flour has virtually no flavor and works perfectly in this recipe.

You can use almond flour or almond meal interchangeably in this recipe. You could even get away with 1 cup of almond butter in a pinch if it’s not too oily.

Gluten-Free Cookie Dough Truffles

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 24 truffles):

For the dough:

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups almond flour or almond meal
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips or chocolate shavings

For the coating:

1 cup semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
2 Tablespoons coconut oil(butter or shortening would work, too)

Method:

Cream together the butter, brown and powdered sugars.
Mix in the vanilla, salt, and almond flour.
Fold the chocolate chips into the batter.
Roll ounces of dough into 1-inch balls and put them into the refrigerator or freezer to chill.
Melt the chocolate chips for the coating in your microwave or over a burner.
Add in the coconut oil and stir until smooth and runny.
One by one, dip the chilled dough balls into the melted chocolate and turn them to coat.
Place the truffles onto a non-stick surface to cool.
Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Serve at room temperature.

Now I get what all the fuss is about.

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Chocolate Almond Granola Bars

Written on June 11, 2012 by Wannabe Chef in Snack

I’ve never had much luck making granola bars until now. They usually turn out caky or crumbly and never hold together; I was just about ready to give up on making granola bars. This recipe has completely changed that around for me.

Not only are these delicious and gluten-free, they’re also no-bake and come together in about 10 minutes. I couldn’t think of anything more to ask for. The ingredients are simple, organic, and whole grain. It could easily be made vegan by swapping out the honey.

For the “dried fruit” we were out of the standard raisins or craisins, so I improvised and used chopped candied ginger. The flavor could not have been more spectacular. I generally love ginger and chocolate and the added bite held its own to the nuttiness of the bars.

Chocolate Almond Granola Bars

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 8 bars):

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup almond butter
1/4 cup honey**
1 cup oats*
1 1/2 cups chocolate rice crisps cereal(I used Erewhon Cocoa Crispy Brown Rice Cereal)*
1/2 cup almonds, whole or crushed
1/2 cup dried fruit
1/4 teaspoon salt

*To make these granola bars gluten-free, make sure these two ingredients are certified gluten-free.

**Use 3 Tablespoons of agave to make these vegan.

Method:

In a microwave or over a double boiler, melt the chocolate chips.
Stir in the almond butter and honey until smooth.
Add in the oats, cereal, almonds, dried fruit, and salt and mix until everything is completely covered.
Line an 8 x 8 baking tray with wax paper. Dump the batter into the pan and press down into an even layer.
Refrigerate the bars until they’ve hardened—about 20-30 minutes.
With a sharp knife, cut the bars in half horizontally and into quarters vertically into 8 2 x 4 bars.
Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

I don’t see myself ever paying for granola bars again.

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Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies {Gluten-Free/Vegan}

Written on April 30, 2012 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

I love Jessica’s blog. It was one of my favorites since I started reading food blogs and it’s never disappointed—the recipes and pictures are always great.

When Jessica posted peanut butter banana chocolate chip cookies, I couldn’t resist trying them out. There are too many flavors there that I love.

I changed Jessica’s recipe around to make these gluten-free and vegan. I hope that’s not heresy for someone who loves butter and flour; but if it is it’s delicious heresy.

I chose brown rice for this recipe because it is soft and buttery when baked making a tasty, airy cookie. You can find brown rice flour in most grocery stores in the gluten-free section.

Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies(adapted from this recipe)

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 18 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 1 dozen cookies):

1/2 cup banana puree
1/2 cup runny peanut butter
1 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup sugar*
2 Tablespoons maple syrup*
1/3 cup chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt**

*I used this to replicate the flavor of brown sugar. If you don’t have maple syrup, you can substitute 1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons brown sugar and a Tablespoon of water.

**Omit if the peanut butter you’re using is salted

Method:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
Combine all of the ingredients together evenly into a thick batter.
Roll 1 ounce of dough into a ball in your hand and place it on a lined or greased baking tray.
Bake for 15-18 minutes until the sides are browning and the center has puffed up.
Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool completely before taking them off the baking tray.

These are seriously some of the best cookies I’ve tasted. Make this recipe. Or make Jessica’s recipe. Just make some recipe.

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White Chocolate Cherry Almond Bark

Written on April 16, 2012 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

After Friday’s post you might be a little sick of hearing about bark but hopefully this recipe will change your mind.

White chocolate has been slowly but surely growing on me over the past few months. It’s so sweet and smooth; I don’t love it on its own but with other flavors it’s the perfect touch. Of course you can’t beat dark chocolate and cherries together, but there’s no reason white chocolate can’t join in the party, too.

I added some almonds to this, too, since it felt like it needed something sort of neutral and crunchy. Plus, almonds make this healthy, right? If you don’t have shaved almonds, you could use slivered, crushed, or even whole ones.

White Chocolate Cherry Almond Bark

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients:

1/2 pound white chocolate
1/2 pound semi-sweet or bitter-sweet chocolate
1/2 cup sweetened or unsweetened dried cherries
1/2 cup shaved almonds

Method:

Start by melting either the white or dark chocolate—whichever you want to be the base of the bark(I started with the white)—in a microwave or over a double boiler. Melt until completely smooth.
Lay the chocolate out in a thin layer on a non-stick surface like parchment paper.
Melt the other chocolate and carefully spread it on top of the first layer, gently swirling the two together with a utensil.
Sprinkle on the cherries and the almonds all over the chocolate and press them in lightly with your hand.
Refrigerate the chocolate for about 20 minutes until it has completely hardened.
Break the chocolate into 16-20 pieces. Store for up to 2 weeks.

This isn’t going to last long; I can ~~taste~~ feel it.

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Bark, Bark, Bark

Written on April 13, 2012 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert, Recipe Round-Up

Yesterday I was supposed to go to the store and pick up ingredients to make bark last night. Before I could it started raining, so that never happened. Sure, it stopped raining and the sun came back out but by that time I was home and too comfortable to do more than look at bark recipes online and drool a little.

As I was looking through the bark recipes I have on this site, I realized I only had 4. That’s a shame since it’s one of my favorite things to make and it’s so so easy. I’ll be sure to improve on that from now on; you can never have too much bark.

Peanuts-And-Pretzels-Dark-Chocolate-Bark

I made this peanuts and pretzels bark back in November when I was staying with friends for a few nights, but I stole a taste before I gave it away and I have to say it’s one of my favorites ever. You just can’t go wrong with peanut butter chips, especially in salty-sweet desserts.

Roasted-Hazelnut-And-Candied-Ginger-Bark-serving

Roasted hazelnut and candied ginger bark is definitely the most elegant bark I’ve ever made. I also used high quality baking chocolate instead of chocolate chips for these and I have to say that brought the recipe to a whole new level.

January 16th 063

I have weird tastes; I love bitter things. I’ve even eaten coffee beans whole on their own. That being said, they definitely taste better with chocolate. That’s why I love espresso bark. It’s also a hell of a lot cheaper than buying chocolate covered coffee beans, which are also amazing.

triple-nut-bark

My body’s two main food groups are probably chocolate and nuts, so this is practically like taking a vitamin. You could really use any nuts you like but I like making this triple nut bark with peanuts, cashews, and almonds and a little salt for extra flavor. But you really can’t go wrong as long as there’s chocolate and nuts involved.

I’ll be sure to make it to the store today. I might spend a mini-fortune on chocolate chips and crazy mix-ins, but I can tell that will be money well spent.

Any particular favorite bark recipes? Recipes and links are welcome!

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Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Written on April 6, 2012 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

The last time I made chocolate peanut butter, I meant to use it for making cookies. But before I knew it the jar was licked clean and that was that. Oh well—tasty food is never a loss. But since I recently had a jar of dark chocolate dreams, I was determined to make cookies out of it before eating the whole thing.

Peanut butter cookies were an obvious choice since they’re so easy and gluten-free. But why stop there? Adding chocolate chips makes them that much chocolatier and that much better. You could also try adding salted peanuts, and even chocolate covered peanuts if you have some on hand.

You could use any type of peanut butter for this recipe as long as it’s the no-stir kind, even homemade chocolate peanut butter.

Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 1 1/2 dozen cookies):

1 cup chocolate peanut butter such as Dark Chocolate Dreams
1 egg
1/2 cup cane sugar
6 Tablespoons chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Method:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Beat together all of the ingredients until it forms a batter.
Take pieces of cookie dough and roll it into 1-inch balls in between your hands. Put the balls on a lined cookie tray and press them down with a fork in a criss-cross pattern.
Bake for 16 to 18 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool completely before moving them.

When I took these out of the oven, they were very fragile. But as the cookies cooled to room temperature, they could be moved and lifted without cracking at all. Just be careful not to move them around too quickly fresh from the oven or you might end up with crumbs.

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Triple Nut Bark

Written on March 13, 2012 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

Thanks so much for your feedback on my last post; cover photo #2 was the clear winner. I probably would have picked #3 myself so I’m glad I asked and got different opinions.

On Sunday I wanted to make bark but couldn’t think of what recipe to make. Then I remembered one I made way back at the start of this blog that sounded delicious and decided it’d be a perfect chance to update the recipe and the photos.

It’s funny to think the last time I made this I was using a point + shoot and now I have a digital camera with 4 different lenses. It’s definitely an expensive hobby, but so much fun to get into.

Don’t have parchment paper? You can use a brown paper bag as a non-stick surface. It’s saved me from sticking chocolate many many times.

Triple Nut Bark

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 0 Minutes

Ingredients(Makes 15-20 servings):

12oz semi-sweet chocolate or chocolate chips
3oz(3/4 cup) peanuts*
3oz(3/4 cup) almonds*
3oz(3/4 cup) cashews*
Coarse sea salt(optional)

*Roasted nuts will be more flavorful than raw one, but either will yield a tasty result

Method:

Melt the chocolate in a microwave or over a double boiler.
Spread the chocolate out in a thin layer on a non-stick surface.
Evenly distribute the peanuts, almonds, and cashews over the chocolate and press them in lightly.
Sprinkle with coarse sea salt.
Refrigerate for 10-20 minutes until the bark has hardened. Remove it and break the bark into individual servings.
Store refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.

The more sea salt on this, the better. It’s totally optional but a must if you love salty-sweet desserts.

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Tempting Trail Mix Cookies

Written on March 9, 2012 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

Trader Joe’s makes the best trail mix. It’s called Tempting Trail Mix. The name really doesn’t do it justice; it won’t last long enough in your pantry to be tempting. Normally with trail mix I’ll just pick out the chocolate bits until there’s only fruit and nuts left, but not this one. It has chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, peanuts, cashews, almonds, and dried cherries. What’s not to love?

See, nothing but good.

Obviously these needed to be made into cookies to be enjoyed all the time. I mixed some of the trail mix into a super simple gluten-free peanut butter cookie batter; the peanuts and peanut butter chips in the trail mix and peanut butter in the cookie dough make for a delicious triple dose of peanuts.

I used 2 egg whites in place of the egg since I wanted to use up a container of egg whites and the cookies were slightly puffier and softer than normal and the batter was also looser to work with. I wouldn’t say one version was better than the other but I would be aware that subtle changes like that can change the end result.

Tempting Trail Mix Cookies

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 20 cookies):

1 cup peanut butter
2/3 cup cane sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup Tempting Trail Mix

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, mix all of the ingredients together.
Take off pieces of dough and roll into 1-inch balls. place the balls on a lined baking tray and flatten lightly. Repeat with all of the dough.
Bake for 15-17 minutes until the tops of the cookie are firm to the touch.
Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before moving.

These came out just as good—if not better—than the trail mix. I had trouble not just eating the batter. The chocolate chips melted perfectly in the oven and had just the right bitter flavor for the lightly-sweet dough. I also can’t get enough of how easy a Silpat mat makes baking. I don’t know what took me so long getting with the times.

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Monkey Trail Mix

Written on February 27, 2012 by Wannabe Chef in Snack

If I remember anything from high school biology, it’s that monkeys are one of are closest relatives.

We like bananas; they like bananas. We like peanuts; they probably like peanuts. We like chocolate; they’d love chocolate if anyone were weird enough to give chocolate to a monkey.

Basically, monkeys have good taste in trail mix. And we do, too. This snack is packed with just things monkeys(and people!) would like.

I could only find Reese’s peanut butter chips so those are what I used. If you’re looking for something more natural, Sunspire makes really good peanut butter chips which you can find at some Whole Foods and natural food stores.

Monkey Trail Mix

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients:

1/2 cup banana chips
3/4 cup salted peanuts
3/4 cup raw cashews
1/4 cup peanut butter chips
1/4 cup chocolate chips

Method:

Combine all of the ingredients and mix together.

It doesn’t get much easier than that.

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