Dessert Hummus

This is one of those odd recipes... you don't think it should work but it does.  The original blogger doesn't call it dessert hummus, she calls it cookie dough dip, but I think my husband called it dessert hummus and I thought it was kind of funny.  To start... I'm generally a pretty adventurous eater, I'll try anything once.  I am not opposed to using regular ingredients in different ways so when I saw dessert that used chickpeas instead of flour, I was pretty excited. My husband... was not.  He made me try it first then give it to my daughter (who really liked it) before he would try it.  The idea of a bean being used to make dessert didn't sit that well with him. I recently tried making cookies with black beans as a base and they turned out pretty well, so I was interested to see how this would work.

Here is the original Pin:

Healthy Raw Cookie Dough

It kind of looks gross in this pic.  It's not.

This is one of those throw everything into a food processor kind of recipes. I used brown sugar (because artificial sweeteners are the devil), vanilla soy milk and regular chocolate chips.

After it is mixed smooth, fold in the chips.  You could definitely vary up this recipe with other sweeteners, nut butters, milks and chips.  I find my original recipe pretty effective.  I actually made up a second batch a few days later without measuring (because I'm lazy like that) and it turned out great.  I started my second batch with honey rather that sugar and didn't like it as much.  I think the brown sugar gives it a more of a dessert mouth feel... a little bit of sugar crunch.

Nugget liked it quite a bit and I feel ok giving it to her since even though there's sugar in it, there's some nice bean protein in there too.  BTW, the blog that this recipe comes from is worth exploring a bit.  It's full of intriguing vegan dessert recipes.  I'm certain I'll try more of them.

Cost: I already had all the ingredients I needed and since it is so modifiable, it shouldn't ever cost too much to make.

Time: Mix, mix, done.  Make a bigger batch and put them into little containers.  I used them as a snack when I came home from work late.

Difficulty: Probably the hardest part is getting over the name "dessert hummus."

Aesthetic Appeal: It's not that pretty, but it's not as ugly as the chia seed chocolate pudding.  I wouldn't serve it to guests unless it was on a really pretty dish.

Life Enhancement: Actually, a great deal.  It made me think about desserts in a different way.  I've always felt that dessert is very much a sometimes thing since it's not good for you, but this recipe and others like it, make it possible to eat dessert and not just consume empty sugar calories.

Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies

This post is a little delayed but here goes... I worked Thanksgiving and wanted to bring some treats for my coworkers.  I made some pumpkin oatmeal cookies and tried to make some peanut bars (which I didn't like enough to bring to work).  I wanted a second cookie.  I saw these and although not very seasonal seemed novel enough to try.  They were a pretty big hit at work and were consumed much more quickly than the oatmeal cookies.

Here is the original Pin:

Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies

Another basic cookie recipe... wet ingredients in the mixer, dry ingredients added, then chunky parts added at end.  I decided to go with all chocolate chips instead of including peanut butter chips because... well, I didn't have any... and I had chocolate chips.  Part of the reason I made these too, is because we had a bunch of pretzels left over from our Halloween party (I know).

It helps to have a husband that is willing to do some chopping... it comes in handy in life.

                

These cookies are nice and simple, but the added crunch of the pretzels is a happy surprise.  I forgot to add the chunky salt to the top before baking them, but I bet that would make them extra tasty. I made these cookies on the small side so there would be more to go around so the baking time was on the low end of the recipe spectrum.

I highly recommend using silicone liners for all cookie baking

These cookies were quite popular at work and I think I would make them again.  I don't know why I never thought of combining chocolate and pretzels in a cookie.

Cost: This actually helped to use up some leftovers (the pretzels) so I call it a win in the cost department.

Time: Didn't take long at all.

Difficulty: Chopping pretzels is the hard part.  Get someone else to do it for you and you'll be all set.

Aesthetic Appeal: They're pretty simple and not terribly impressive looking but mine actually compare favorably to the originals.

Life Enhancement: Coworkers like cookies.  That is all.

Lemon Blueberry Loaf

I made this recipe for no other reason but it sounded delicious.  It's not full of particularly fall flavors, but it's tasty any time of year.  It was pretty easy to make and turned out nicely, though not quite as pretty as the original.

Here is the original Pin:

Lemon Blueberry Loaf

Original Pin                                                                  My Pic

First flour the loaf pan so it doesn't stick.

It's the same basic procedure as most baking recipes... whisk together wet ingredients, add in dry ingredients, then fold in chunky ingredients, in this case the blueberries that you've coated with flour.

Pour your batter into your loaf dish and bake.

I'm not entirely sure why there's both a syrup and a glaze.  I guess to keep it moist and sweet.  My glaze stayed a little bit lumpy.  Oh well.

I liked this recipe although there was nothing terribly remarkable about it.  It was tasty but since it is "normal" baking and full of sugar, I probably wouldn't make this very often.

Cost: Only things I had to buy were the frozen blueberries and organic lemon.

Time: Mixing time, baking time... normal.

Difficulty: Easy peasy.

Aesthetic Appeal: It's pretty when it's cut because you see all the pretty blueberries.  My glaze could be a little thicker and smoother.

Life Enhancement: I'd serve it to guests for sure, but I wouldn't make it for myself just to snack on.