The Art of Cooking Real Food: chocolate

Friday, February 17, 2012

Chocolate Cherry Power Bars

Finally! I've finally been able to post at least one chocolate based recipe this month and now I can join all of the amazing bloggers who have contributed to the #chocolatelove blog hop! February has been such a busy month for us that I wasn't able to co-host this month, but below my recipe, you'll find a list of all of the rockin' bloggers that did host February's #chocolatelove bloghop, as well as a list of the delectable recipes that have been shared so far.

For several years before my kids were born, I worked for a company well known in the natural health industry. This recipe is one that has been a staple since those days. My stained old recipe card, which is officially older than my teenage kids, is simply titled "Power Bars" and the original recipe goes like this:

1 c honey
1 c peanut butter
1/2 c carob powder
1 c sunflower meats
1 c shredded coconut
1 c almonds
1 c rolled oats
1 c raisins

And that's it. There are no instructions because it's so silly easy; mix it together, then eat it.

Over the years, I've changed the recipe very little, but I'll let you in on a little secret - the measurements are all correct, so you can substitute any similar ingredients you like. For instance, I like carob well enough, but I like cocoa just a little bit better. I like raisins, but I like dried cherries or cranberries, too. I like peanut butter, but I also really like almond butter. I have substituted the almonds for walnuts or hazelnuts. No honey? Try brown rice syrup. This recipe has lasted this long because I can change it depending on what I have on hand and what we all like at the moment. Those kinds of recipes are called "keepers", folks.

These tasty, healthy little treats are similar to chewy granola bars, but do not need to be baked. They are crazy easy to whip together and they taste amazing.

A few quick notes, though; when converting a recipe calling for carob powder to one that uses cocoa powder, generally use a little less cocoa powder because it has a stronger flavor. In this recipe, I used the same amount because I like it like that - fudgy. Also, be sure to refrigerate at least an hour (two is best) before eating these bars; the honey takes a while to do it's honey thing and if you eat them before it has had its time, the bars will taste very honey-like (not that that's a bad thing, really, but waiting allows all of the flavors to meld into some seriously yummy goodness).

Chocolate Cherry Power Bars

12-15 bars, depending on how you slice it

1 c raw honey
1 c natural peanut butter (preferably smooth, but crunchy works, too)
1/2 c cocoa powder
1 c raw sunflower meats
1 c unsweetened shredded coconut
1 c raw almonds, roughly chopped
1 c rolled oats (not instant)
1 c dried cherries

In a medium sauce pan, combine the honey, peanut butter and cocoa powder. Heat over low heat until easy to mix. Mix well.

In a large bowl, combine the sunflower meats, coconut, almonds, oats, and cherries.

Stir the chocolate peanut butter mixture into the oat and coconut mixture. Mix well (you may want to forego the spoon and just use your hands).

Press the mixture into a 13x9 pan.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. With a sharp knife, cut into 12 or 15 bars.

Store in the refrigerator.

This recipe is also part of the Living Well Blog Hop #29 hosted at Common Sense Homestead

and is a

Common Sense Homestead Living Well Blog Hop #30

For more #chocolatelove and other fantastic recipes, check out these wonderful bloghop co-hosts!

Please join in on the #chocolatelove fun by linking up any chocolate recipe from the month of February 2012!

A Little Bit of Everything ~ Roxana ~ @RoxanaGreenGirl

ASTIG Vegan ~ Richgail ~ @astigvegan

Badger Girl Learns to Cook ~ Kimberly ~ @BdgrGrl

Baker Street ~ Anuradha ~ @bakerstreet29

Baking and Cooking, A Tale of Two Loves ~ Becky Higgins

Baking Extravaganza ~ Samantha

BigFatBaker ~ Erin ~ @BigFatBaker

Bon a croquer ~ Valerie ~ @Valouth

CafeTerraBlog ~ Terra ~ @CafeTerraBlog

Cake Duchess ~ Lora ~ @cakeduchess

Cakeballs, Cookies and More ~ Sue

Cooking with Books ~ Marnely ~ @nella22

Creative Cooking Corner ~ Karriann ~ @KarriannGraf

Easily Good Eats ~ Three Cookies

Elephant Eats ~ Amy

Georgiecakes ~ Georgie ~ @georgiecakes

Hobby And More ~ Richa ~ @betit19

Java Cupcake ~ Betsy ~ @JavaCupcake

Kitchen Belleicious ~ Jessica

Mike’s Baking ~ Mike ~ @mikesbaking

Mis Pensamientos ~ Junia ~ @juniakk

No One Likes Crumbley Cookies ~ TR ~ @TRCrumbley

Oh Cake ~ Jessica ~ @jesshose

Rico sin Azucar ~ Helena ~ @ricosinazucar

Savoring Every Bite ~ Linda ~ @Spicegirlfla

Simply Reem ~ Reem ~ @simplyreem

Smart Food and Fit ~ Lisa ~ @LisaNutrition

Soni’s Food for Thought ~ Soni ~ @sonisfood

Sprint 2 the Table ~ Laura ~ @Sprint2theTable

Teaspoon of Spice ~ Deanna ~ @tspbasil

That Skinny Chick Can Bake ~ Liz ~ @Thatskinnychick

The Dusty Baker ~ Jacqueline ~ @dustybakergal

The More Than Occasional Baker ~ Ros ~ @bakingaddict

The Spicy RD ~ EA ~ @thespicyrd

The Wimpy Vegetarian ~ Susan ~ @wimpyvegetarian

Vegan Yack Attack! ~ Jackie ~ @veganyackattack

Vegetarian Mamma ~ Cindy ~ @VegetarianMamma

You Made That? ~ Suzanne ~ @YouMadeThatblog

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Cookie Blog Hop - Chocolate Cranberry Nut Cookies

These yummy little cookies taste like chocolaty brownies packed with tart cranberries and crunchy walnuts. Chocolate Cranberry Nut Cookies are as quick and easy to make as other drop style cookies and are free of processed sugar.

This recipe for a naturally sweetened chocolate cookie is a versatile one; we can add the cranberries and walnuts, or we can forego those ingredients and customize it by adding coconut, grain sweetened chocolate chips, raisins, cherries, or anything else that might taste good inside a chocolate cookie. If aesthetics are important for your cookie tray, and you don't like the way drop cookies look, you can always flatten them a bit after they are placed on the baking sheet. I personally don't care all that much because it all tastes the same to me when they are done, so I just drop, and pop them into the oven. Based on the outcome of the tender texture, I think the main recipe might also work as a brownie if a few tablespoons of milk is added to the dough/batter - I'll try it out and get back to you.

A tip about using natural sweeteners: when it is not desirable to have one prominent flavor in a cookie that needs to have several flavors working in synergy, it is a good idea to combine two different natural sweeteners rather than just using one or another. Because I added cocoa to this simple drop cookie, neither honey nor maple syrup (the two sweeteners upon which I most rely) is a flavor I really wanted to be prominent to overshadow the chocolate. By combining the two sweeteners in about a 2:1 ratio, neither the maple nor the honey flavors stand out in this cookie, but the sweetness all there, turning the cocoa into a chocolaty bunch of goodness that does a fantastic job of enveloping the tart "pop" from cranberries.

As with all naturally sweetened baked goods, allow enough time for them to cool and rest so the natural sweetener can do it's naturally sweet thing (one hour, at the very least).

Now that my holiday cookie tray is amply and beautifully filled with lovely cookies from the recipes posted to the #cookielove blog hop, I'm working on some great appetizers to share with you all in the upcoming weeks!

Chocolate Cranberry Nut Cookies
makes about 3 1/2 dozen

2/3 c butter (1 stick plus 3 Tbs)
1/2 c raw honey
1/3 c pure maple syrup
1 egg
2 tsp pure vanilla extract (such as Simply Organic Vanilla Extract)
1 c whole wheat flour
3/4 c unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 c high quality natural cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 c raw cranberries, roughly chopped
1 c raw walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 400F.

In a large bowl, beat the butter until fluffy (about 20-30 seconds). Add honey, maple syrup, egg, and vanilla. Beat until combined.

Stir in the wheat flour, unbleached all purpose flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt until combined.