Buttery Dark Chocolate Nutty Bark (dairy free)

May 18, 2016 by Blair Fynn in desserts, Dessert

I am obviously on a dark chocolate, sea salt, nutty kick this week considering I just posted the recipe for my 4 ingredient sea salt chocolate almond clusters the other day! Have you made them? They are seriously addicting? I am trying to store them in the freezer, in the wayyyy back, so I am not tempted every single night! I normally don't have a sweet tooth at all and actually could careless about dessert, but I can't resist the dark chocolate, sea salt, and almond combination...at least it's healthy!

This bark is just as easy to make and just as delicious as my chocolate clusters- I promise! It is buttery, chocolatey, melt in your mouth, crunchy, and yes it is still dairy free!

You're probably wondering how butter and and the phrase dairy free can co-exist in the same sentence- the secret? I used nutiva's buttery coconut oil for this recipe and it made the bark taste so rich! Also, my kitchen started to smell like a chocolate factory while the cacao powder was melting with the buttery coconut oil and I was 100 percent OK with that. The buttery coconut oil is organic, vegan and has the same nutritional properties as coconut oil! Ps. incase you're wondering...this buttery coconut oil tastes so good on a slice of toasted sourdough bread, over pasta, and popcorn...

These bark pieces remind me a little bit of BarkThins, which I won't go into how addicting those are or how many bags of those I have eaten in one sitting...just say that you've been warned if you buy a bag and open one up unsupervised. One of things that I love about this recipe is that you can really change it every time you make it! You can also make it nut free by subbing out the almonds and walnuts for some sunflower seeds or adding in dried fruit! It makes the perfect after dinner treat or dessert around the holidays because it only takes about 10-15 minutes to prep and about 30 minutes or less to freeze! The fun part is breaking it into uneven pieces! I like to store the pieces in the freeze as coconut oil tends to melt faster and plus it gives them an added crunch!

Hope you enjoy!

Desserts/Healthy Snack
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 0 minutes
Total time: 30-34 minutes (30 minutes or so to set in freezer)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup cacao powder
1/4 cup nutiva buttery coconut oil
1/4 cup coconut oil*
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tbsp. vanilla
2 tbsp. of cashew butter (or can sub any nut butter)
Pinch of sea salt
1 cup of mixed nuts (I used sprouted almonds + walnuts)
1/2 cup shredded coconut flakes
1/4 cup chia seeds

* for the coconut oils, you can sub and use just 1/2 cup of either or!

optional add ins:
Chopped dates
Goji berries
dried fruit
chopped peppermint pieces

Directions:

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

2. In a medium sauce pan, on low heat, melt the coconut oil. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cacao powder, maple syrup, nut butter, vanilla, and sea salt until completely smooth.

3. Stir in half of the mix nuts, half of the shredded coconut, half of the chia seeds.

4. Using a spatula, pour the mixture on the prepared baking sheet until you have achieved the desired thickness (1/2 inch or so!). Sprinkle the remainder of the ingredients on top and any additional add-ins you prefer!

5. Place the baking sheet with the chocolate in the freezer on a flat surface to allow it to set for about 15 to 30 minutes. Once it has set you can break them apart into uneven pieces!

Keep in the freezer as coconut oil tends to melt quickly!

Sea Salt Chocolate Almond Clusters (4 ingredients!)

May 17, 2016 by Blair Fynn in desserts, Dessert, snacks

If you are trying to practice self control this week, month, or just in general you've come to the wrong place...these sea salt chocolate almond clusters are sooo addicting! They are creamy, melt in your mouth chocolate, nutty bites made with just 4 simple ingredients, two of which are sea salt and vanilla, which I used simply to enhance the flavors. Chances are you have all of these ingredients sitting in your kitchen which means you can make these right now...

It is the perfect combination of sweet, salty and of course crunchy! All you have to do is simply melt your favorite chocolate in a saucepan and once melted you mix in the almonds. Once you have given the almonds a good mix you then spoon out a heaping tablespoon sized amount or any desired size and drop them on a sheet pan to set! Here, you sprinkle them with a little sea salt or any topping you wish- coconut flakes, drizzles of peanut butter, crushed peppermint, or anything you can think of! Then, place the clusters in the fridge to set for at least 30 minutes but if you realllllly can't wait that long, like me, pop them in the freezer for about 10 to 15 minutes and BAM! Healthiest, quickest, most delicious little treat you could ask for!

Healthy Desserts / Snacks
Prep time: 1-2 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes & 30+ minutes in the fridge to set.
Total time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:
Yields: 20 clusters (1 heaping tbsp. each)

2 cups of sprouted almonds
1 bag (10 oz) of chocolate chips*
1 tbsp. of vanilla
Sea salt

*I used Enjoy Life dairy free mega chunks

Options for toppings:
Melted nut butters
Shredded coconut flakes

Directions:

1. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Set aside.

2. Over low heat, add the chocolate chips and the vanilla to a medium pan. Stirring constantly with a spoon or with a large wooden spoon until completely smooth. Be careful to not over burn. It should only take a few minutes. If you are using a microwave, heat in small batches, in small increments, stirring each time you remove the microwaveable safe bowl.

3. Once the chocolate is completely melted and smooth, remove from the heat and add the sprouted almonds. Make sure all of the almonds are coated with the chocolate.

4. Scoop out desired size on parchment paper. Mine pictured were about a heaping tbsp. Sprinkle with sea salt and place in the freezer or the fridge to settle.

I keep mine stored in an air tight container in the fridge for about a month! Enjoy!

Peppermint Sugar Cookie Balls

December 07, 2015 by Blair Fynn in raw desserts, desserts, snacks

OK, so I feel slightly ashamed calling this a recipe but honestly these little bite sized no bake balls came out so delicious that it then made me feel guilty keeping it all to myself. I mean, who doesn't love being able to have exactly what you want within ten minutes, especially in the form of dessert. Instant gratification- this is America right?

Now that we are in full holiday mode, I am sure everyone has a "to-do" list longer than those coupons that prints out of the CVS machine. (Or maybe, I am the only one that receives over 50 coupons at once since I am in there every single day....anyone else?). Anyways, one thing on that list I am sure is holiday baking. Even though baking is my favorite thing to do around the holidays, I don't always have the time and find that it can be an all day affair or even requires a week to prepare all those delicious batches of cookies.

So, I wanted to re-create one of my favorite holiday cookies- the sugar cookie- in the form of a no bake ball. Why? because it seriously only takes ten minutes and I am sure that you have these ingredients already on hand. Did I mention that you don't even have to turn on the oven? You just throw every thing into the food processor and let it do its magic.

These balls are bursting with a peppermint-y flavor, are naturally sweetened with dates, and made with other healthy ingredients such as coconut oil and cashews. This is definitely one sugar cookie you can feel good about eating afterwards or every time you walk by the fridge and pop one in your mouth.

This recipe is really simple and is perfect if you do not have a lot of time on your hands to make some holiday treats. If you do not have any cashews you could try using oats and if your really feeling it you could add some crushed candy canes into the mix. Trust me, you are feeling it.

Healthy dessert / Snack
Yields: 15
Prep time: 5 time
Total time: 10 minutes [because they are NO BAKE !]

Ingredients:

1 cup cashews
1 tbsp. unsweetened shredded coconut flakes
sea salt to taste
5 medjool dates [soften]
1 tbsp. coconut oil
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. of peppermint (or to taste)
1 tbsp. of water

Optional add ins:
Crushed candy canes
1/2 tbsp. Coconut sugar

Toppings for rolling:
Crushed candy canes
Unsweetened coconut flakes
Coconut sugar

Directions:

[side note: I added peppermint extract to half the batch and the other half I kept plain. If you are planning to add crushed candy canes I would suggest not adding the peppermint extract at all or a smaller amount, but it's totally up to you and your taste buds!]

Add the cashews to a food processor and pulse until chopped. [2 or 3 minutes.]

Add the dates and pulse until the dates are completely mixed and reaches a dough consistency.

Add the remaining ingredients: coconut oil, sea salt, vanilla, peppermint, unsweetened shredded, coconut flakes, and crushed candy canes if using. Pulse until combined. If the dough is not sticking together add water- start off with a small amount- 1 tbsp. If you add too much water the dough will be "greasy" and harder to roll. If this does happen, you can put the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes to set.

Roll into 1'' balls and in desired coating!

Store in fridge or freezer!

Peanut butter Cookies

February 05, 2015 by Blair Fynn in desserts

Hands down chocolate and peanut butter are one of my favorite combinations. It is a match made in heaven. These peanut butter cookies remind me so much of my childhood, except I used to top them off with hershey's kisses.

Being more health conscious now, I have been able to re-create these cookies so they are dairy free and vegan! I think that the key to this recipe is the coconut oil. You can use a vegan butter substitute, but the coconut oil provides more fat (healthy fat!!) adding more of a richer flavor to the cookie!

I like to finish off the peanut butter cookies with a few melted dark chocolate pieces and a small sprinkle of salt. Adding sea salt to the chocolate is addicting and a must if you haven't tried it before!

Ingredients:
2- 3 tablespoons coconut oil, solid
1/4 cup almond milk
1 cup creamy organic peanut butter
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup flour (gluten free flour or coconut flour)
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 tsp. sea salt

Topping: (optional, but worth it)
Dark chocolate pieces (brand of choice)
Sea salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Melt the coconut oil over medium heat. Add the almond milk to the sauce pan. Set aside once the mixture is warm.

Mix together the sugar and peanut butter until well combined in a large mixing bowl. Once the almond milk and coconut oil mixture is cool, add to the large mixing bowl. While mixing, add the vanilla, baking soda, and sea salt.

Using a wooden spoon, mix in the flour until combined- do not over mix. At this point, I always like to taste test the batter to see if I need to add anything- more vanilla, more salt etc. Since there are no eggs- you don't have to worry about eating a few spoonfuls!

With a large spoon, scoop out desired size. (I made large cookies which yielded to roughly 10 cookies). Roll the dough into balls and place on cookie sheet.

You have a few options at this point. Using a fork, I crisscrossed a few of the cookies. The ones that I topped with chocolate pieces I did not, but flatten them slightly by hand. Bake the cookies for 12 minutes. Take the cookies out of the oven and place the chocolate pieces on the how ever many cookies you want and bake until the chocolate is just melted- roughly 2 more minutes.

Allow the cookies to cool- if you can wait that long and then place on a cooking rack to finish cooling.

Enjoy!