Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips for $2.59 at Meijer!

You can snag a bags of Enjoy Life brand semi-sweet chocolate chips for as low as $2.59 (with double coupon) at Meijer stores. These allergy-friendly baking chips are on price drop until 6/9 and with the $.55 off coupon HERE (registration required) or the $1.50 off 2 coupon HERE, you can get a great deal! Print each coupon twice and stock up. Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips regularly sell for just under $4 per bag.

These are the chocolate chips we use in our favorite Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies, GF/DF No-Flour Peanut Butter Blondies, Double Chocolate Banana Muffins and also in these extremely popular Fudgy Almond Flour Brownies. Needless to say...we love our chocolate chips. This is a brand that doesn't often go below $3.50/bag, so get 'em while they last!

No-Flour Peanut Butter Blondies (GF/DF)

If brownies had a cousin, they would surely be blondies! These delicious gluten-free, dairy-free cookies are done in 25 minutes--from start to finish. They are sweet, chewy and crazy simple to make! If you liked my Fudgy Almond Flour Brownies  or The Best Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies...you will adore these PB Blondies. And with no flour or butter, you're also cutting down on the cost of ingredients.

Notice that I didn't include the chocolate chips in this picture. The reason is because you can choose to add them or not. They are entirely optional. I made them both ways and definitely prefer the chocolate chips, but if you wanted to eliminate all refined sugar or cut the cost down further, you could leave them out and they would still be yummy. These are equally as good made with almond butter or sunflower seed butter, for those with peanut allergies. You could probably even do a flax or chia egg substitute if you needed to go egg-free.

Peanut Butter Blondies

Serves 12

1 c. Natural, no added sugar, peanut butter* (Sub almond butter or sunflower seed butter)

1/2 c. Honey**

1 Egg

1/2 T. Pure vanilla extract

1/2 t. Baking soda

1/3 c. + 2 T. Mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)

Mix the first 5 ingredients in a mixing bowl until well combined. Fold in chocolate chips, reserving 2 T. for the top. 

Spread the batter into a greased 8x8 pan and sprinkle with remaining chips. Press chips down lightly into batter.

Bake at 325 until golden brown, about 20 min or until toothpick inserted near the middle comes out mostly clean. 

Cool completely before cutting. Store loosely covered to retain their chewy cookieness. Putting them in an air-tight container will make them more "cake-like" and very moist.

*If you use a pb with added sugar and plan to add chocolate chips, reduce the honey to 1/3 c. (unless you prefer super sweet desserts).

 **These will also work with 2/3 c. granulated cane sugar, white or brown.

Waiting for them to cool is truly the hardest part! Enjoy!

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Other recipes you might like:

Homemade Thin Mints

Chocolate Banana Bon Bons

Homemade Thin Mint Cookies (GF)

I {big, puffy heart} love Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies! The thin, crunchy cookie. The pepperminty flavor that stays in my mouth long after the cookies have made their way to my tummy. The chocolate on top of more chocolate. Is there really a better way to eat them than frozen? Definitely not!

Back in January, like many others, I began getting the 247 daily Facebook status updates from the Brownie and Girl Scout moms...trying to help their little princesses reach their cookie sales goals. (Well, maybe not quite that many. Ha ha!) Back in the day, I would have bought 3 or 4 boxes. I would have stashed them in the freezer and tried to make them last until Easter. I would have filled my body with partially hydrogenated oils and loads of refined sugar. But that was then...and this is now. The health-conscious me refuses to consume the evil chocolate demons until those naive Little Brownie Bakers (check the box...that's the real company name!) stop using trans fat in their delicious cookies. Enough ranting...it's time to start baking. 

In my opinion, the only way to get yummy, guilt-free, real food (year round!) is to make it yourself. That's exactly what I did. After some internet searching, Pinterest browsing and experimenting--I came up with a pretty spot-on recipe that would give the Girl Scouts a run for their money. My husband said these were unbelievable (he is a hard core Thin Mint fan!) and my son gave them 100 thumbs up. Ha!

For the cookies you will need honey, oat flour, cocoa powder, butter or coconut oil, salt, and peppermint oil or extract. Mix all of the ingredients until well combined and refrigerate the dough, as you would sugar cookies. Roll out the dough to the thickness of a graham cracker. These are thin mint cookies...not thick mint cookies. :)

I have tried two different methods of rolling the cookies out, including the flour-the-counter and transfer-to-a-cookie-sheet method, and I will tell you that using parchment paper is the only way to go! Begin by tearing off a sheet of parchment paper slightly bigger than your cookie sheet. Here's a tip for you! Place a portion of the parchment paper over the edge of the counter and use your body to firmly hold it in place. That way when you begin rolling out your dough away from you, the parchment doesn't scoot all over the place. 

I used a 2 1/2 inch biscuit cutter on my cookies, because that is all I had, other than a tiny one inch cookie cutter that seemed way too small. I figured when choosing between a "too big" cookie and a "too small" cookie--it was best to go big. Right? I would guess the original Thin Mints to be around 1 1/2 inches in diameter if you want an exact replica.

These cookies don't really spread at all when baking. Cut them and then remove the extra dough from around the cookies by gently peeling it away. You do not need to move or rearrange the cookies at this point. Simply place the parchment paper and dough onto a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 8-10 minutes. Reroll the scrap dough using the same method and continue until all cookies have been cut out and baked.

Thin Mint cookies have a distinct "crunch" when you bite them and to get that crunchy factor, you want these to be thoroughly baked until the edges are dry to the touch and they are very matte looking. They may have some small bubbles that come to the surface while baking, which will be hidden by the chocolate when they are dipped. Keep an eye on them! They will go from "done" to "burnt" in a matter of 2 minutes. Depending on the thickness, they should take between 8-10 minutes in a standard 350 degree oven. Start checking them at 6 minutes and every minute or so until they are done. Mine were slightly soft, but hardened as they cooled.

While your cookies are in the oven, go ahead and begin melting your chocolate. I did mine in the microwave, but I have also placed a glass bowl into a shallow pan of water on the stove (being careful to keep water out of the chocolate!) or in a double boiler. Chocolate must be melted at a very low temperature and stirred frequently to avoid scorching. You will add 1/8 t. of peppermint oil, or 1/2 t. extract, to the semi-sweet or dark chocolate to give it that perfect minty flavor.

Peppermint oil can most likely be found with the candy making supplies of your local craft store. People use oils for flavoring hard tack and other candies because it is 4 times more concentrated and blends easier into things like chocolate. I have not personally used peppermint extract (alcohol and peppermint oil) and cannot attest to how it would blend with the chocolate; however, other recipes I looked at called for extract and claimed that it worked just fine.

If your chocolate is too thick, you can add a bit of coconut oil or non-hydrogenated palm shortening (Spectrum brand is available at both our Kroger and Meijer stores). Begin with 1 teaspoon and add up to 3 teaspoons if required. If the chocolate begins to thicken up while you are dipping your cookies, you will need to reheat it. Use a fork to dip the cookies down into the melted chocolate and then wipe some of the excess off the top with a knife or the back of a spoon. You are going for a very thin coating of chocolate on these. Tap off the extra chocolate back into the bowl and drag the fork across the edge to remove any remaining drips. Carefully place cookies onto waxed or parchment paper and allow to set up. This process can be sped up by putting them in the freezer for a few minutes.

Pour yourself a glass of milk and chow down! My family insists on eating these frozen and I agree they are at their yummiest in a frozen state. However you like to eat your Thin Mints, please make sure you come back and let me know how you liked them!

Thin Mint Cookies (GF)

Makes approximately 3 dozen cookies (2 1/2 in.)

For the cookies:

1/4 c. unsalted butter or coconut oil, softened

1/3 c. honey

3-4 drops of peppermint oil or 1/8 t. peppermint extract

1/4 c. Dutch-processed cocoa powder

1/8 t. salt

1 c. oat flour* (all-purpose or whole wheat pastry flour would also work)

For the chocolate coating:

12 oz. good quality semi-sweet or dark chocolate**

1-3 t. coconut oil or palm shortening (if needed)

1/8 t. peppermint oil or 1/2 t. peppermint extract

1. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the softened butter or coconut oil, honey and peppermint oil/extract. Gradually add the cocoa powder, salt and flour. Mix until the dough comes together and place the covered bowl into the refrigerator for a minimum of 2 hours to chill.

2. Roll out half the dough at a time to the thickness of a graham cracker on floured parchment paper. Using a cookie or biscuit cutter, cut out the cookies leaving them on the parchment. Remove the excess dough from around the cut cookies and reroll onto a new sheet of parchment paper. Repeat with the other half of the dough.

3. Place the cut cookies and parchment paper onto a cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes in an oven preheated to 350 degrees. Bake until cookies are firm around the edge and matte in appearance. Watch them carefully, as it is hard to tell when they are burning due to their chocolate color.

4. Allow the cookies to cool completely. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in the microwave at 30 second intervals or on the stove top in a double boiler at low heat. Alternately, use a glass bowl placed inside a shallow pan filled with water. (Do not permit water to come into contact with melted chocolate!) Stir frequently. Add peppermint oil/extract to the melted chocolate and stir. If the melted chocolate still seems too thick to dip your cookies, add between 1-3 teaspoons of coconut oil or palm shortening to thin.

5. One at a time, dip the cooled cookies into the melted chocolate and using a fork. Scrape some of the excess chocolate from the top of the cookie with the back of a spoon or a knife. Tap gently and drag the cookie across the side of the bowl to remove extra chocolate drips. Place dipped cookies onto a clean piece of parchment paper and allow to dry completely. (This can be sped up by placing cookies in the freezer for a few minutes.) If the chocolate thickens up while dipping your cookies, reheat until it returns to dipping consistency.

*Make your own oat flour by placing rolled oats into a blender or food processor and grinding until you get a fine powder.

**To make this dairy-free or vegan, use Enjoy Life! brand chocolate chips (or other dairy-free chocolate).

To make this paleo friendly, you could use a 100% cacao baking chocolate (but that might be very bitter!). You might be able to add a bit of powdered stevia or experiment with another type of sweetener or just eat the cookies plain.



Enjoy!



No-Guilt Chocolate Chip
Cookies (GF)

Fudgy Almond Flour
Brownies (GF)

Easy Hot Cocoa with Pumpkin Puree

My kids begged me to make them hot cocoa this morning and in an attempt to score some extra kid love, I agreed. Of course, I am always looking for ways to sneak in some additional nutrition or remake a recipe to be healthier. The pumpkin flavor is hard to detect in this hot cocoa and my little taste testers raved about it!

Canned pumpkin is on sale this week and I have been looking for other ways to work it into my children's meals because it is high in fiber and vitamin A. I typically add a couple spoonfuls to their applesauce along with some cinnamon and we love pumpkin waffles. I still cannot believe these muffins with pumpkin or carrot, peanut butter and banana are the most popular recipe on my blog! 

Seriously though, you can only use so much pumpkin. If I have a partial can, I freeze one tablespoon portions in an ice cube tray and pop the pumpkin cubes out into a freezer bag. That way I can add a cube to this hot cocoa, a bowl of oatmeal, applesauce or use multiple cubes when baking. {16 T. = 1 cup} No ice cube tray? Simply freeze one tablespoon blobs onto a cookie sheet and freeze!

Easy Hot Cocoa with Pumpkin Puree

Serves 2+

2 c. milk*

2 T. pumpkin puree

2 T. honey or sweetener of choice (more if desired)

2 t. pure vanilla extract

1 T. cocoa powder

marshmallows for serving (optional)

Mix pumpkin, honey, vanilla and cocoa in a small saucepan to form a thick chocolate paste.

Turn stove to med-low and gradually whisk in the milk. Heat until not quite simmering.

Pour into mugs and top with marshmallows for serving. This makes 2 adult size or 3 child size servings. Add a little brewed coffee for a grown-up mocha treat!

*Feel free to use a non-dairy milk, like almond milk, and adjust the sweetness as needed.

For a single serving--Mix 1 T. pumpkin, 1 T. honey, 1 t. vanilla and 1/2 T. cocoa in a large mug. Stir to form a paste. Gradually pour in 1 c. of milk, stir well and microwave 1-2 min. until hot. Stir again and add marshmallows.

Fudgy Almond Flour Brownies (GF)

 

Is it possible to make a chewy, fudgy, gooey brownie loaded with chocolate without (wheat) flour and refined sugar? You betcha! And is possible not to eat that entire pan full of brownies? Well...probably not.

I mean, look at these little suckers. They are practically screaming for a glass of milk to wash them down. My husband, my kids and even a few friends have raved about these real ingredient, made-from-scratch brownies. Even the folks who love brownies from a box think these are delicious.

The best part is that you can make the batter for these yummy little squares of chocolaty goodness in a single saucepan. Less dishes = one happy cook! Check out all the wonderful, unprocessed ingredients ~ organic butter, pastured eggs, almond flour, raw honey, pure vanilla extract, semi-sweet chocolate chips and dark cocoa powder.

There are some simple adaptations you can make to these, allowing them to also be dairy-free and paleo friendly. I have some readers who are going to be completely beside themselves to have a yummy brownie that they can actually eat! And really...sometimes you just need a brownie (or 4). Ha ha!

In a medium sized saucepan, start out by melting some chocolate chips, honey and butter on the stove top at a low temperature. Stir in the cocoa powder and blend well. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly before adding in the vanilla and whisking in the two eggs. Then, in the same pan, fold in the almond flour and other dry ingredients. See what I mean? One pan. Be still my heart!

Cut a piece of parchment paper to line the bottom of your 8 x 8 inch pan, letting it overlap the sides. Grease the remaining two sides of the pan and pour in the brownie batter. Sprinkle with a few more chocolate chips.

Bake at 325 degrees for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with just a hint of fudgy crumbs. Allow to cool completely. Lift the parchment paper flaps to remove from the pan and cut into 12 squares for serving. Rumor has it that plastic knives are the absolute best tool for cutting brownies cleanly, without all the crumbs. Just try it yourself. Seeing is believing.

I have eaten these up to 3 days after they were baked and they were still completely delicious. Covering them, however, will take away some of that yummy crusty goodness on the top and make them a little more cake-like on days 2 & 3.  Sounds like the perfect opportunity to add some ice cream and eat them a la mode, if you ask me!

That is the face of pure happiness, right there! Jackson is pretty much obsessed with anything chocolate or remotely reminiscent of cake. I am a former cake decorator and his first couple years were filled with the sights and smells of freshly baked cakes that I made and decorated out of my kitchen. He is not picky. Brownies, muffins, cookies...without a doubt, he is his mother's son.

What are you waiting for?! Get baking and then come back and let me know how you like them!

Fudgy Almond Flour Brownies (GF)

1/2 c. raw, unfiltered honey

1/3 c. semi-sweet mini chocolate chips* (plus 1/4 c. for topping)

1 stick of butter, cubed** (1/2 c.)

1/4 c. Dutch-processed cocoa powder

2 t. pure vanilla extract

2 pastured, organic eggs

1 1/4 c. almond flour (For a tutorial on making your own--click HERE.)

1/2 t. baking powder

1/4 t. salt (omit if using salted butter)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and prepare an 8 x 8 inch pan (glass or metal) by lining the bottom with parchment paper, leaving a few inches to overlap the sides. Grease the remaining two sides of the pan.

2. In a medium saucepan on low heat, add the honey, chocolate chips and butter pieces. Stir continuously until melted. Add the cocoa powder and mix well. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

3. In the same pan, stir in the vanilla extract and whisk in the two eggs. Fold in the almond flour, baking powder and salt (if using).

4. Pour batter into prepared pan and sprinkle with a scant 1/4 c. of mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional).

5. Bake at 325 degrees for 28-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the brownies comes out mostly clean. There may be a few fudgy crumbs that stick to the toothpick, but it should be fairly clean.

6. Allow to cool completely. Run a knife along the two greased edges of the pan and lift out the brownie slab, firmly holding the edges of the parchment paper. (If you do not allow them to cool all the way before doing this, they will break when you lift them out.) Cut into 12 squares and serve.

*For a Paleo friendly option: Omit chocolate chips and cocoa powder in the batter and use 2 squares of unsweetened baking chocolate (100% cacao) instead. Leave off the chocolate chips on the top and replace the butter with 1/2 c. coconut oil.

**For a dairy-free option: Replace 1/2 c. butter with 1/2 coconut oil.

Want a delicious peanut butter swirl on top? Mix 3 T. natural peanut butter, 1 T. butter and 1 T. honey. Warm on the stove or in the microwave until soft and well mixed. Using a spoon, drizzle 3 lines of PB across the uncooked brownie batter and swirl very lightly with a knife. Sprinkle with 2 T. chocolate chips and bake as directed above.

Adapted from The Nourishing Home

Living the Lutz Life: Boonshoft Museum, Mario Preschool & Milk Art

This is a new weekend feature for 2013, giving you a peek into our day-to-day life and serving as a digital journal for me and my family. Take time to savor these precious days and don't forget to take LOTS of pictures!

We started back in with some low-key homeschooling on Wednesday this week. Getting back into a routine again is proving to be a bit challenging. A friend tipped me off to this cool milk art activity and the kids LOVED it! You pour a thin layer of milk into a shallow dish and add several drops of food coloring. Then you carefully put a couple drops of dish soap into the dish and watch the magic happen. Jackson and Charlotte were fascinated with watching the colors mix together and Charlotte even needed the magnifying glass to get a closer look. We dumped these out and did it again because they had so much fun.

Later that day we went outdoors to look for animal tracks in the snow. We have a family of cardinals living in our side yard and have a great view of the birds and squirrels from our side window, where we do school. The kids and I put birdseed out in the only snowless patch of ground and had a blast watching the critters snack on it. As we were looking at tracks, I asked Jackson what kind of animal he thought left the "hopping" sort of tracks that led to the tree. "Well, probably a kangaroo!" he replied! Hahaha!

 

On Thursday, my sister and niece joined us on a trip to the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery in Dayton, OH. We packed a lunch and stayed for a few hours in hopes of burning off some of their boundless energy. The kids had a great time, as usual. Some of the highlights included Jackson and his cousin dressing as police officers and putting Charlotte in "jail", and watching the river otters. They got the biggest kick out of the otters running right over to the glass and standing on their hind legs! We are so thankful to my mother-in-law for our museum membership and look forward to using it at many area museums throughout the coming year.

 

 

Jackson and Bill have resurrected an old "game" that they used to play called "Cars Preschool", except the cars have been replaced by stuffed Mario characters. This new thing they play is now called, of course, "Mario Preschool". It is highly entertaining (well, not to Charlotte!) and Jackson would play for hours if Bill would go along with it for that long. Mario is usually the teacher and the rest of the cast of characters are the students. Bowser typically gets into trouble and Mario puts him in time out or calls his mom to come get him from school. Haha!

 

 

Charlotte has quickly become a little fashion plate and strives to make each day memorable by dressing up in the wackiest outfits possible for a princess to wear. She received a boatload of dress-up clothes for Christmas and has endless fun mixing and matching the dresses and accessories. Be prepared for multiple photos each week of Charlotte's entertaining ensembles! One night this week, after putting her to bed, she yelled for me to come back to her room. When I got there, she insisted that she needed a "princess sleeper" to wear to bed. Oh my goodness, she is such a diva!

 





 

 
I took a stab at making some homemade thin mint cookies this week, after seeing the 346 Facebook posts from friends who have daughters taking orders for Girl Scout cookies. They turned out fab.u.lous and I can't wait to share the recipe with all of you! I made some pretty stellar gluten free cookies and hope to make some less healthy ones this coming week to compare. As you can see from Charlotte's face, she was a fan! My husband gave the healthy version an 8 out of 10, so I can only imagine what the ones made with plain ol' white flour and regular sugar would earn. You will be seeing this recipe very soon...promise!

Did your family do anything exciting this week? Any big plans, new recipes, or fun kids' activities in the works for the upcoming week? I'd love to hear from you!

Ashley

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Parfait

Store-bought yogurt is loaded with added sugar. By sweetening the yogurt yourself, you'll save a ton of calories. The Greek yogurt is low in fat and high in protein. The almonds and strawberries provide a nice dose of fiber and vitamin C. I personally love the crunch that the chocolate chips and almond slivers add to the smooth, creamy yogurt! Enjoy!


1/2 c. plain yogurt--Greek yogurt is thick and wonderful!
1 t. pure maple syrup (optional)
1/4 t. pure vanilla extract
1 c. sliced organic strawberries
2 T. slivered almonds (or try granola instead!)
1 T. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

In a small bowl combine 1/2 c. yogurt, maple syrup and vanilla extract (or skip the bowl and use the yogurt container instead). Stir well. In a separate serving bowl, add 1/4 c. of the yogurt and top it with 1/2 c. of strawberries, 1 T. of almonds and 1/2 T. of chocolate chips. Layer the remaining 1/4 c. yogurt and finish it off with rest of the strawberries, almonds and chocolate chips.

Grab your spoon and dig in! This is the perfect amount of sweetness for an afternoon snack or summer dessert. I think it would be a delicious breakfast, too! I wish I could say I got to eat this bowlful of yumminess, but unfortunately I had to share most of it with my toddler who declared it, "Mmm...num!"

The Best Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies (GF)

These chocolate chip cookies are insanely good--just ask my husband and my kids! They are slightly chewy, slightly crunchy and have the perfect amount of nutty sweetness. My friend, Emily, has a son who is gluten intolerant and I wanted to make a yummy baked good to take to her house for a playdate. I was trying to come up with something that all of the kids could enjoy. (Side note--one of the little boys who was there from another family had a severe nut allergy. And here I was SO excited about sharing our gluten-free (but super nut filled) cookies with everyone! Can you say "epic fail"? LOL)

I found this recipe online and after trying it out once on my own family, I decided these cookies were not only "good enough" to share with my friend's gluten-free family but were the only chocolate chip cookies I would ever make from here on out! My husband eats them straight from the freezer and had NO idea they weren't "normal" chocolate chip cookies until he saw me making almond flour for the blog post and asked what I used "that" for. Ha ha!! They are full of protein, fiber, healthy fat and are pretty low in added sugar. I have absolutely zero guilt feeding these to my kiddos. I don't make them all the time, however. They are a bit pricier to make due to the almond flour and despite being healthier, they aren't calorie-free and I have very little self-control around baked goods.

In spite of my last comment, you are definitely going to want to make a double or even triple batch of these little gems. The cookies themselves freeze great, or you can freeze the dough "pucks" on a piece of parchment paper and then bake as needed (or in my case, eat the dough right out of the freezer instead of heating up the oven!). These would be a hit at any picnic, playdate or other get-together...so long as no one is allergic to nuts! ;)


Yields about 18 cookies (3" diameter)

• 1/4 cup butter, softened*
• 2 T. coconut oil (refined coconut oil has NO coconut taste and is a healthy replacement for shortening in baked goods)
• 1/3 cup sucanat (dehydrated natural sugar cane) or brown sugar
• 1 t. pure vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 t. baking soda
• 1/4 t. sea salt
• 1 1/2 c. blanched almond flour (Click HERE for tutorial on making your own blanched almond flour--relatively simple and nearly half the price of store-bought.)
• 3/4 c. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 c. chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Cream butter, coconut oil and sucanat or brown sugar in a medium mixing bowl by hand or electric mixer. 

2. Add in vanilla and egg and continue to mix until well combined.

3. Stir in baking soda and salt. Add almond flour a half cup at a time until thoroughly blended. 

4. Fold in chocolate chips and walnuts (if using) by hand and drop by rounded tablespoon onto a parchment or silicone lined baking sheet.

5. Flatten cookies slightly with the bottom of a wet glass or measuring cup. Bake at 350 degrees about 9-10 minutes or until edges just begin to lightly brown. Leave on cookie sheet to cool for a few minutes before attempting to remove. Cool completely on a wire rack.

6. Watch them disappear faster than you can get them put in the freezer!

*Substitute coconut oil for the butter if you are dairy-free.

Double Chocolate Banana Muffins (GF)

These are my kids' absolute FAVORITE muffins in the world. Ok..mine too! Ha ha! This is a great way to use up overly ripe bananas (fresh or previously frozen & thawed). These muffins are moist, chocolaty and are easy to freeze and have on hand for a quick breakfast or snack. White whole wheat flour is my preferred choice for baking. It has all the nutrition of hard red whole wheat, but the softer variety of wheat (it might be called "white" but it's still "whole"--bran and germ intact) makes baked goods taste less "healthy" or "wheaty". I am not sure why I have never tried it before, but peanut butter would totally ROCK these muffins! Just saying. :)

**Make these gluten-by substituting oat flour (grind rolled oats to a fine powder in blender). I recently tried these with oat flour and I think I love them even more that way!

Makes 12 muffins

3 ripe bananas, about 1 1/3 c. mashed
1/2-2/3 c. sugar or sucanat (I use 1/2 c. of sucanat--natural sugar cane if you are wondering.)
1/2 c. butter, coconut oil or plain yogurt
1 t. pure vanilla extract
1 egg
1/4 c. Dutch-process cocoa (regular cocoa will work, but won't have the "depth" of flavor)
1 1/2 c. white whole wheat flour**
2 T. ground flax (optional)
1 t. baking soda
1/4 t. aluminum-free baking powder
1/3-1/2 c. mini chocolate chips

Cream sugar, butter or oil and bananas. Beat in vanilla and egg. Sift together dry ingredients and add gradually until thoroughly combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Fill the cups of a greased 12-cup muffin tin 3/4 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 min. or until toothpick inserted into muffin comes out clean. Cool 5 min and remove from tin to cool completely. Store in air tight container or freeze and reheat as needed.

Chocolate Banana Bon Bons (GF)

Chocolate plus banana equals frozen deliciousness! These little bite-sized treats feature a crisp, dark chocolate shell and a cold, creamy banana center that almost (but not quite!) tricks your taste buds into thinking it's ice cream. I bet you can't eat just one! Don't feel too guilty...at least they are healthier than a Klondike bar. I've been thinking the only way to make them "yummier" might be a smidge of peanut butter between the banana and the chocolate. What do you think?

Are you ready to get started? Here's what you need to make these little gems....

You're going to need about 3 ripe bananas (spots are fine), some good quality dark chocolate--60% cacao or more--and an oil that melts to a liquid but is solid at room temperature. I prefer refined coconut oil, which has no coconut flavor (Honestly! I hate coconut but use refined coconut oil in SO many things.). Palm oil would be another great choice. Palm and coconut oils are both full of the same healthy fats that avocados boast. Crisco would work in a pinch, but personally I don't like using anything with hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oil--ie. trans fats.

Measure out about 1 cup of bittersweet chocolate chips and add 2 teaspoons of coconut oil (or shortening, if you must). Slice 3 bananas into healthy sized chunks...about 3/4 an inch or so.

Place a glass bowl into a shallow skillet of water on the stove at a low temp to melt (double boiler method) or place in the microwave for one minute. Stir chocolate frequently to avoid scorching and keep water away from the melted chocolate to avoid weird clumping. Microwave at 30 second intervals until chocolate is smooth and liquidy. Mine took 1 min. 45 sec. but your microwave may vary in size and cooking time.

Add 2 or 3 banana slices at a time and use a fork to "fish" them out, tapping the excess chocolate off and dragging banana across the edge of the bowl. If you don't do this...you'll have puddles of chocolate under your bon bons. Which will only affect the look--not the taste. :) Work quickly or the chocolate will begin to get thick again. If that happens --reheat until liquidy again.

Tip the fork up slightly to slide the banana slices onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment or waxed paper.

This is easy enough a 5 year old can do it! LOL!

Continue until all of the bananas have been dipped or you run out of chocolate, then place cookie sheet in the freezer for a minimum of 6 hours. Trust me...it's worth the wait! 

I did 3 medium bananas and had a small amount of chocolate left, which I poured onto parchment and allowed to harden up again. I hate the thought of wasting good chocolate! (PS...I ate that "blob" later because I needed a little something to help me stay sane until my hubby arrived  home to save me. Yep...the whole thing! It's thinner than it looks. Haha!)

These will store beautifully in a container or plastic bag in your freezer. I have absolutely no idea how long they will keep because ours are gone within 48 hours. True story! Now that I think about it, I would NOT recommend putting them in something see-through, because these bad boys will scream at you every time you open the freezer door. Enjoy!

Ashley