Walnut and Date Brownie Bites

And the healthy keeps on coming!  Do I have a treat to share with you.  Gluten-free? Check.  Vegan? Check. Five ingredients or less?  Check.  Have people asked for the recipe?  Check.  And this tastes like a brownie? Well, let's just say you will not be disappointed.

There was minor collateral damage to the making of these goodies...but I was able to dodge a microwave fire and only had to deal with the stench from BURNT Walnut and Date Brownie Bites for a day...more about this later.

The mentor recipe named this treat Two Minute Baked Brownie Balls.  I'll admit that the Two Minute lead-in interested me, and I was also attracted to the healthy ingredient profile, especially the absence of white sugar. Though maybe not Public Enemy #1, sugar is scorned as unhealthy.   It encourages inflammation, tooth decay, weight gain, unstable insulin levels, and on and on and on.  There is not much good press on white sugar.  You know this, and I know this.  We do what we can to make small changes in our ingestion of this ingredient, right? I could probably try more...

So how can one bake-off brownies in two minutes?  Using the microwave of course!  I don't know about you, but my use of the microwave is relegated to warming up already cooked food or heating water to boiling.  On occasion, my husband poaches eggs in the microwave and they are spot-on in their taste and texture, but beyond this, our microwave sits idle.  Conclusion?  I should have known better.

Honestly, I did ponder that 1 minute, 40 second bake time.  But I decided to bake off just a couple and save the others for the oven.  What happened was that I set the microwave to bake two brownie bites for 1 minute.  But by about 37 seconds, smoke was rushing (no racing) out of every crevice in the machine.  One of my first thoughts was, "We've selected a new Pope!"  The white smoke was thick and twirling, headed towards the ceiling, and I was sure the smoke detectors were going to wail at any moment...
Opening the microwave and pulling out two sizzling and charred 'stones', I tossed them into the kitchen sink where (luckily) the soaking mixing bowl put an end to the mother load of smoke.  "So that's what molten metal sounds like when it's submerged in water," I thought.  Continuing, I opened the kitchen door and turned on the fan above the range... and smoke alarms were silent (thank you lord).

Having done the dirty work for you, know that I only want you to bake these in the oven.  And you wanna know a secret?  You really do not have to bake them at all.  They can be eaten raw!
Easy peasy just got better :)

Notes

1.  Bake these (ahem...in the oven) or don't bake them at all.  Either way is fine.

2.  I used a silpat mini-cupcake pan to bake these, greasing each spot first with a bit of coconut oil.

3.  I used a scale to weigh out each brownie bite (only the best for you!).  So my yield was 17... well, subtract two due to the untimely death due to frying...

Walnut and Date Brownie Bites
Yield: 17, each weighing 20 grams

1 and 1/2 cup walnuts
12 Medjool dates, seeds removed
3 tablespoons cocoa
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 350ºF.

2.  Place all ingredients into food processor and blend until mixture resembles a small, fine, sticky crumb.

3.  Use hands to shape and press the mixture into balls.  Place on baking tray lined with parchment or onto a silpat.  Remember, I used a greased, silicone mini-muffin tray.

4.  Place into the oven and bake for 8 minutes, or decide not to bake.

5.  Remove from oven and cool on rack.

6.  These are best delivered straight to your mouth, but with a bit of restraint, they also look sassy in a mini-muffin paper liner.

7.  These are chocolate-forward, soft, brownie yum-yums.  And you've done all you can to tend to everyone's dietary needs.  Yay!

8.  Hmmm... I am wondering how these would taste covered in chocolate...as in Walnut Date Truffle?

Tahini Cookies with Sesame Seeds

I admit to spending more and more time reading about how to change-up vintage dessert recipes to embrace a more healthy intake of fats and sugars (which is to say that I am open to the prospect of learning and growing). While grocery shopping, I never stress about what type of cookie/bar/cake/pastries to purchase as I rarely (no lie) buy those items.  That's because I am often in my kitchen making cookies, bars, cakes, and pastries often (so true).  And typically all of those lovelies will use butter, all-purpose flour, and sugar...together...Yes!

But I am aware of a whole new world to explore (You're already there, aren't you?) where the value of using, for example, nut butters, plant-based oils, and gluten-free flours is adding lots to your baking repertoire.  And this is great news.  None of us will move our nutritive journey forward without researching and testing, right? Though I am not gluten-sensitive or vegan, I can appreciate the search for and preparation of food that is nutritional, tasteful, healing, cost-effective, and ___________ (fill-in with your own need) as we all try to live as healthful a life as possible.  I don't know about you, but I am someone who is a heavy plant-eater supported by a fair amount of carbohydrates and the occasional animal/fish protein.  But, I bake.  And I really like to bake, and I see nothing wrong with having dessert everyday!

It's no wonder that dessert riffs are so popular nowadays.  Everything old is refashioned to something modern! New flours, new oils, vegan-inspired substitutes (one egg = 1 T. flaxseed meal and 2.5 T water! Who knew?), and blow-your-mind sugar variety have joined forces to re-imagine what once was just a simple oatmeal cookie.  I think I am ok with this.

Can you imagine me on the tahini and almond flour bandwagon?  A short time ago (a few months maybe? I know...where have I been?), I would not have given this recipe one second of my time.  I would have passed it over for my go-to trinity (see paragraph 1).  And now?  Read my lips:  It is one beautiful and tasteful addition to my "tried and trues."  Do you think I'm ready for Chocolate Chia Pudding with a Hemp Sprinkle? 😉

Food and Wine recently published this interesting cookie, and because my food intake is maturing to accommodate new essentials, I decided to go for it. These little vegetarian sweetnesses use no butter or white sugar, and except for the use of honey as the sweetener, they would be vegan (big step for me).

Notes

1.  I used both black and white sesame seeds (did you also know that there are also brown sesame seeds?), but the choice is yours.  I thought the black/white blend was attractive.

2.  I used an Italian Rhododendron honey because I had it.  Use what you have.

3.  I rolled the dough into 1-inch balls before rolling in the sesame seeds.  Then I transferred these to the baking sheet and flattened.

Tahini Cookies with Sesame Seeds
(Yield: approx. 2 1/2 dozen, depending on size)

1/2 cup sesame seeds (single color or mixed colors)
1 and 1/2 cup almond flour (can use almond meal)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt (I used kosher salt)
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup tahini
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1.  Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line baking sheet with parchment paper.

2.  Place sesame seeds into a bowl for rolling.

3.  In a small bowl, whisk the almond flour, baking soda, and salt.

4.  In a larger bowl, mix the honey, tahini, and vanilla extract.

5.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until all is incorporated.

6.  Using a spoon, scoop a small amount of dough into your hand and roll into a sphere.  Add more or take some away, depending on the size of cookie you want.  This dough is very manageable!

7.  Place the dough ball into the sesame seeds and roll around until it is completely covered.

8.  Transfer to baking sheet and flatten a bit.  Leaving about 2 inches between cookies, continue until the baking sheet is filled.

9.  Bake the cookies for 8-9 minutes, keeping an eye on them, until the bottoms are golden.

10. Remove from the oven and place on cooling rack for 5 minutes or so.

11. After removing the cookies, reuse the baking sheet if necessary, for the remainder of the dough.

12. Serve whenever you want and for whatever reason.  This cookie is there for you!

13. Keep at room temperature or chilled for a couple days (let me know if they last that long), or freeze (wrapped well) for an extended period of time.

14.  Give this one a try.  Flavor is sesame forward spread across a soft crunchy cookie.