Chocolate Un-Peanut Butter Treats

 

So I’ve missed a few holidays in the recent hype of our busy, bustling lives.

Way back – Easter brought with it Bells, a visiting sis who then lived in Brooklyn, and some natural treats worth noting. And making year round. Super yum. Good enough for me to post about them now, months later.

If you’re like me, the thought of chocolate and peanut butter together elicits drooling and high-powered cravings. Imagine the horror of realizing, like me, that peanuts (and most nuts) are no longer something my body likes to digest. In the past couple years I’ve developed some kind of nut sensitivity….and have thus transitioned entirely over to a nut-free diet…but thank GOD—there’s a loophole in the peanut-butter-chocolate universe.

In some recipes, many actually, it’s possible to substitute sunflower seed butter for peanut butter with pleasing results. Of course, the flavor is slightly different, and in my opinion, that has much to do with the brand of sunflower seed butter itself. My top three brands, in order?

1. A mystery brand that eludes me. It had a white label. Had it once on vacation and it was THE BEST ever.

2. Sunbutter brand

3. Trader Joe’s Sunflower Seed Butter

4. All others stink.

I’m just being honest! Challenge me if you may, or enlighten me if your favorite brand did not make my list.

 

Either way, make these Chocolate Un-Peanut Butter Eggs (or any non-denominational ballish shape you please) soon, even though in the summer they are not exactly seasonally appropriate. But frozen – ohhhh la la good luck keeping them around for long.

PS- the challenge with Bells around is all must be gluten free. Imagine two sisters, craving a treat from childhood, one no longer able to eat graham crackers (the darn gluten!) and one no longer eating nuts. The two MAIN ingredients. Luckily, we’re resourceful when the motivation is treats.

 

Un-Peanutbutter Balls (GF) 

Ingredients

2 c. crushed gluten-free cereal of your choosing (usually, graham crackers) 
1 c. powdered sugar
2 c. sunflower seed butter
1 bag dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Mix the cereal crumbs, powdered sugar and sunflower seed butter together with a wooden spoon.
2. Roll into balls.
3. Melt chocolate in microwave, stirring every 15-30 seconds, taking care not to burn.
4. Dip balls in chocolate and lay on waxed paper covered cookie sheets.
5. In the summertime or warmer months, place in freezer to harden.
6. DEVOUR. Try to eat just one.

We decorated with Easter-colored sprinkles and the like. Make sure to do that when the chocolate is still soft and a bit sticky.

Too bad these don’t pass as a durable trail treat. I’d eat them on a mountaintop ANY day.

 

We Eat Treats: PB Cookies (with Whole Wheat & Flax)

Ever on the lookout for great recipes in need of doctoring and always open to trying out those recipes that look “healthy” from the start…this week I got a craving for peanut butter cookies and went in search of a “healthier” recipe. I didn’t find much that grabbed me, so I found a basic recipe and gave it a bit of a BB makeover. Here’s the original recipe…

Minutes to Cook: 10

Number of Servings: 65

Ingredients

1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 cup peanut butter
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp vanilla

And here is my version

(substitutions highlighted):

1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 cup creamy natural peanut butter
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup white flour

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup ground flax seed
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp vanilla

I followed the directions as noted in the original recipe:

1. Mix ingredients in order.

2. Roll teaspoonfuls of dough between your hands to make balls.

3. Place dough balls on greased cookie sheet.

4. Press traditional PB cookie pattern into the top of each cookie by gently flattening the balls with the back of a fork.

5. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes.

I had only one cookie sheet at the time (this would only happen at HT’s place). This meant I had to do about 4 separate 10-minute batches in the oven.

After the cookies cooled, we tested and tasted and deemed them better than usual for a “healthy” cookie makeover attempt.

True confessions, I ate two for breakfast today too, and didn’t feel bad about it in the least.