chocolate

Cocoa Peanuts

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(Yeah been on a roll lately)

This is a simple recipe – and you can substitute any kind of nuts or seeds in for the peanuts. I like it as a healthy snack – the maple syrup doesn’t add many calories unless you’re really slamming it (keep it to about ¼ a cup or so).

You can scale this one up easily – just multiply the recipe.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup peanuts, unroasted, unsalted
  • 1 Tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 Tbsp cocoa powder
  1. Preheat oven to 325
  2. Mix peanuts and maple syrup in a bowl until peanuts are coated.
  3. Sprinkle cocoa powder into syrup/nut mixture gradually, stirring until it is mixed in with the syrup, and the peanuts are coated thoroughly. It will form a thick brown liquid that covers the peanuts.
  4. Pour mixture onto a cookie sheet and spread out.
  5. Cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes until the nuts are dry – the pan may be a bit sticky still, but the nuts will be dry.
  6. Remove sheet, stir one more time to unstick. Allow to cool, then store in an airtight container.

Notes:

• Make sure you use a good non-stick pan – the mixture bakes on, but it comes off with a bit of soap and scrubbing.

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.musehack.com/, publishes books on career and culture at http://www.informotron.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.

Not-So-Depression Cake

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This is a variant on Depression Cakes – cakes made without eggs or milk. They also have a parallel in cakes made during wartime, which used a variety of smart substitutions or interesting innovations. Frankly I consider it proof you can makes cake without milk or eggs – and applaud the innovators.

This one is made with chickpea flour for more protein and maple syrup for sweetness – not exactly things available in the times mentioned. The major challenge is stirring the flour to make sure it doesn’t lump up – try sifting it first.

Taste-wise it’s decent. Essentially think “scratch-made homemade cake” and you’re there. Nothing to write home about, until you realize you’re eating a gluten-free, vegan, chocolate cake made from bean powder.  Then it’s pretty awesome.

Ingredients:

Dry ingredients:

  • 1 ½ cup chickpea flour (you can use regular flour too)
  • 3 Tbsp cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt

Wet ingredients:

  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup maple syrup (you can use 1 cup sugar, but then mix it in with the dry ingredients and use 1 cup water below)
  • 1 tsp white vinegar
  • 4 tbsp oil
  • ¾ cup water

 

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. Mix all the dry ingredients together thoroughly. The cocoa powder helps determine if you blended it well – if the color is uniform, you’re good.
  3. Hollow out the center and 3 corners. In the center put the maple syrup, in one corner the vanilla, one the vinegar, and one the oil.
  4. Stir the ingredients together, blending the maple syrup and other “ends” together – saving the vinegar for last.
  5. Place in oven. Cook for 35 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.musehack.com/, publishes books on career and culture at http://www.informotron.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.

Chocolate-Maple-Peanut Butter Energy Bars

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A great snack for energy that’s a mainstay of my active days.  Just be careful – one bar has 223 calories and 13% of your daily requirements of fat!

Ingredients

  • 4 cups quick-cook oats
  • 1 cup maple syrup
  • 1  cups peanut butter.
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 Tbsp cocoa powder
  1. Place oats in a large bowl.
  2. Put the maple syrup in a saucepan and add peanut butter.  Turn heat to low.
  3. Stirring regularly, melt the peanut butter into the maple syrup.  You may need to change the heat depending on your stove.
  4. When the peanut butter is melted, stir in cocoa powder and vanilla.
  5. Once mixed, immediately pour the maple-peanut butter mixture over the oats and mix thoroughly to coat.
  6. Place oats in a baking dish.  Place saran wrap over it and press down to spread it thoroughly so it fills pan evenly and is pressed down.
  7. Place in refrigerator for 2 hours.
  8. Cut into 16 bars.  Wrap and freeze them.

These need to be kept cool or they kind of fall apart.  Be sure to wrap them when transporting them around.

Taste wise these are delicious.  They’re also filling.  My way of using them is to pack one for a snack when I need a boost.  They’d also be great for really active days of exercise or hiking if properly wrapped.

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.musehack.com/, nerd and geek culture at http://www.nerdcaliber.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.