Gluten-free chocolate macaroons

The little guy has been really into playing chef lately. He says he wants to be a cook when he grows up--a cook who makes "glooten cupcakes" for me and him, and "glooten-free cupcakes" for his friend and The H. He has even come up with a name for his future bakery. I love watching his imagination develop!

To encourage his kitchen creativity, I decided to find a recipe for the two of us to make this week. The newest issue of Clean Eating Magazine arrived just in time! I had no problem finding a cookie recipe that was simple to make, didn't require any new ingredients, and that would be easy for the little guy to help with. The finished cookies are sweet, lightly crisp with almost a brownie-like interior, and perfectly portioned. They're even tasty for breakfast...

Double Chocolate Macaroons
from Clean Eating Magazine, Vol. 4, Issue 9
makes 24 cookies

Ingredients
8oz dark chocolate (60% cocoa or greater), chopped, divided
1 3/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup organic evaporated cane juice
3 Tbsp natural unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch processed)
1/8 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup liquid egg whites (I used two large egg whites)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp pure almond extract

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350* and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt 3 ounces of the chocolate on high for 45 seconds. Stir and continue microwaving in short intervals, stirring often, until completely melted. Set aside to cool.

3. In a large bowl, stir together coconut, cane juice, cocoa powder, and salt until well blended. Stir in melted chocolate until just combined.

4. In a small bowl, whisk egg whites, vanilla, and almond extracts until combined. Add mixture to coconut mixture and stir until well blended.

5. Scoop 1-Tbsp portions and set on parchment-lined baking sheet. Pinch the tops of each into a low pyramid shape (I skipped this and went for rounded tops instead). Bake for 14-15 minutes or until outer layers are firm, bottom edges are lightly browned, and centers remain soft. Let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

This is where the little guy and I stopped--they were plenty sweet without the next step, and I didn't want to make any more mess of the kitchen than we already had. Feel free to proceed if you wish. Perhaps if I were making these for a party, I would have completed them as directed.

6. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the remaining 5 ounces of chocolate, stirring often. Carefully holding each macaroon upside down by its base, dip the peak into the melted chocolate. Place chocolate-side-up on a parchment-lined baking sheet and refrigerate until chocolate is set, about 30 minutes. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Nutrition info per cookie:
Calories - 119
Fat - 8g
Saturated fat - 6g
Carbs - 11g
Fiber - 2g
Sugars - 7g
Protein - 2g
Sodium - 20.5mg
Cholesterol - 0mg

Banana bread bliss

Remember how I said this was the best banana bread recipe, gluten-free or otherwise?

Wrong.

It has been relegated to second place, after this guy (not the one in blue):

Behold, the new best-ever vegan, gluten-free, sugar-free (except for the chocolate chips) banana bread! This beauty hails from Erin McKenna's cookbook BabyCakes.

Seriously, this loaf has changed my perception of GF baked goods, homemade or otherwise--and believe me, I've had plenty--from this day forward, henceforth and forevermore. (That sure looks good. Think she'll ever let me have a taste??)

Pretty tall order, right? You haven't tasted it, or you'd be nodding in agreement.

It's light, fluffy. Springy to the touch. Sweet but not overpowering. Completely devoid of that funky mouth-roof tingle or telltale GF aftertaste. Unbelievably soft. Not gritty. Very cake-like. Purely blissful. (It's about time, Mom!)

Equally blissful are the giant muffins I made out of the leftover batter, studded with walnut pieces.

These beauties, as big as my palm, nearly got Hoovered up by yours truly before I could even take a picture. Then self restraint won out, and I set [most of] them aside to cool before bagging them individually for a treat or quick breakfast later this week.

It's hard being so virtuous.

I don't know why this recipe turned out darker than any banana bread I've ever made; it's certainly not burnt. Maybe the coconut oil does that? The recipe, interestingly enough, is slightly different from the version Ms. McKenna posted herself in December 2010. Guess the only thing to do is try them both and hold a taste test!

Invite me over for that, ok?

Banana Chocolate Chip Bread
from BabyCakes by Erin McKenna

2 cups Bob's Red Mill gluten-free all-purpose flour blend
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup coconut oil, plus more for greasing the pan
2/3 cup agave nectar
2/3 cup rice milk (I used plain unsweetened almond milk)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 4 medium-large fruits)
1 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 325* and lightly grease a loaf pan with oil.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, salt, and cinnamon. Add 1/2 cup oil, agave, milk, and vanilla. Stir until smooth.

3. Fold in bananas and chocolate chips using a rubber spatula.

4. Fill loaf pan halfway with batter (make the best muffins ever with the leftover!) and bake in center of oven 35 minutes, rotating pan after 20 minutes. The finished loaf should bounce back slightly when pressed, and a toothpick inserted into the center will come out clean.

5. Cool in pan for 20 minutes, then invert onto a cutting board or cooling rack. Slice and serve immediately, or cool completely before serving. Wrap in plastic wrap and store at room temperature.

Decadent crispy chocolatey goodness

When you think "rice crispy treats" what might come to mind (other than the fact that I spelled it with a "c" because the "k" version is a registered trademark) is the gooey marshmallow version that begins with melting a whole stick of butter. Perhaps you've even had one that includes chocolate or butterscotch chips (I know I have...yum).

Well. This recipe contains none of those. And it's phenomenal.

Chocolate Hazelnut Crispy Squares
from Clean Eating Magazine, Volume 3, Issue 3
serves 24

1/2 cup unsalted raw hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups unsweetened brown rice cereal (gluten free, if you so desire--Rice Krispies are not)
3/4 cup rolled oats (again, GF if you need that)
2 1/2 ounces dark chocolate (70% cacao or more), broken into pieces
1 cup unsweetened dried pitted dates, pureed
1/2 cup unsalted hazelnut butter (or other unsalted natural nut butter)
2 Tbsp raw honey

1. In a medium mixing bowl, combine hazelnuts, cereal, and oats. Mix well and set aside.

2. Melt chocolate in a double boiler (small bowl set above a pot of simmering water). When melted, remove top part of double boiler from the heat and stir in pureed dates, nut butter, and hone. Stir carefully with a wooden spoon until combined. If mixture becomes difficult to mix, set over simmering water as needed.

3. Add chocolate mixture to bowl with cereal and fold in with a wooden spoon until thoroughly combined. Spread into a 9"x12" pan, pressing firmly to even out the top. Refrigerate 30 minutes to let bars set. Cut into bars and serve.

These can also be rolled into truffle-like balls rather than into bars.

Nutrition information per 1 1/2 inch square:
Calories - 110
Fat - 6g
Carbs - 13g
Fiber - 2g
Sugars - 7g
Protein - 2g
Sodium - 0.25mg
Cholesterol - 0mg

Gluten-free coconut macaroons

I've always loved macaroons--sweet, soft, coconutty goodness. While it's true that many macaroon recipes are gluten-free, the majority of them also call for sweetened condensed milk. No thanks! A web search led me to this recipe. For us, it's kind of a non-issue that they're gluten-free, because The H doesn't like coconut anyway. But I do, and I was excited to try these! In a half-sized batch, of course. No need to go crazy up in here.

Gluten-Free Coconut Macaroons
from Elana's Pantry
makes 24

6 egg whites
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup agave nectar**
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
3 cups shredded unsweetened coconut

1. Beat egg whites with salt until stiff peaks form.

2. Fold in agave, vanilla, and coconut.

3. Drop batter 1 Tbsp at a time on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

4. Bake at 350* for 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheet briefly, then remove to a wire rack to finish cooling.

My batter was a bit wet, and some agave leaked out around the edges while they baked, making (very yummy) caramel-like puddles around some of the cookies. Those were easily removed without harming the finished product. Which, by the way, is soft. A bit sticky. And sweet. And coconutty. Perfect. The little guy has already chomped his way through three of them, proclaiming them delicious. LOVE that kid.

**There is some controversy about agave and how much better--if at all--it is than high fructose corn syrup. Read some articles/blogs (I like this one) and use your own judgment.

Vegan(ish) banana muffins

This recipe popped up at just the right time, in one of those "you might also like..." features at the bottom of the blog I was reading--one of my favorites! We hosted our running group's long run on Saturday and needed to come up with food for about 20 hungry, sweaty people. Since I am the Clean Eating Machine, I try to provide post-run goodies that jive with that persona. Practicing what I preach and all that. :) This muffin recipe called for stuff I already had available, so I could make it basically cost-free. Love that!

Banana-Millet Muffins
from The Clean Eating Mama
makes 12 muffins

2/3 cup whole millet
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (I subbed Bob's Red Mill GF flour)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt (don't overdo it... about 1/8 tsp)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup organic brown sugar
2 Tbsp canola oil
1/2 cup soy milk, or non-dairy milk of choice (I subbed cow's milk since I had it)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup non-dairy or organic chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 375* and line a muffin tin with papers or reusable liners.

2. Grind millet in a blender or food processor until nearly powdered. Dump into a mixing bowl and add flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

3. Combine mashed bananas with oil, milk, brown sugar, and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and mix gently; fold in chocolate chips.

4. Scoop batter into muffin cups and bake 16-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.

When I first tasted one, I thought they were kind of gritty, but then I realized that was the millet talking. If you don't want that touch of crunch, grind your millet more finely. The chocolate chips provide a touch of sweet creaminess, and if you're a fan of putting butter/Earth Balance/jam on muffins, that would be tasty, too. I double the recipe and ended up 24 large muffins and 12 mini muffins, with a few left over after the run. I enjoyed two of them with coffee this morning after my 8-mile run (marathon training is ramping up...).

Gluten freaking-good flourless cake

The H wowed us all with this (not-so-clean) dessert recipe for Thanksgiving. (I know! It was ages ago! I thought I had one more photo to upload, but I guess not. Sorry for the tardiness! Try it for Easter.) He found it in a gluten-free cookbook I have, and decided to make it all on his own. The only thing I contributed was the ingredients... and my phenomenal taste-testing abilities.

Check it out!

The cake was, as expected, very dense. It had an almost candy bar-like texture. Incredibly rich and delicious fresh or left over! I told him that he may have worked himself into a permanent position as family baker. This recipe will likely be requested for a long time to come.

Flourless Chocolate Cake
from Incredibly Easy Gluten-Free Recipes
serves 12

1 cup heavy cream
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp sugar
12 squares (1oz each) unsweetened chocolate
4 squares (1 oz each) semisweet chocolate
6 eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup strong coffee
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, divided
1 cup whipped cream (optional) for serving

1. Set oven rack to middle position and preheat to 350*. Spray an 8-inch round cake pan with nonstick cooking spray, or grease with Crisco.

2. Beat cream with 2 Tbsp sugar in large bowl with electric mixer at high speed until soft peaks form; set aside.

3. Place all chocolate in a large microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high 2-3 minutes or until chocolate is melted, stirring every 30 seconds. 

4. Beat eggs and remaining one cup sugar in large bowl with electric mixer at high speed about 7 minutes, or until pale and thick. Add melted chocolate, coffee, and salt to egg mixture; beat until well blended.

5. Fold the whipped cream (from Step 1) and 1/4 cup walnuts into egg mixture. Carefully spread into prepared pan; sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup walnuts. Place pan in large roasting pan and carefully pour hot--not boiling--water into the roasting pan until it reaches halfway up the side of the cake pan. Bake 30-35 minutes or until set but still soft in center.

6. To unmold, loosen edge of cake with knife. Place a serving plate upside down over pan and invert. Serve warm, garnished with the optional whipped cream.



We had some extra batter and didn't want the cake to go *right* to the tippy-top edge of the pan, not knowing how much it would rise, so we played it safe and made a second, smaller cake on the side.


 
(the font may appear different-colored because I typed the recipe in Word and pasted into Blogger later)

Clean eating chocolate biscotti

Clean eating what?!

Yeah. Chocolate biscotti.

This is the first time I've made biscotti, so I can't truly compare the "clean" version to a standard recipe, but let me just say that when I was blog-browsing the other day and came across a biscotti recipe that called for more than a full stick of butter, I was content to let this recipe be my one-and-only. No oil or butter here! Plenty of flavor and crunch, though. Works for me.

Mix up a batch of these to go along with your spiced hot chocolate! These biscotti are more crumbly when fresh, but still not too hard to bite into after they've had a chance to age slightly.

Chocolate Almond Biscotti
from The Eat-Clean Diet Recharged by Tosca Reno
serves 15 (haha...)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup raw unsalted whole almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped, divided**
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder
2 tsp instant coffee crystals (I use one little instant coffee "tube")
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup Sucanat
1 whole egg
1 egg white
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp grated lemon zest (I've never used this)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350* and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Place 1/4 cup of the almonds**, both flours, cocoa powder, coffee crystals, baking soda, and salt in a food processor. Process for a few minutes until the almonds are finely ground. Transfer mixture to a medium mixing bowl and set aside.

3. Combine sucanat, egg, egg white, extracts, and zest (if using) in a blender and process until foamy, about 3-4 minutes. My bullet-style blender works just beautifully for this.

4. Pour wet ingredients into flour mixture. Add remaining chopped almonds and mix well.

5. Divide dough into two (very sticky!) lumps on the baking sheet. Shape into logs--wet your hands a bit if the dough is sticking too much.

6. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, reduce heat to 300*, and let logs cool 10 minutes.

7. Cut each log on a diagonal into ten pieces. Spread slices out on baking sheet and return to oven for another 20 minutes. Cookies should be dry to the touch.

8. Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack. Let cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

**Rather than messing with the food processor, I've found that using 1/4 cup almond meal in Step 2 and mixing by hand, then crushing another 1/4 cup raw almonds by hand for use in Step 4, is less mess and just as effective.

Spiced hot cocoa

This post is brought to you by my sweet tooth, craving something rich and desserty... at 4pm on Friday afternoon. Too early for "dessert" (even if I'd had any made) and too late for a froofy coffee drink (yeah, I'm old enough that caffeine after 3pm keeps me awake). My yen for chocolatey goodness led me to allrecipes.com, where I found--and modified--a recipe for spiced hot chocolate.

It made plenty for the two of us, plus a slosh for the little guy, and even some leftover that I refrigerated for not-so-distant future use. It would make a fun coffee "creamer" if you're hoping for something more flavorful than milk or half-and-half. Adjust the spices to suit your taste; this one kicked me in the tonsils on the way down!

Spiced Hot Chocolate

modified from this recipe

serves 4

3 cups low-fat milk

1.5 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1 Tbsp turbinado sugar (oops, should've used some stevia!)

1/2 Tbsp sucanat

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Frothed milk, optional

1. Heat milk in a medium saucepan over low heat.

2. Whisk in cocoa, sugar, and sucanat until dissolved.

3. Add vanilla, cinnamon, chili powder, nutmeg, and cayenne*. 

4. Heat and stir 5 minutes or until well combined. Serve topped with frothed milk (or whipped cream if you're not feeling the cleaner option).

*I poured some for the little guy before I added the cayenne pepper; it would have been too spicy for a toddler otherwise. Use your best judgment regarding your own family.

Granola bars

When I saw these bars on Oishii, one of the blogs I follow, I was so excited to try them. The pictures reminded me of Nature Valley granola bars, which are wheat-free, which makes them safe for The H. I am pretty good at buying them on sale, but why bother when I usually have all of the simple ingredients hanging around the house? I was especially thrilled when I read about these, since my standard granola recipe is always too crumbly to hold a bar shape.

You can find the original recipe for these bars here; what follows is my kinda-sorta cleaned-up version.



Granola Bars
makes 24

4 cups quick-cooking oats
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup Sucanat
3/4 cup SmartBalance 50/50 olive oil blend, melted (1.5 sticks)
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup agave nectar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt



1. Preheat the oven to 350*.
2. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
3. Press firmly into a jelly roll pan (or a cookie sheet with high sides).
4. Bake for 15-30 minutes or until golden brown.
5. Cool completely and cut into bars.



I scored these while they were still warm, which was good because they crisped up as they cooled. The H and I each had some while they were warm and the underside was slightly chewy. I'm impressed with how well they held together and plan to make them again. I really like the toastiness of the browned edges. The H has already requested a version with chocolate drizzled over the top. :)

Cleaned-up blueberry muffins

Yesterday when our Internet was out (our house took a big surge when our old Dish Network dish served as a lightning rod on Wednesday) I was looking for things to do. The little guy was at daycare and it was too hot to be outside. Naturally, turning on the oven to 400* made perfect sense. ;) I had already made a batch of garlic hummus and was ready for something sweet.

The recipe as written comes from my aunt, and has yielded great results. This time I thought I would clean it up a bit.



Blueberry Muffins
Makes 12

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 lb softened butter (1 stick)
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Directions
Mix ingredients together in order listed. Batter will be dry--do not add more liquid. Gently fold in berries. Bake at 400* for 20-25 minutes.

To make gluten-free: Use Bob's Red Mill AP GF flour blend and a GF baking powder, and add 1 1/8 tsp xanthan gum.



And now, my recipe:

1 cup white flour (I know! Roll with it)
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup Sucanat
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup fat-free Greek yogurt
1 egg
1/2 cup milk (2% for a bit of fat)
1 cup frozen blueberries, thawed
1/2 tsp turbinado sugar, for sprinkling on top during baking

I made them in my jumbo muffin pan, so I only got 6 muffins out of it. I wanted a treat for me and the little guy to have for breakfast, and I didn't want to have too many leftovers hanging around to tempt The H.



The texture was a bit denser than a typical muffin, which I attribute to the wheat flour and lack of fat. Spread with a bit of Earth Balance and warmed in the microwave, these were quite a filling breakfast/snack. One day I'd like to try making them into "muffin tops" with the right kind of pan.

Tasty brown balls

I've seen recipes like this floating around for a few months now, but never tried my own. Then when I bought a package of something very similar at Whole Foods on our latest jaunt to Atlanta, I knew I could replicate them at home. And I did!



The recipe I used comes from The Clean Eating Mama. It was SO simple to pull together!

Raw Coconut-Chocolate Balls

Ingredients
1 cup raw almonds (you can use toasted if you like)
1 1/2 cups pitted dates (I cut mine in half first)
3/4 cup raw, unsweetened coconut
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions
1. Blend all ingredients in food processor until texture is very fine.
2. Form "dough" into balls with hands. Chill on a plate.
3. Once balls are chilled, transfer to a covered container for up to a week.



Although I doubted it would be sticky enough to hold a ball shape, in the end it did just fine. I sprinkled them with some more coconut just for kicks, and because I like it. These go down so easy; I have had a few with a glass of milk as an afternoon snack several times this week. I'm kind of glad The H doesn't care for things with coconut in them... more for me. :D This recipe made about 18 balls.

Gluten free fruit cobbler

This recipe comes from celiac.com, a great resource for those transitioning to gluten-free living. We were planning dinner with The H's parents, and I wanted to use some of our co-op haul for dessert. I was looking for something that would go well with with ice cream. Fruit cobbler sounded just right.

I used four of these lovely peaches, and the rest of the organic blueberries, perhaps 1 cup.

Gluten Free Fruit Cobbler

from Celiac.com

1 stick of butter

1 cup gluten-free flour blend (your choice--I used Bob's Red Mill GF all-purpose)

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup kefir or buttermilk (I used milk soured with 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar)

1 large can peach halves, or 2-3 cups frozen thawed berries to which 1/4 cup sugar has been added (I had a total of 4 cups fresh fruit)

Ground cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, or other spices, to taste (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350* and melt the butter in a glass 8x8 baking dish.

2. Mix all other ingredients, except for fruit. Pour batter onto melted butter. If you stir it around to incorporate the butter, you'll end up with a rich, buttery cakelike cobbler. If you don't mix it in, you'll have a chewy, buttery edge (I mixed it together).

3. Spread the fruit on top of the crust and sprinkle with spices of your choice. Bake 45 minutes or until set in the center.

Because of the full stick of butter and loads of sugar called for, I can't really consider this "clean" though there are certainly ways to clean it up.

I think the crust could get away with less than a full stick of butter (see how much is just sitting on top after I mixed it in? Yikes...), and the sugar in the dry crust mix could likely be cut back a bit and probably exchanged for sucanat. I just didn't have enough to try it.

I used maple flakes for the sugar on the fruit, though as I typed the recipe above, I think I could have omitted that since I wasn't using frozen berries, which are notably more tart than fresh peaches! If I were to use frozen, I'd try mixing them with honey rather than a dry sugar.

The spices I used on top of the fruit were cinnamon and nutmeg. I used a light dusting of each.

The middle was a bit soft after 45 minutes, so I left it in the oven for another 10, then turned it off and let the heat continue cooking it while we cleaned up after dinner.

It was still somewhat soft when we ate it, but since there was no raw egg or anything potentially harmful in it, we just dug in.

This made 9 servings. The H and his brother had two servings each, in rapid succession. It was one of the better gluten-free desserts I have eaten, let alone made from scratch. We didn't eat it with ice cream, but it was great nonetheless.

Happy Birthday, Little Guy!

Today my son is two. TWO. I can't believe it. I wanted to make daycare treats for him, but knowing what he likes, I couldn't just whip up a batch of cupcakes and call it good. He literally shudders when he eats things that are overly sweet. So what do you make for the kid who wakes up every morning and tells me, "I need a peach!"?

Fruit pizza!

I didn't get to make this until after 10pm last night, or I would have put more effort into cleaning up the cookie crust. Eventually I'd love to make a gluten-free one. This one is simply made from a sugar cookie mix, but I cleaned up the rest in my own way.

Rather than cream cheese + sugar, marshmallow fluff, or whipped topping as various recipes called for, I mixed lower fat Neufchatel cheese + raw local honey for the "cheese" layer. The toppings, which in the recipes are to be mixed with sugar + cornstarch or marmalade for a glaze, are simply fresh, local blueberries from the farmer's market and sliced peaches that I soaked in pineapple juice to prevent them from browning too terribly. That's it.

I sampled some before I sent him off to daycare (quality control, folks) and it was mighty tasty. He ate the fruit off the top of his tiny square and told me I could have the cookie. :)

Peanut Butter Pretzel Truffles

OK, so these aren't the cleanest. But who doesn't need a "dirty" little treat now and then? ;)

This recipe caught my eye because it looks remarkably similar (taste-wise, anyway) to the chocolate-covered, peanut-butter-filled pretzel nuggets The H used to devour, but has since had to give up due to that pesky wheat allergy. I made them with a peanut butter whose ingredients list simply says "peanuts" and The H's gluten-free pretzels.

Peanut Butter Pretzel Truffles

from EatingWell.com via My Adventures in Becoming Domestic

1 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup finely chopped salted pretzels

1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

1. In a small bowl, mix pretzels with peanut butter. Freeze for 15 minutes or until slightly firm and partially frozen.

2. Roll filling into balls about (about 1 teaspoon each) and place on wax paper-lined baking sheets (I used two sheets of parchment left from baking cookies earlier). Freeze for 1 hour or until very firm.

3. Melt chocolate (I used a double boiler) and coat each ball. Refrigerate or freeze until chocolate is firm.

I doubled the pretzels--the pb mixture was really quite runny with just 1/2 cup. I attribute that to my peanut butter, which is always rather thin, even after refrigerating. I also needed another 1/2 cup of chocolate for the last step. I ended up with about 32 truffles... or "peanut butter crack clusters."

Work quickly when you're coating these! Again, it could've just been my choice of pb, but these started to thaw/soften very soon after being taken out of the freezer. Their swim in melted chocolate didn't do anything to keep them together, either. What worked best for me was to use two fondue forks for the dunking and transfer back to the baking sheets.

Mine certainly aren't as pretty as either online version, but they sure are tasty. I used a 1/2 Tbsp measuring spoon for scooping the half-frozen mixture and didn't waste time rolling them into bally shapes. Obviously...

Enjoy--and have a glass of milk and napkin handy!