Healthy Peanut Butter Caramel Chocolate Truffles

Another pretty darn healthy treat!  Underneath that Enjoy Life chocolate is some pretty darn tasty peanut butter caramel—all natural, no sugar added.  Did you know if you blend dates in a food processor long enough, it becomes like a paste, or even better—like caramel.  No joke.  Sure you might think it’s not the same caramel you’re used to, you know, the kind made with lots of sugar, cream, butter and some kinds even high fructose corn syrup and other unmentionables.  And while it’s not just like your favorite caramel, it’s a darn good and much healthier substitute.

So next you’re thinking, “Ew, dates, I don’t like dates.”  Well, I’m being honest here and telling you if I gave you one of these truffle candies and didn’t tell you what was in it, you’d never know!  I’m super happy about this.  I’d seen a few other places on the internet that have made “homemade refined sugar free caramel” and just used my own decided measurements until I was happy with it.  I’m so happy I might need to forego this post right now and go make some more candy!

Oh, okay, I’ll share it with you first.  So first I made the caramel.  Then I knew I wanted peanut butter involved with the candy, so I added some natural, organic peanut butter.  Then just threw in a little salt, vanilla and coconut flour.  The coconut flour probably wasn’t necessary, but I wanted to make sure it would all bind together and I’d just be able to form the dough into balls.  I am happy with the results, so I plan to just leave it as is.  After the peanut butter caramel balls were formed, they spent a little time in the freezer just to make sure they were good and ready for a quick dunk in a chocolate bath.

 Healthy Peanut Butter Caramel Truffles, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

1  1/4 cups pitted dates, soaked in water (not cold, but doesn’t have to be hot) for 30 minutes, then chopped (save the water)

1/2 tablespoon coconut oil

1/2 tablespoon water

4 tablespoons natural, unsweetened peanut butter

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon coconut flour

4 ounces Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips (or chocolate of your choice)

1 teaspoon coconut oil

Put the soaked, then drained and chopped dates in the bowl of a food processor.  Let the processor go for about 2 minutes.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Turn it on again and let it keep chopping up the dates.  Add the coconut oil and water and let it process for another couple minutes.  You’ll know when it is a paste caramel-like texture.  (It is not quite as smooth and liquid runny like some caramel, but it’s good!)  Add the peanut butter, salt, vanilla and coconut flour.  Pulse until well combined.  Remove the blade from the processor bowl and scoop the filling into balls.  (I used a small cookie scoop, it’s probably about 1 tablespoon.)  Lay them on a waxed paper lined plate or small baking sheet and put it in the freezer for 20-30 minutes. 

Melt the chocolate in a microwave safe glass bowl in 30 second intervals on 7-8 power.  Stir after each 30 seconds, it only takes about 1  1/2 minutes, add the coconut oil before the last time.  Stir until smooth.  Let it sit for a few minutes before dunking the candy into it.  Using a fork, set the candy on the fork and dunk it into the melted chocolate.  Spoon chocolate over the top until it is all covered.  Tap the fork on the edge of the glass bowl, letting the chocolate smooth over the surface.  Using another fork, push the chocolate covered candy onto a wax paper lined plate.  They start to harden immediately but once you have the all coated, put the plate in the refrigerator for a few minutes.  Makes about 16.  Keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  They are great cold, but you can have them out of the refrigerator before serving for a while, too.   

Make yourself a healthy treat for Easter this weekend—or anytime year round!

Healthier Chocolate Chip Cookies (Recipe With Whole Wheat and Pure Cane Sugar)

It’s always nice to be in love.  Agreed?  Yes!  I’ve been in love for over 15 years now and I’d have to say it’s pretty darn great!  Fell in love again today—but it’s a different kind of love—it’s these cookies.  I love them.  Plain and simple.  And I know what you’re thinking, “But Katrina, those look like just any other chocolate chip cookie.”  Well, for me, they are almost like my favorite chocolate chip cookies, but I took that same recipe, made a few healthier changes and am SO happy with how they turned out on the first try!

I really am trying to be better at eating healthier things, but especially cutting back on refined sugar and white flour (though I do so love them!) ;)  But being “better” doesn’t mean you can never have delicious things and indulge now and then.  I just feel better when I need a little treat knowing it is just a little better but is still very satisfying.  These cookies have whole wheat pastry flour instead of all purpose flour.  Then they have pure cane sugar instead of white granulated (refined) sugar and finally I used Bestlife buttery baking sticks instead of butter.  Besides detecting the slight nuttiness from the whole wheat flour, I would never know they don’t have “real” butter and “real” sugar.  So I am in love!

In the recipe, I am giving all the equivalents for most of the ingredients in ounces, grams or cup/tablespoon measurements.  That is because I want anyone to be able to make these cookies, but I really prefer to do most of my baking by weighing ingredients on my kitchen scale.  I have found that doing so gives the best results.  If you don’t have a kitchen scale, I highly recommend you get one!  This is a smaller recipe, because I was trying it out for the first time.  You could easily double it.

Healthier Chocolate Chip Cookies, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

1 cup plus 3 tablespoons (8  1/2 ounces) whole wheat pastry flour

heaping 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

scant 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

scant 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

5 tablespoons (2  1/2 ounces) Bestlife Buttery Baking Sticks (or any trans fat free butter substitute—not margarine!), softened

1/2 cup plus 1  1/2 tablespoons pure cane sugar (120 grams)

1 teaspoon molasses

1/2 a large egg (25 grams or 2 tablespoons of beaten egg)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 to 1 cup good quality chocolate chips (I used 60% cacao chips) (5 ounces)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  Set aside.

In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Whisk together, set aside.

Cream the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer.  Add the cane sugar and molasses and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Add the egg and vanilla and beat another minute or so.  Scrape the sides of the bowl.  Add the dry ingredients and beat just until combined.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Scoop out cookie dough balls onto baking sheets and bake for 10 minutes (longer if you want them crispier).  Remove from oven** and let sit on baking sheet 5-10 minutes.  Remove to wire racks to cool completely.  Makes about 18 cookies.

**If any cookies are not nicely rounded, I like to push them into shape with the edge of a metal spatula as soon as they come out of the oven.  Just gently push around any edges that are sticking out.  I do this with pretty much any cookies that are funny shaped or not rounded.  You just need to do it before they start to harden up right out of the oven.  I don’t like what I call “amoeba” cookies. ;)

Love this guy---

        

Bah, cute—who is that?  It’s Kevin when he was a baby and in kindergarten (and that’s an engagement picture of us from 15 years ago)!

Love these cookies, too!  Okay, I love a lot of other people and things, but you get the idea.  Make these cookies, try them out!