No-Bake | The Wannabe Chef

Tag Archive: No-Bake

Cape Cod Trail Mix

Written on March 12, 2013 by Wannabe Chef in Snack

New England doesn’t have a standard cuisine but it certainly could. Between the apple cider doughnuts, glazed Dunkin Donut’s munchkins with jimmies and Boston cream pies there’s a lot to love(mostly carbs).

And then there’s this trail mix. You won’t find the typical gang of peanuts and raisins; instead we have cashews and almonds with dried cranberries. White chocolate instead of milk chocolate adds a sweetness to match the tartness of the berries. The flavors are simple but purely addictive, especially paired with some local apples and Vermont cheddar slices.

You could use raw almonds but I think roasted just have such a better flavor and texture. Similarly you could use raw cashews but I think you need something salted in the recipe to add a balance to the sweet.

Cape Cod Trail Mix

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 3 1/2 cups)

1 cup roasted, salted cashews
1 cup roasted almonds
3/4 cup craisins
1/2 cup white chocolate chunks

Method:

In a large bowl, combine and mix all of the ingredients together.
Keep in an air-tight container at room temperature when not eating.

All that’s missing is a bag of Cape Cod potato chips—never the baked or reduced salt kind.

2 Comments - Leave a comment!

3 Favorite Dips

Written on March 10, 2013 by Wannabe Chef in Recipe Round-Up

The funny thing about being a food blogger is that you make recipes for 4 or 8 or 12 and sometimes end up eating them all by yourself. That’s not a problem when the recipe’s good at least.

All of these dips I can say I’ve eaten half to entire portions of(not in one sitting… usually) and yet I keep making them again and again. They tend to get a lot of hits from Pinterest or Facebook because of how quick and easy they are—two things I always look for in recipes, too—so I thought I’d share them again because you can never have too much of a good thing.

Fruity Peanut Butter Yogurt Dip—Is it yogurt? Is it a spread? It’s somewhere in between; it’s a dip and a tasty one at that. But my favorite thing about this recipe isn’t how easy it is. It’s how many different ways you can make it. I’ve had this with strawberry yogurt, vanilla yogurt, and plain yogurt with nutella and each time it comes out equally good. But as fun as it is as a dip it’s usually always better with a spoon so keep that in mind.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Dessert Hummus—Out of all the times I’ve put beans into a dessert, this is probably the weirdest but also the tastiest. The texture and flavor is a lot like raw cookie dough except without all of the flour, refined sugars, and raw eggs. I’ve been obsessed lately with using this in place of peanut butter in pb&j sandwiches; if you’ve never tried something like this you’d be surprised how much you’ll love it.

Vegetarian Buffalo Chicken Dip—Finally something savory. I made this dip for Superbowl Sunday and have wanted to make it every weekend since. It’s creamy, spicy, and a little tangy all at once. If you’re a new vegetarian or still love eating meat you won’t know the chicken is gone at all. The next day put the leftovers into some warm tortillas and you’ll have a whole new meal.

Enjoy! I hope you’ll find one you like.

5 Comments - Leave a comment!

Nutella Yogurt Dip

Written on February 21, 2013 by Wannabe Chef in Snack

Nutella is one of those foods that I think everyone likes. Maybe it’s not for everyone, but it has 17 million fans on Facebook so it must feel pretty loved. I’m sure all those birthday notifications must be a bitch.

Two years ago I shared a fruity peanut butter yogurt dip recipe and since then it’s been pinned on Pinterest almost 190,000 times; who knew there were even that many Pinterest users? I’ve seen countless reviews and variations of it and this is another one to add to the list.

Nutella isn’t exactly a health food but that doesn’t mean you have to pass up on this delicious dip. There are plenty of all-natural varieties of chocolate hazelnut spreads out there and you can even make your own. If you’re using a brand that’s less sugar-laden you might want to add a touch more honey.

Nutella Yogurt Dip

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 1 cup):

1/2 cup Nutella
1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1 1/2 Tablespoons honey(optional)

Method:

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
Store in the refrigerator when not eating.

Serve on fruit, graham crackers, and fingers.

5 Comments - Leave a comment!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bark

Written on February 8, 2013 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

Whoever decided Cookies N’ Cream would get so much attention? There are Cookies N’ Cream ice creams, milk shakes, chocolate bars, granola bars—everything–Cookies N’ Cream.

I’m a bigger fan of the classic chocolate chip cookie; there’s nothing that you shouldn’t be able to do with a chocolate chip cookie. With chocolate, brown sugar, butter, and vanilla, there aren’t any other flavors you could ask for.

This bark, like most others, is simple to make but always a huge hit. Anyone who likes the taste of a chocolate chip cookie won’t be able to pass it up.

For this recipe you don’t want to use your grandmother’s fresh-out-of-the-oven chocolate chip cookies but instead something from the store shelf like Chips Ahoy! or Lucy’s that’s crunchy and won’t get stale in the bark.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bark

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 16-20 servings):

8.5 ounces white chocolate OR 1 cup white chocolate chips
1/4 cup chocolate chips
5 chocolate chip cookies, broken into pieces

Method:

Melt the white chocolate chips in a microwave or over a double boiler.
Spread the melted chocolate out onto non-stick wax paper in a thin layer.
Spread the broken chocolate chip cookie pieces out on top and then the chocolate chips so that they evenly cover the bark.
Lightly press the toppings into the bark.
Refrigerate or freeze the bark for 20-30 minutes until it has solidified. Break the bark into equal-sized pieces to serve.
Keep refrigerated when not eating.

6 Comments - Leave a comment!

Low-Fat Cake Balls

Written on January 5, 2013 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

Cake pops are one of my favorite recent food trends, not because I think they taste all that much better than regular old cake, but because once and a while we all make that cake that doesn’t rise or come out just how we planned and won’t serve to people but can’t bear to throw away.

That’s the beauty of cake pops: They’re very forgiving. You can start out with dry or crumbly cake and still come out with something delicious.

Chobani sent me a few of their 32oz yogurt containers for their Just Add Good cooking campaign. They’ve added a new Kitchen page to their website full of yogurt recipes and beautiful photos to get your gears turning.

When I made these cake balls, I swapped out the oil in the cake recipe for an equal amount vanilla Greek yogurt. For the frosting I mixed the cake with, I swapped out the butter for 1/2 the amount called for of plain 2% greek yogurt. The result was just as moist and delicious as any cake ball I’ve made before.

Since you lose richness when you cut the fat out of a recipe, this works better with bitter or spicy cake flavors like chocolate, pumpkin, or carrot cake. I used a gluten-free pumpkin spice cake with a white chocolate coating.

Don’t forget when melting chocolate to look for baking chocolate instead of chocolate chips. Baking chocolate melts smoother and makes a better coating for the cake pops.

7 Comments - Leave a comment!

Easy Kahlua Truffles

Written on August 27, 2012 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

I hate to admit it but even after years of cooking long, detailed ingredient lists and steps still scare me away from a recipe. If there’s a way to do something easier, I’ll take it. These truffles are about as easy as they come; they’re JUST chocolate, butter, and Kahlua. How easy is that?(Shoot, now I probably owe Ina Garten royalties)

The hardest part about these is rolling them in cocoa powder, which isn’t hard at all; you just have to pay attention to the chocolate and and keep coating it until it can’t take in any more cocoa. When you’re done you get a nice, rich center and a mess-free surface.

When making anything that involves melting chocolate, it’s better to use a baking chocolate rather than chocolate chips. You can get high-quality baking chocolate near the cheese section in some grocery stores or use Baker’s brand chocolate. Unlike chocolate chips, this will melt easily and smoothly.

Easy Kahlua Truffles

Prep time: 40 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 14 truffles):

8oz semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate
3 Tablespoons Kahlua liquor
2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup cocoa powder

Method:

Melt the chocolate and butter in a microwave or over a double boiler.
Mix the Kahlua into the chocolate and butter and beat until smooth and silky.
Let the chocolate cool in a refrigerator until it’s a semi-soft solid. It shouldn’t be as hard as a rock, but it shouldn’t stick to your hand when you handle it.
Pour about 1/2 cup of cocoa powder onto a flat plate.
With a melon baller, form small balls of chocolate and drop them onto the plate of cocoa powder, rolling them around. Alternatively, you can take small amounts of chocolate, roll it into a ball in between your hands and drop it into the cocoa powder.
Roll the truffle around in the cocoa powder until the outside is entirely coated and place it on a separate, clean plate. Repeat with all of the chocolate.
When the truffles have set and hardened, shake off any excess cocoa powder and store them in a sealed container keeping the truffles at room temperature.

13 Comments - Leave a comment!

Chubby Hubby Cheesecake

Written on August 1, 2012 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

Cheesecake is kind of a magical food. It’s hard to not love a good cheesecake. It’s sweet and tangy and rich and creamy all at the same time; it’s pretty much the perfect dessert.

I don’t think I’ve ever had Chubby Hubby ice cream(Phish Food is by far my favorite Ben & Jerry’s flavor), but anything with peanut butter, pretzels, and chocolate has to be good. And that’s exactly what this cheesecake is: A slightly salty pretzel crust with a rich peanut butter cheesecake filling and a sweet chocolate ganache. Ben and Jerry would definitely be proud.

The best thing about this recipe is that it’s no-bake(because, really, who wants to bake at all mid-Summer?). Because of that, the filling isn’t as light and airy as a cheesecake with eggs would be. You could use full-fat cream cheese in this recipe but it gets more than enough richness from the peanut butter.

Chubby Hubby Cheesecake

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients

For the crust:

6oz pretzels(about 2 cups)*
1 stick butter, melted
6 Tablespoons powdered sugar
1/4 cup liquid sweetener(agave, maple syrup, or corn syrup)
1-3 Tablespoons water

For the filling:

2 8oz blocks Neufchatel or low-fat cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup no-stir peanut butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the ganache:

1/2 cup chocolate chips
2 Tablespoons cream or milk
1 Tablespoon liquid sweetener(agave, maple syrup, or corn syrup)

*To make this cheesecake gluten-free, use gluten-free pretzels. I like Snyder’s of Hanover’s pretzel sticks.

Method:

Pulse the pretzels in a food processor until the crumbs form a coarse flour.
Add in the melted butter, powdered sugar, and sweetener and mix.
Slowly add in water until the dough starts to stick to itself. You may not need any water or you may need up to a few tablespoons.
Press the pretzel dough into the bottom of a cake pan firmly and work it into an even layer.
In a separate bowl, mix together all of the filling ingredients on high until the filling is uniform in color and texture.
Pour the filling on top of the pretzel crust and spread it out in an even layer. Put the cheesecake in the refrigerator until the center sets.
While the cheesecake is chilling, melt the chocolate for the ganache in a microwave or over a double boiler.
Whisk in the cream and sweetener.
Let the ganache cool slightly until it’s about the same consistency as a buttercream frosting. Scoop the chocolate into a frosting bag or Ziploc bag with a corner cut out and drizzle it on top of the chilled cheesecake.
Store in a refrigerator. Let the cheesecake sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving.

Next time I make this I might double the filling so that it’d be about as thick as the Cheesecake Factory cheesecakes that have about enough calories to feed a small family for a week. Gluten-free or not, everyone deserves that in their life from time to time.

14 Comments - Leave a comment!

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.

16 Comments - Leave a comment!

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.

14 Comments - Leave a comment!

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.

7 Comments - Leave a comment!