Not Your Typical Chocolate
I have gushed about chocolate on here many times, so I'm certain by now you know of my deep affection for it. I'm not sure what it is about chocolate, but I am sure that when I eat it, good things happen for me (maybe not for certain parts of me but oh well). At the very least, I know my mother-in-law, Mia, and Sarah, all know what I'm saying here!
Recently, Jay and I were invited to the opening of a chocolate shop in Santa Monica (John Kelly Chocolates, as we've mentioned here and here). After living in LA for 7 years, I really could care less about a movie premiere or whatever, but a "chocolate shop premiere"--I'll be there with bells on! It was so fun, and getting to sample many of their exceptional chocolates was a dream. However, there is a reason one's dinner should not be comprised solely of the "brown gold", and I was feeling the painful weight of that particular indulgence like Augustus Gloop as he fell into Willy Wonka's chocolate river!
Not one to be deterred by a little thing like a chocolate-induced tummy ache, I sought out some less-traditional chocolate treats that can be made at home. Don't be thrown off by their surprising ingredients--they taste amazing! Even James, the picky eater of the century, couldn't help but eat these chocolate cookies. Hope these scratch your chocolate itch too.
ECSTATIC RAW CHOCOLATE (by My New Roots)
* We loved being able to make lots of variations on this one. The one shown above, we used chopped almonds, even added a little almond extract and cinnamon. FYI, I couldn't find cocoa butter, so I used coconut oil, which worked fine, though made it more melty.
BLACK BEAN CHOCOLATE CHERRY COOKIES (by My New Roots)
* Don't judge this book by it's cover (just read the benefits of black beans preceding the recipe). I love these cookies, if for no other reason than it got my baby to eat black beans--gotcha James! Truly though, if he willingly eats these, assuming they are chocolate cookies, you should too. Recommendation: add a bit more sweet/maple syrup/honey and take a little of the cayenne out. Just know they aren't going to taste exactly like a decadent flour/sugar/butter cookie, but they are surprisingly delicious, and you won't feel like Augustus!