Vegan and Flourless Peanut Butter Fudge Bars

Remember these cookies?

I loved them so much, I made them into bars.  And I doubled the chocolate.


You are welcome.

 

 

I've been a major peanut butter and chocolate kick recently.  I think it is all I have been eating.

Oh yeah, there is spinach too, but chocolate and peanut butter have taken over.

If you have to ask why, then go and bake a batch of these and then we can talk. 

Good deal?

 

 

I made my Healthy Reese's Fudge which was arguably much healthier than an actual Reese's, but it still wasn't quite what I wanted in a "creatively healthy" chocolate peanut butter dessert.  Ever since I made those aforementioned peanut butter cookies from chickpeas (and had success!) I couldn't get them out of my mind. 

Beans + peanut butter + sweetener = shockingly good.

So this time, I added a couple tablespoons of cocoa powder and spread a dairy-free-from-scratch-chocolate on top.  Peanut butter fudge cookie bars meets super smooth chocolate.

I'm good at this pairing up thing, huh?

 

 

 

 

Speaking of cocoa powder, I about had withdrawals the other day.  Since I can't have regular chocolate chips, I've been using cocoa powder and sweetener all.the.time.  I told one of my friends I eat 1/2 cup a day.  That might be an exaggeration, but only slightly. 

 

When I got out my cocoa powder container and had to bang it on the counter to get the last teaspoon out (note: don't try this at home - cocoa powder blows everywhere!) it ranked as one of my top cooking crisis's.  I live, sleep, breathe chocolate (NOT cocoa powder, already tried that.  Doesn't work) and besides, peanut butter needs a friend.

 

My awesome Dad went to the store and bought me a can of cocoa powder. 

 

{He's pretty awesome.  He doesn't even like chocolate.}

 

 

 

My cocoa powder is well loved and is used twice in this recipe.  First, in the base, but the dominant flavor is still peanut butter.  Don't worry, there are undertones of cocoa throughout every bite.

 

And then there is my favorite part!  That topping tastes like I melted chocolate chips and poured it over the top.  But it is only coconut oil, honey, and (yep) cocoa powder.

 

Are you mind blown?  I still am!  I think it is the coolest thing!  Because of the coconut oil, it solidifies at room temp and becomes like a slab of chocolate.  On top of a slab of peanut butter fudge bar.  You can store these at room temp, but I highly recommend refrigerating them.  It guarantees that the peanut butter layer stays moist and fudgy and the top layer remains smooth and firm. 

 

Please believe me when I tell you that this doesn't taste like beans.  It tastes like peanut butter and chocolate fudge.  You do bake the base, but it remains so fudgy that we can safely call it fudge.  The beans and peanut butter combine to create a filling and satisfying dessert that tastes like dessert!

 

 

 

Vegan and Flourless Peanut Butter Fudge Bars
Recipe Source: The Sweet {Tooth} Life
Yield: 12-16 servings

Peanut Butter Bars:
1 can (15.25) fully cooked chickpeas
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup honey *maple syrup for strict vegans*
1/4 teaspoon each, baking powder, baking soda, and salt
2 tablespoons cocoa powder

Chocolate Topping:
2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 tablespoons honey

Preheat oven to 350.
Rinse chickpeas in cold water.
Blend in a food processor until mostly smooth.
Add honey and blend again.
Add peanut butter and pulse a few times.  Don't blend too much or your peanut butter will seize up.
Remove blade and stir in baking powder, soda, salt, and cocoa powder.
Spread into a lightly greased 9x9 pan.
Bake for 12-14 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Let cool.

Related Recipes:

Vegan Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

Healthy Reeses Fudge

 

 

Skinny Chocolate Peanut Butter Milkshake

 

 

This post might be linked up at any of these parties.

 

 

Vegan Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

IIIIIIIIIIII'm back!

 

And I brought cookies!
 

Oh, and I also changed the commenting system - let me know what you think PLEASE.  I won't mind if you hate it, it is still growing on me ;)
 

(Crazy long weekends call for enormous amounts of cookies.  Goes without saying.)

 

And not just any cookies - these are intensely peanut butter-y and studded with smooth dark chocolate.  Although they are small, they pack a powerful punch of the world's best combo - chocolate and peanut butter! 

 

Ever since I tried chickpeas in raw cookie dough, I couldn't wait to try a peanut butter version.  Now, I've attempted beans in baking before and it didn't work.  At all.  So I was a little hesitant to try again.  But these cookies are incredible - they might just be my all time favorite peanut butter cookies.  They are thick, but not fluffy, like some bean based cookies are.  These are dense and a little crumbly.  Each bite tastes buttery, without the annoying greasiness of oil.  And there is nothing in the way of the peanut butter flavor; oh, except for the bites of chocolate, but I can't complain there.  I'll let you in on a little secret -

 

these have no butter

 

or oil

 

or flour

 

and, even though I love eggs, there aren't on the list either. 

 

Vegan chocolate chip peanut butter cookies.  That taste like chocolate chip peanut butter cookies.

 

Totally and completely true.

 

I love mini things and I wish I could say it was for the cute factor.  I'm pretty sure I like them because I can eat three or four or ten.  I'm pretty sure I did just that with these.

 

They are that good.

 

No one will guess they are healthy.  You could eat them for breakfast!  But I really don't like the title breakfast cookies - it makes me think of oat and banana and applesauce.  Don't get me wrong, I really like all of those ingredients, but not when I want something for dessert. 

 

These are healthy enough for breakfast but really and truly taste like dessert. 

 

Vegan Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe Source: My Whole Food Life
Yield: 16 cookies

1-1/4 cup chickpeas, cooked
1/2 cup peanut butter + 2 tablespoons
1/3 cup honey *maple syrup for strict vegans*
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.
Drain chickpeas and rinse well with cold water.
Blend chickpeas in a good food processor.  (I used my Ninja)
Add peanut butter and honey and blend a couple times until smooth.  (Don't overblend or you'll "burn" your peanut butter)
Stir in baking powder.
Roll into balls; dough will be sticky, but that's okay.
Place on lightly greased cookie sheet.
Press chocolate chips on top of cookie dough.
Bake for 12-14 minutes (mine were done at 12 minutes)
Let cool for a couple minutes.
Serve warm (amazing!) or let cool completely (also really good!)

Flourless Lemon Cookie Dough Truffles

I'm late to the Valentine's Day party.  Sure, I made some pink foods, but I missed the day completely.  So, even though this is late, I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day!  Something I've realized is that whenever there is love, there is always conflict.  How many times do we see conflict?  Like, all the time, right?  I've always had conflict between cookie dough and the flavor lemon.  I've never made lemon cookies.  Or lemon cookie bars. 

But now I've made lemon cookie dough truffles.

Absolutely no conflict there.

 

I've never had cookie dough that didn't have peanut butter or chocolate  so this was a totally different sense for my taste buds.  Cookie dough that was tart!  The truffles have the texture of cookie dough, but more textured.  The oats and the beans create a dryer texture that is balanced by the lemon juice and honey.  So it is still moist and thick, but has the sweet and sour that we all know we love, even if we won't admit it. 

These will have you singing your praises, no matter what your former preconceptions of lemon cookie dough might be.  Or cookie dough made from beans.

Ok, yes, these are not your normal truffles.  But you really can't tell, unless you are really looking for a different texture.  The flavor is unaffected, but it is a little more textured.  These truffles aren't completely smooth, but I like having a little chew in my cookie dough.  Between the oats and the beans, these are packed with fiber and protein.  If I worked out, these would make a fantastic post workout snack ;)  And if you are like me, they make an incredible "I'm hungry and want something sweet while I'm reading a good book" snack.  I've eaten almost the entire batch, with a little help from my siblings.  It is hard work sharing amazing little cookie dough truffles like these.  *pops another in mouth*

 

 

Conflict - I feel like I've had way too much of it this past week.  There will always be things I don't agree with, but this week, I've seem to run into my fair share.  I'm grateful we live in a country where we have the freedom to agree and disagree and I'm grateful God made us differently.  If we were all the same, we would never learn anything new.  But sometimes, I wonder how other people don't see things the way I see them.  Life isn't as black and white as I believe (I'm incredibly black and white ... it has its advantages and disadvantages)  I get that.  But being open minded and gracious are not my strong points.  I read a couple years ago how any conflict is the opportunity to choose the right thing.  I always seem to remember that after I say the wrong thing, but no matter how I act, it is still true. 

God has really been showing me that He had to endure all sorts of conflict while He was on earth.  I mean, look at His interactions with the Pharisees.  Could there have been more annoying people?  They were constantly creating grey areas into black and white areas and vice versa.  Yet He treated them with grace.  Even if He was pointing out their error, He was doing it in love.  I know I have the power of Christ to treat people with love. I don't like choosing to.  But if I can make cookie dough out of beans, and make cookie dough lemon flavored, then I can choose to love people, despite the conflict I find unavoidable. Christ's love is based on unconditional love and I can't make the love He gave me conditional simply because I don't want to.  I'm sure being crucified wasn't on Jesus' "want to" list.  But He did it because He loves me.  *sigh*  I have no right to go to death over things like sports or end of the year parties.  What is important is being gracious and loving.  I want to be remembered for that, not for being right.  Valentine's Day is a wonderful reminder that love is true love is selfless and gracious, no matter what.

Flourless Lemon Cookie Dough Truffles
Recipe Source: The Sweet {Tooth} Life
Yield: 14 truffles

1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons lemon zest
3/4 cup oats, ground into a flour
1/2 cup sweetener (I used 1/4 cup honey and 1/4 cup white sugar)

Drain and rinse chickpeas.
Blend chickpeas with lemon juice and zest in a food processor until smooth.
Add oats and sweetener and blend again. 
Scoop into one tablespoon balls and place on a lightly greased baking sheet.
Freeze for 10 minutes.
Remove from freezer and place in refrigerator for 30 minutes. 
Put truffles in an airtight container and store in refrigerator. 

Notes:  The truffles are stored in the freezer first to firm up the dough.  Then they will be fine in the fridge.  You can't continue to store them in the freezer or they will be too hard to eat. 

Banana Butter {and the healthiest peanut butter banana sandwich ever}

Remember thelow fat peanut butter I posted?  Today we slather it with homemade banana butter on whole wheat bread for a delicious spin off of the peanut butter sandwich.

Since there is apple butter and pumpkin butter, I thought, why not banana?  Granted, real fruit butters are sugars and the fruit cooked down, so this probably doesn't qualify as real fruit butter BUT we can pretend, right?  Make sure to use your banana butter as soon as its blended. It doesn't taste very good after a day in the fridge. It has a hint of cream cheese, an unrivaled creaminess, and a bunch of banana flavor.  I added a drop of yellow good coloring to boost the yellowness, but it isn't necessary for flavor. Paired with the peanut butter, this is a winner. 

My sandwich choices depend on my mood. If I'm in a sweet frame of mind, I go for the peanut butter/chocolate/banana sandwiches. But I love my savory sandwiches; wraps usually; and my all time favorite has pesto, mozzarella cheese, hummus, turkey, and the some tomato and lettuce. I love grilled chicken wraps, too (oh my, love them.). What's your favorite sandwich?

Banana Butter

Recipe Source: The Sweet {Tooth} Life 

2-3 ripe bananas, mashed 

4 oz. cream cheese 

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice 

1 drop yellow fool coloring 

1 teaspoon banana extract

Blend all the ingredients in a food processor. Serve immediately. 

For sandwich: 

Low Fat Peanut Butter

Banana Butter

Whole wheat bread  

Spread peanut butter and banana butter on wheat bread. Serve immediately. 

Low Fat Peanut Butter

I KNOW some of my friends are going to start worrying about me. 

Don't.  I'm not supporting low fat diets or cutting out healthy fats.  No.

I'm just having way too much experimenting and playing around with my Ninja. Okay?  Just playing mad scientist since its Halloween and all! (actually, I can't stand Halloween ... I'm such a party crasher, I know!)

I was afraid it wouldn't taste like peanut butter.  There are a lot of peanut butter cookie dough recipes that look like this, so I was curious as to how it tasted.  I thought it tasted great, but the real test came at lunch. Stephen has made a batch of eggless cookie dough and had it in the fridge. Luke was getting it out for dessert, but accidentally got out my peanut butter. He tried some, thinking it was Stephen's cookie dough and made a face. "This tastes just like plain peanut butter, Stephen!"

Confession time.  "That's mine!"

"Oh," he puts the lid on and nods. "That explains it."

Yeah. Mad scientist. 

This stuff is awesome. I eat it by itself, spread on apples, pita chips (yes, I'm weird. It's official) and on a sandwich I'll post tomorrow. That's really good, too.  Don't worry, I haven't baked with it and don't plan on it.  I won't abandon good 'ole Jif for all my baking needs!  This peanut butter is incredible for snacking.  You can trust me on this one, even if I don't like Halloween (except for the mini Snicker's Bars!!!) and put it on my pita chips.

Low Fat Peanut Butter
Recipe Source: The Sweet {Tooth} Life

1 can chickpeas
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup honey
1-2 tablespoons milk

Blend all the ingredients in a food processor.  Store in the refrigerator.

P.S.  I had a really hard time titling this post, because its not homemade peanut butter nor is it cookie dough. If you have a better title, let me know because this was all I could come up with. 

Salad Saturdays: Orange Chickpea Couscous Salad

This is the last installment of Salad Saturdays!

Although I've missed a week once or twice *sheepish grin* I've really enjoyed experimenting with salads for this series. 

1. Mediterranian Tabouli

2. Avocado BLT Bagel Salad

3. Crunchy Blueberry Orange Salad

4. Avocado Strawberry Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette

5. Mexican Chicken Salad with Corn, Cucumber, and Avocado Salsa

6. Lemon Kale Salad

7. Todays Orange Chickpea Couscous Salad

This is a fresh, delicious tasting salad!  It uses couscous and chickpeas as its base and then is spiced up with parsley and green onions and finally drizzed with orange juice and olive oil.  Its amazing and can be served as a main dish or side.

Orange Chickpea Couscous Salad

Recipe Source: Adapted from Family Fun

Yield: 8 servings

Salad:

1 cup water

1 cup couscous

1 (14.5 oz.) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped

2 green onions, chopped

1/4 cup dried parsley

1/3 cup slivered almonds

Dressing:

1 teaspoon orange zest

1/3 cup orange juice

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon salt

Bring water to boil.  Place couscous in heat proof bowl, stir in the water, and cover, and let it stand until all the water is absorbed.  Fluff with a fork and cool.

In another bowl, toss the chickpeas, tomatoes, green onions, parsley, and almonds together. 

In a small bowl, whisk all the dressing ingredients together.

To serve: 1) Serve couscous, chickpea mixture, and dressing separately, letting people chose how much they want of each. 2)  Stir couscous into chickpea mixture and toss with dressing.

P.S. Naptime Creations featured my Homemade Tzaziki in her Super Summery Eats!  Check out the link for more great summer treat ideas!