Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites

I found this recipe via Pinterest on this girl's blog. The fact that her URL said to "love veggies and yoga"served as a very quick message to me that this blog was going to hold some treasures. Sure enough, these cookie dough bites are to die for! They are such a great way to get a little taste of dessert in your chomper while not having to feel bad about filling up on butter and sugar and oil. Plus it allowed me to play with my new CuisinArt that I love oh-so-much. Seriously, I've been seeking out recipes solely so that I can use my food processor more often. Is that weird? Doesn't matter. Anyway...

Here's what's in these babies:  

Does that look deceptively healthy to you? Good. Because they are! 

The base is oats and cashews with just a little of the agave, maple and vanilla. 

I don't think I can lie to you and say there aren't a lot of chocolate chips in this recipe...but is that really a bad thing? It's definitely not to me. If I'm going to eat dessert, I'd prefer that it has a nice healthy dose of chocolate.

I also think you should know: the only important change I made to the Averie Cooks recipe is that I used mini chocolate chips. As small of a discrepancy as this might seem....you're wrong and it's not. I'm sorry. I'm getting defensive. The mini chocolate chip idea feels genius to me though. You get quadruple the chocolate-per-bite, thus making it feel more dessert-y and less health-foody. 

Isn't it a pretty little bite? 

The only other difference between mine and Averie's recipe is that I doubled her recipe and made 22 balls. Her single batch made 17 balls. I suppose by nature I like to make desserts with chocolate in large portions. More like 5-10 little bites instead of 2-3. Your balls are your balls though, and you can make them as large or small as you choose!

Makes 22 balls

Ingredients

1 1/3 cup raw cashews

2/3 cup oats

4 tbsp Agave

2 tbsp maple syrup

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Procedure

1. Combine cashews and oats in food processor and blend until a fine powder (like flour). 

2. Add agave, maple, and vanilla into the food processor and continue to blend until the mixture forms itself into a moist ball of dough. 

3. Remove from the processor and mix in the chocolate chips on a cutting board or wax paper. I used a plastic spatula to the mix in the chocolate so that the dough wouldn't stick to my hands. 

4. Roll the dough into little balls and store on wax paper in a tupperware. Refrigerate and eat when hungry. :) 

What's your favorite kind of cookie? I'll try to make more recipes like this in those flavors!

Cinnamon Toast Crunch (Rice Krispie) Treats

Although not an entirely original idea, these babies went fast in my house. So fast that I only got one crummy picture of the delicious, gooey treats. But thats ok. If you use your imagination, you can easily have some idea of how kick-ass these marshmallow squares are. I mean, what's honestly better than Cinnamon Toast Crunch? The list is short, in my opinion. Plus they're so so easy if you use the right utensils! 

Makes about 2 dozen

Ingredients

1/4 cup butter

4 cups marshmallows

5 cups Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal

Procedure

1. Slowly melt butter in a sauce pan. Mix in marshmallows over medium-low heat until completely melted. Be careful to keep stirring the whole time!

2. Take off heat and gently mix in cereal. Using a buttered spatula, quickly press the mixture into a parchment paper lined 9x13 baking dish. Make sure to be quick or else the mixture will harden up and become solid as a rock!

3. Stick in the fridge/freezer for a few minutes until completely cooled. Pull the treats out of the baking dish by picking up the parchment paper. Cut into squares and devour. 

Pistachio Cranberry & Pistachio Orange Biscotti

Alright folks, I will be the first to say that I am not normally a fan of biscotti. However, I am always trying to change my mind about certain foods or recipes that I don't like by making a kick-butt version myself. You know, one that suits my picky little taste buds. This is one of those cases that flipped my perspective on biscotti so violently that now, two weeks after making these cookies, I am still raving about them to my roommates. Really. Ask them yourself. 

I somewhat adapted this recipe from allrecipes and despite my utter lack of experience in making biscotti, they came out beautifully. I decided to make two kinds: Cranberry-Pistachio and Orange-Pistachio. Both kinds rock, so if you have a preference of flavor go with it! Although I will say I wasn't expecting much from the Cranberry-Pistachio myself, but sure enough I easily could have scarfed down five. My mother even sent me an urgent text message about their deliciousness the next day. Thanks Mama. 

So anyway, I'll quit my boasting and share the method to my madness.

Mix up all your ingredients (sans the orange zest and cranberries), just like you would any other cookie dough, and shape it into a log.

Let said log sit in the fridge to harden up, then cut the log in half and (here comes the fun part!) knead in the orange zest to one of the halves and the cranberries into the other. Don't be afraid to get your hands messy! (But if the dough starts getting sticky, just get your fingers a little wet and they will stick-no-more)

Next, form your two doughs into logs about 2 inches wide and smooth them out a little with your fingers and water. Make sure you use parchment paper! (The bottom loaf is orange and the top is cranberry)

Bake at 300 for 35-40 minutes until light brown.

Sniff the cookies (and start getting excited) then slice them into around 3/4 inch slices and bake at 275 for another 10 minutes until they are dry and crispy-looking. 

You will not be sorry you made these. Nor will anyone else who tries them. 

makes 1 and a half dozen cookies


Ingredients
1/4 cup light olive oil
3/4 cup white sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1 tbsp orange zest
1 1/2 cups pistachio nuts


Procedure
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
2. Mix together oil and sugar, then incorporate the vanilla extract, almond extract and eggs. In a separate bowl mix together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Gradually, combine the dry mixture into the wet mixture. 
3. Shape the dough into a log and let it sit in the fridge for at least 20 minutes to firm. Cut the log in two then mix by hand the orange zest into one loaf and the dried cranberries into the other. Then shape these two separate doughs into 2 inch wide logs and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
4. Bake the logs for 35 minutes until lightly browned. Take out and let cool for a few minutes (about 10) until cool enough to handle. 
5. Slice the logs into about 3/4 inch wide slices then place each cookie flat back onto the parchment paper. Bake at 275 degrees F for another 10 minutes until the cookies are dry, crispy, and delectable.