Get Nourished...: Chocolate Love….

Happy Valentine’s Day! We’ve got our chocolate goin’ on today! I made my first attempt at a “Chocolate Green Monster” and I must say it was pretty tasty.

In the mix: water, Amazing Grass Chocolate Infusion, a handful of kale, flax meal, banana, 1 cup of frozen cherries and 1 cup of frozen strawberries.

Tastes like a chocolate covered cherry! Saved some for the hubs, but went back for seconds for myself!

And then….sometimes you just need a good old fashioned chocolate chip cookie!

Chocolate Chip Cookies (gluten free)
(inspired by Go Dairy Free)
Yields 24 cookies
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups gluten free flour blend (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
1/4 cup millet flour
1/4 cup almond meal
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 flax egg (1 Tbsp flax meal + 3 Tbsp water and let soak for 5-7 minutes)
2/3 cup Earth Balance
1/2 cup organic brown sugar
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups dark chocolate chips
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, combine the flours, xanthum gum, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In a large bowl, beat together the Earth Balance, flax egg, sugars and vanilla. Stir in the dry ingredients until well combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Drop the dough by large tablespoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until they just barely begin to brown around the edges.
Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for 5-10 minutes before removing them to finish cooling on a wire rack. Enjoy!

The fam loved the light crunch from the millet flour and the slightly nutty flavor from the almond meal.

A “Chocolate Fudge” sauce that is so rich and creamy you’ll want to eat it straight from the bowl…spoon please!

Chocolate + Nut Butter = The Perfect Match

Fudge Swirl Sunflower Butter Cupcakes (gluten free)

Yields 12 cupcakes
Ingredients:
2/3 cup gluten free oat flour (made in a food processor with gluten free rolled oats)
1/2 cup all-purpose gluten free flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp xanthum gum
1 tsp sea salt
1/3 cup Sunflower Butter
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp agave nectar
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
4 large egg whites
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup “Chocolate Fudge” sauce (see below)
Chocolate Fudge Sauce:
1/4 agave
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa
4 Tbsp coconut oil, melted
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard muffin pan with foil or silicone liners. Lightly mist the cups with cooking spray.
For the Chocolate Fudge Sauce: Combine the melted coconut oil and agave and mix well. Add in the cocoa and stir, stir, stir until it becomes a thick sauce.
Add the flours to a bowl of a mini food processor and process for about 2 minutes. Place a sifter over a small bowl and add the flour mixture, baking soda, xanthum gum and salt and sift them into the bowl.
In a large mixing bowl, using a stand or hand mixer , cream the sunflower butter, yogurt and agave. Using a heavy whisk or spatula, stir in the egg whites and vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture until well combined. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups (about 2/3 full). Drizzle 1 tsp of the chocolate sauce into the center of each cupcake and, using a toothpick, “swirl” the chocolate into the batter by running the toothpick back and forth through the inside of the cupcake so a swirl pattern is created.
Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry. Cool the cupcakes completely in the pan on a wire rack. Serve or freeze up to 1 week in an airtight container.