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Chocolate Peanut Butter Snack Balls

Written on January 11, 2012 by Wannabe Chef in Snack

Lately I’ve been obsessed with these raw fruit and nut snacks. And I’m always obsessed with chocolate peanut butter. I can’t understand what took me so long to combine the two.

I’m not going to sugarcoat these and say they taste like Reese’s peanut butter cups; they don’t, and anyone who could get that flavor with just fruit and nuts would be a miracle worker. But these do taste deliciously sweet and salty with a hint of cocoa and silky smooth peanut butter. They’re certainly good enough to satisfy a snack craving. And if you want to take these to the next level, you can always mix some chocolate chips(or peanut butter chips!) into the batter for a real chocolate peanut butter treat.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Snack Balls

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(makes about 14 balls):

16oz pitted dates
1/2 cup peanut butter
6 Tablespoons cocoa powder
3 Tablespoons chia seeds
1/4 cup peanuts or chocolate chips(optional)

Method:

Blend the dates in a food processor until they stick together and form a big dough ball.
Add in the peanut butter and cocoa powder and continue mixing until all of the ingredients are blended together.
Stop the processor; move the dough to a separate bowl and add in the chia seeds and any other mix-ins you might want. Knead them in throughout the dough.
Break off 1oz pieces and roll them into 1-inch balls. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.

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PB&J Balls

Written on January 4, 2012 by Wannabe Chef in Snack

One of my favorite lunches growing up was a PB&J sandwich on white Wonderbread. Who doesn’t love peanut butter and jelly? And Wonderbread—that was just great stuff before anyone realized bread shouldn’t be glow-in-the-dark white.

I’m getting sidetracked. What I meant to say was that these taste like the filling of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, that point where the sweetness of the jelly meets the smooth salty peanut butter. Since I hardly ever buy loaves of gluten-free bread, that’s not a taste I get to experience much; now I can have it whenever in a tasty raw snack.

You can mix in chopped peanuts at the final mixing step for a crunchier texture. For a different “jelly” flavor, use dried raspberries or dried strawberries in place of the raisins.

PB&J Balls

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 18 balls):

1 1/2 cup pitted dates
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
3 Tablespoons chia seeds(optional but recommended)

Method:

Place the dates and raisins into a food processor and blend until they come together and form a dough ball.
Add in the peanut butter and chia seeds and continue blending until everything has mixed together.
Move the ingredients to a bowl and work them with your hands until it forms one big dough ball.
Break off pieces by the ounce and roll into balls between your palms. Store in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to a week.

I loved these even more after a day when the chia seeds had taken out some of the moisture and made them nice and chewy. It reminded me of a PB&J Larabar, so you could definitely shape these into bar form and have your own homemade ones.

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Raw Salted Almond Brownies

Written on January 3, 2012 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

The last time I made raw brownies, I didn’t share the recipe. I wasn’t planning on it this time, either, but these came out so well I felt I’d be holding out if I didn’t share them.

These almonds from Trader Joe’s are incredibly addicting; I’m pretty sure they’re all gone by now. Anything with chocolate and salt and I can’t stop snacking. Why not make some brownies with the same mix-ins?

The almond butter in these brownies make them a little more fudgy and decadent than your typical date bars. You can use any type of nuts you have on hand.

Raw Salted Almond Brownies

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes a dozen brownies):

16oz pitted dates
1/4 cup raw almond butter
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup almonds
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt

Method:

Put the dates in a food processor and blend until they stick together into a ball of dough. If the dates haven’t come together after a few minutes, add a tablespoon or so of water until they do.
Add in the cocoa powder and almond butter and continue blending until they are mixed into the dough.
Add in the almonds and sea salt. Pulse until the almonds are broken up into pieces.
Turn off the food processor and move the mixture to a different bowl. Work it with your hands until all of the ingredients are well mixed together and the almonds stick in the batter.
Turn the dough out onto a piece of parchment paper and press with your hands into a square shape roughly 9×9. Cut into 12 pieces. Store in a sealed container at room temperature when not eating.

These are particularly good with some salty peanut butter spread on top as a snack or dessert. Next time I think I’ll use the chocolate covered almonds in the brownie dough assuming I don’t eat them all first again.

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Raw Salted Caramel Chocolate Pecan Torte

Written on January 2, 2012 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

Happy New Year! I wanted to get the year off to a sweet start, so here’s the dessert I made for Christmas, which just happened to turn out to be one of my favorite desserts ever.

As soon as I saw this recipe, I knew I wanted to make it. I love things that are salty and sweet and pecans are never a bad thing either; add chocolate and you have to have a winning dessert.

I actually think it’s easier to make raw tortes and pies than cooked ones; you don’t have to worry about cutting cold butter into the crust or cooking them in a water bath. This recipe comes together extremely quickly and is full of flavor.

I used maple syrup because I had plenty on hand. To make this fully raw, use agave nectar or raw honey.

Raw Salted Caramel Chocolate Pecan Torte

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 1 torte):

For the crust:

6oz(about 1 1/2 cups) dates
6oz(1 1/2 cups) pecans

For the caramel:

2oz dates
6 Tablespoons maple syrup or other liquid sweetener
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

For the filling:

1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup maple syrup or other liquid sweetener
Sea salt and pecans for garnish

Method:

To make the crust, pulse the dates and pecans in a food processor until it forms a dough ball. If after a while the dough hasn’t come together, add water by the tablespoon slowly until it does.
Grease a 9-inch pan lightly with coconut oil. Press the dough into the pan and spread it out evenly into a pie crust shape, raising it at the side. Make sure there are no holes in the bottom.
Make the caramel by blending together the maple syrup and dates in a food processor until smooth and golden in color. Once it’s blended into a sauce, add in the sea salt and mix gently.
Pour the caramel in a thin layer on top of the bottom of the crust, spreading it out evenly.
To make the filling, blend the melted coconut oil, cocoa powder, and maple syrup in a food processor until it’s uniformly mixed.
Carefully cover the caramel layer with the chocolate layer. For me it was easiest to add a little bit of topping all around the pie and lightly blending the top together with a soft spatula.
Garnish the top with pecans and sea salt if desired.
Refrigerate your torte until the filling sets. Remove it from the refrigerator about 10-15 minutes before cutting and serving. Personally I liked this when it was still slightly chilled but you can also eat it at room temperature.

I would have liked to have gotten better pictures of this but it was too good not to just dig into. It may not be one of the prettiest desserts, but it’s by far one of the tastiest I’ve made in a long time. I can’t wait to make this again.

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The Most Popular Recipes Of 2011

Written on December 30, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Recipe Round-Up

Life’s a bit of a popularity contest; I’m not delusioned into thinking otherwise. And so, instead of me telling you what my favorite recipes have been so far, I figured it’d be more useful to show you the recipes you all picked as the best—the popular crowd.

These are my 5 most visited recipes over the past year. Rereading the comments on all of these posts, I’m shocked by how many people tried(and loved) them. It makes me happy since I loved all of these, too. Hopefully as popular as they are you’ll find one that’s new to you and be inspired to try it out like others have.

hazelnut-chocolate-cake

These Raw Vegan Hazelnut Chocolate Cakes blew up on stumbleupon. With almost 40,000 views and a couple hundred likes, it’s been a huge hit for plenty of foodies. But don’t think it’s just for raw vegans; this tastes delicious no matter who you are(even the avocado frosting, which I swear you won’t be able to taste anything funny in).

July 14th 074

Healthy Frozen Smore Parfaits were a huge hit on Pinterest over the Summer. I have to say I made these more times than I can count myself; they were the perfect way to beat the Summer heat with 2 servings of fruit in each serving.

If you’ve ever googled “Almond Flour Cookies”, you’ve probably landed on these Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies. It’s one of my most visited daily pages and has been visited even more frequently in the past few weeks; looks like a lot of people will be having gluten-free holidays. The best thing about these is that you probably already have all the ingredients for them in your pantry.

May 8th 049

To this day I’m surprised by how often this Peanut Butter Yogurt Dip is pinned on Pinterest. If everyone who pinned this onto a board called “NEED TO MAKE!!” actually has—well that would be a lot of peanut butter. Apparently it’s a big hit with little kids, which I can understand since I love it and am pretty much just a big kid at heart.

This Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Hummus is probably my most made recipe judging by the comments and testaments I’ve gotten. If you’re still afraid of the idea of a sweet hummus, trust the hundreds of people who tried it and know that you can’t taste anything but goodness.

Here’s to 2012 being an even tastier year.

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Eat Healthy: Raw Brownies

Written on December 27, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Snack

filling-up-on-raw-brownies

I could never give up chocolate. It’s a daily thing for me. Even when I want to eat healthy, I’m always drawn back to it, and frankly I have no willpower to resist.

That’s where the beauty of something like raw brownies come in. These are sweetened with dried fruit and the only fat comes from nuts, which are whole foods. It’s a big improvement over refined sugar, cocoa butter and milk fat. To make these, I threw together some dates, figs, hazelnuts and walnuts in my food processor, and then folded in extra walnuts when it was done to give them an added crunch. Not only are they delicious, but they’re filling, too.

Since that’s not exactly a recipe, I thought I’d share a few raw chocolate cake recipes I have made in the past that are similar and just as delicious:

Gabriel’s recipe is super simple. It has added coconut oil and agave nectar which makes the brownies a little more moist and extravagant. It’d be the perfect thing to make if you want to impress someone and show off how good raw food can be.

Katie’s recipe has just fruit for the sweetener and nuts for the fat like the ones I made. I like the addition of vanilla for a stronger chocolate flavor.

I went through the first batch of these all too quickly. You’d better double the recipes since I’m sure you’ll fall in love with them, too.

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Fig And Hazelnut Balls

Written on December 20, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Snack

One of the things I said I was going to do now was eat better, especially when it comes to sugar. Now I’m not delusioned too think I could ever give up the sweet stuff; instead I’m just looking to eat more sweets that also have nutrition to them. And for that I look towards dried fruit.

fig-and-hazelnut-ball

I’ve always loved fruit and nut snack bars like Larabars. They’re one of those all-too-few things that taste good and are good for you. They’re also incredibly easy to make at home, which opens up infinite flavor combinations. The combination of figs, hazelnuts, cinnamon and nutmeg taste like Winter to me.

Fig And Hazelnut Balls

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 14):

8oz pitted dates
8 figs, chopped
3/4 cup toasted hazelnuts
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Method:

In a food processor, blend the dates until they form a sticky dough ball. If after a few minutes your dates haven’t come together, they might have been too dry to begin. Simply add a tablespoon of water and continue blending until they do come together.
Move the date dough to a separate bowl. Chop the hazelnuts and figs in the food processor until they’re broken into small pieces.
Dump the fig and hazelnut bits into the bowl with the date dough, adding in the cinnamon and nutmeg. Knead the two together. Break off pieces to roll into a ball or into a bar.
Store in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to a week.

I used the roasted salted hazelnuts from Oh Nuts! and the little bit of salt really was a nice touch if you like salty-sweet snacks. It’s not going to fool anyone as a dessert but it’s a good snack to keep on hand to fight an afternoon sweet craving.

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Raw Dark Chocolate Peppermint Pudding

Written on November 14, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

In a perfect world, I’d eat less sugar. But this isn’t a perfect world, and I’m far from perfect. Truthfully my sweet tooth is out of control. I tried to eat less sugar in October and failed(I blame the existence of candy corn). I tried to eat less sugar in November and I’m failing(hello, peanut butter bars). I’ll try to eat less sugar in December and I’ll fail then, too(at least I’m being realistic about it at this point). Maybe I’ll kick the habit in 2012; who knows?

That’s not all to say I haven’t learned anything. One thing I’ve learned is that bananas make a great whole food sweetener. I used to make raw chocolate pudding all the time with avocado and agave, but at the end of the day agave is still another refined sugar like maple syrup and cane sugar. Bananas may have sugar, but also fiber and potassium. And in this dessert you really can’t taste the difference.

The trick is to use bananas that are well past yellow onto brown to get more sweetness and less banana-flavor.

Raw Dark Chocolate Peppermint Pudding

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 2 servings):

1 medium-sized ripe avocado
2 small overripe bananas(the browner the better)
1/4 cup undutched cocoa powder
Scant 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

Method:

Peel the avocado and bananas and throw them in a food processor.
Blend the fruits until they make a smooth puree.
Add in the cocoa powder and extract and continue blending until they’re entirely mixed.
Scrape into serving bowls and serve at room temperature. Keep leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.

Maybe I could give up sugar if I had an endless supply of this in my refrigerator… right next to a bowl of candy corn and Reese’s.

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Raw Chocolate Ganache Tortes

Written on September 27, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

If you’ve been following this blog for any length of time you’d know I’m obsessed with the raw chocolate ganache torte(pictures here) from Wildflour bakery. Time and time again I’ve tried to make my own, but it just never comes out as good as there’s.

Until now.

I can honestly say this is one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. The raw chocolate taste so much more intense than anything that comes in a wrapper. And the crust and filling blend seamlessly together for a smooth, nutty bite. It’s perhaps my favorite recipe to share and I hope becomes this site’s most popular, because it truly deserves the attention.

You can use any nut butter in place of the almond butter. Just don’t leave it out. It helps to lower the solidity temperature of the coconut oil so that the dessert is easily cut through straight from the refrigerator.

Raw Chocolate Ganache Tortes(adapted from this recipe and inspired by Wildflour)

Prep time: 15 minutes

(Un)cook time: 2 hours

Ingredients(Makes 8 small tortes):

For the crust:

6 Tablespoons almond flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 Tablespoons coconut oil, softened or melted
2 Tablespoons agave nectar

For the filling:

1/2 cup cocoa powder + more for dusting
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted completely
7 Tablespoons agave nectar
2 Tablespoons almond butter

Method:

Combine all of the crust ingredients and mix until a uniform dough forms.
Press the dough in an even layer into the bottom of a small loaf pan. Alternatively, you could make these in a muffin tin and have them be round.
For the filling, beat together all of the ingredients until it makes a soft ganache.
Pour the ganache over the crust base. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
Sift extra cocoa powder over the torte. Cut with a sharp knife into 8 equal-sized tortes.

I will never pay for another raw chocolate ganache torte again. I will, however, still pay for their carrot cake truffles, chocolate pound cake, raw macaroons, raw cheesecake, raw oreos and rum balls, so I wouldn’t worry about them losing much business.

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Autumn Almond Butter

Written on September 16, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Miscellaneous

I don’t care what the calendar say–Autumn definitely came early this year. The temperature is cold and the leaves are all falling; store shelves are lined with cans of pumpkin pie mix and candy corn; the farmers’ market is back in swing with squashes no one has ever seen before; I’m back to hastily finishing homework and quizzes. Need I say more?

This weekend I was planning on making an almond version of Winnie’s amazing looking walnut butter, but I decided to save it for another time(when I actually have all the ingredients) and went with an Autumn themed one instead. I’m glad I made that decision because the spice from cinnamon and nutmeg paired with sweet cranberries have made cool mornings a little warmer.

I like my almond and peanut butters on the thicker side, so I didn’t blend this for too long. Taking Ashley’s tip, I’d suggest to keep blending up to 12-15 minutes before adding in the second batch of ingredients for a drippier butter.

Autumn Almond Butter

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(makes about 20oz):

1lb almonds, raw or roasted, blanched or unblanched
1 1/2 Tablespoons neutral oil(I used coconut oil)
1/4 cup cane sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon maple extract
1/4 cup dried cranberries

Method:

Combine the almonds and oil in a food processor and blend until the almonds form a thick paste(about 5-10 minutes). Scrape down the sides as necessary to make sure all of the almonds get processed.
Stop the processor and add the sugar, spice, salt, and extract. Continue pulsing until the ingredients have all been mixed evenly.
Turn off your food processor. Add in the cranberries and fold them in throughout the almond butter. Move to an air-tight container for storing.

If your Autumn involves chocolate(and that’s a pretty good Autumn), add 1/4 cup of white chocolate chips at the end and fold them in along with the cranberries.

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