Chocolate Coconut No-Bake Cookies

I get chocolate cravings on a daily basis.

And I usually eat some kind of chocolate snack/treat twice a day...at least.
SO...it's important for me to make sure I satisfy my chocolate cravings with some healthy options.

These cookies are one of those options, for sure.

You are going to LOVE them! They are rich, chocolatey, satisfying, and have that melt-in-your-mouth quality that are a must for any good no-bake cookie. :)

These no-bake cookies are made with all sorts of healthy ingredients:

coconut oil
raw honey
cocoa
almond milk
almond butter
oats
unsweetened coconut

And you would never know they were healthy.

Oh, and if you are worried about the fat content, don't be!
These are healthy fats from the almond butter and coconut oil.
While coconut has been notorious in the past for its fat content, research now suggests
it is one of the healthiest fats you can eat! Hallelujah for that because it is delicious! :)

This recipe makes 1 dozen cookies and the moment my husband took a bite,
he looked at me incredulously and said, "Are these all of them? This is not going to be enough!"
Haha, talk about making a girl feel good about her cooking! ;) He's too sweet.

Anyways, you have got to make these cookies ASAP, and double the recipe,
and hide some away from your kids, roommates, etc. ;)

Chocolate Coconut No-Bake Cookies

Inspired by: Homemade for Elle
Total Time: 5-10 minutes (to make), 30 minutes (to cool)
Servings: 12 cookies
Nutrition (per cookie):
Calories (140), Fat (9.7g), Carbs (10.2g), Protein (2.5g), Sugars (2.8g), Fiber (1.4g)

Ingredients:

• 1/4 c. coconut oil
• 2 Tbsp. raw honey (or 4 Tbsp. granulated sugar)
• 2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 c. unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1/4 c. almond butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 c. quick oats
• 1/4 c. unsweetened shredded coconut (if you don't like/have coconut, just use more oats

Directions:

1. Combine oil, honey, cocoa powder, and almond milk in small saucepan over medium heat.
2. Bring mixture to a boil and boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
3. Remove from heat and immediately add your almond butter, vanilla, oats, and coconut.
4. Quickly drop mixture by Tablespoonful onto a baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper.
5. Let cookies cool in fridge for 30 minutes and then consume with a nice, tall glass of milk! :) It's important to keep the cookies refrigerated until you eat them because they will get really gooey at room temperature (thanks to that delicious coconut oil!) However, I have eaten them at room temperature...and they still taste awesome but just may not be the consistency you like. 

Slow Cooker Almond Joy Steel-Cut Oats

I am a huge fan of Almond Joys. 

If I had to choose a candy bar, Almond Joy would be #1.

Unfortunately, because of my "trying to eat clean" thing, I have not had 

an Almond Joy in...years probably! I can't even remember.

Well, I wanted to recreate an almond joy. A healthier version.
In a steel-cut oat form.

I love steel-cut oats and I love Almond Joys.
Why not combine the two?

Well the result was this:

deliciously healthy

chocolatey

coco-nutty

almond-buttery

Perfection. In a bowl. For breakfast.

But wait, it gets better!
This recipe makes SO much so you can enjoy this all.week.long.
Or for two weeks.

But probably not because I always end up eating a little more than a serving.
It's just way too good.

Plus, this recipe requires minimal effort.
Just throw everything into the crockpot and anxiously wait. ;)
Then top the oats with coconut, a dollop of almond butter, and a sprinkle of dark chocolate chips.

I have to admit, it was difficult to take pictures of this before digging in.
It smelled amazing! And looked amazing. And I could really eat this forever.

I hope these oats help cure your chocolate and/or almond-joy cravings because they sure satisfy mine! :)

Slow Cooker Almond Joy Steel-Cut Oats

Total Time: 4-5 hours (varies from crockpot to crockpot)
Servings: 12
Nutrition (per serving, does not include toppings):
Calories (212), Fat (5.3g), Protein (6.9g), Carbs (34.9g), Sugars (3.9g), Fiber (6.3g)
Low in saturated fat, high in calcium and iron, high in fiber, very high in vitamin B6, high in vitamin E

Ingredients:

• 3 c. steel-cut oats, uncooked
• 9-10 c. unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or regular milk) See Notes**
• 2 large, very ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 heaping cup) See Notes**
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3/4 c. high-quality unsweetened cocoa powder
• Toppings: unsweetened shredded coconut, dark chocolate chips, almond butter, almonds

Directions:

1. Lightly spray inside of crockpot with a bit of non-stick cooking spray.
2. Pour all ingredients (minus toppings) into large 6 qt. crockpot and whisk until cocoa combines with the milk.
3. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours. Stir occasionally, if possible, to avoid oats sticking to sides. This shouldn't be an issue though if you sprayed the crockpot with cooking spray before adding all the ingredients.
4. Oats will be thick. Add more milk, or water, if you want a thinner consistency. 
5. Transfer oats to a bowl and add desired toppings to make it "almond-joy-like" :)
6. Refrigerate leftovers. Reheat oats in saucepan on stovetop over medium heat with a bit of almond milk or water until oats reach desired consistency. Add more/less liquid depending on how thick you like your oats.

**Notes: You can use water or half water, half milk but I used all almond milk because it makes the oats so creamy! I actually used almond coconut milk to get some added coconut flavor. ;)

Using 2 ripe bananas may not make the chocolate oats as sweet as you like them to be. I like my chocolate super rich and dark so I don't add tons of sweetener. If you like sweeter oats, add honey or your preferred sweetener, to taste, either before or after you cook them.

Banana Chocolate Chip Nut Butter Cookies {GF/Vegan}

Anyone else here guilty of eating raw cookie dough straight from the bowl?

I know I'm guilty!

Well, you can be sure you will want to eat the entire batch of these cookies
straight from the bowl. They are THAT good!

My toddler sat at the table and licked the bowl and spoon clean. That's my girl!

And I didn't feel a bit guilty about letting her eat lots of that cookie batter because
it is full of all sorts of healthy stuff. ;)

You're in for a treat...

Sweetened with ripe bananas.

Thickened and infused with nut butter goodness.

Gluten-free.

Vegan. No eggs, butter, or milk.

With a delicious combination of coconut and dark chocolate...

Is that drool on your chin? ;)

Anyways, you are going to love these cookies!
You won't regret making these. Your kids won't regret it.
The hubby won't regret it. Your waistline won't regret it.

It's really a win-win all around. ;)

Banana Chocolate Chip Nut Butter Cookies
{GF, Vegan}

Total Time: 25 minutes
Yield: 1 dozen cookies
Nutrition (per cookie):
Calories (107), Fat (7.5g), Carbs (9.4g), Protein (1.8g), Fiber (1.6g), Sugars (4.7g)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 large, very ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/4 c. nut butter (I used a mix of homemade PB and almond butter)
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 c. old-fashioned oats (use gluten-free oats)
• 1/4 c. almond flour (ground from raw almonds - can also use oat flour)
• 1/4 c. unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• pinch salt
• pinch cinnamon
• 1/4 c. - 1/2 c. dark chocolate chips (vegan chocolate chips if you want a completely vegan cookie)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a small bowl, mix together the mashed banana, nut butter, and vanilla extract. 
2. In a separate medium bowl, combine the oats, almond flour, shredded coconut, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until well combined. 
3. Stir in the chocolate chips and drop in spoonfuls onto a baking sheet sprayed lightly with non-stick cooking spray.
4. Bake cookies for 12-15 minutes until the cookies have set and are no longer mushy.
5. Indulge (without any guilt!) :)

Note: Cookies will keep best in an airtight container in the fridge. Feel free to warm them up for a few seconds before enjoying! 

Dark Chocolate Banana Avocado Cookies

Okay, this is going to sound weird.

Really weird.

But you gotta hear me out!

I've been seeing pins on Pinterest for Chocolate Avocado Cookies.

That's right. Avocado!

I was instantly curious. 

Any baked good made with avocados had to be weird. And taste weird.

Avocados are for guacamole, not cookies.

Despite my reluctance to believe that cookies made with avocado could be palate-worthy,

I decided to try them! I'm one to try everything at least once.

Source

So I made these chocolate avocado cookies from The Smoothie Lover.

When they came out of the oven, I was thinking,

"Man, these better taste as good as they smell!" Haha.

Well, I ate one a few minutes after they came out of the oven 

and it was pretty good, but not the greatest.

Then I realized the recipe recommended refrigerating the cookies 

before eating them, so I did just that.

I waited, and waited, and waited. 

But boy, was it worth it! The chilled cookies were SO good!

The texture is definitely not the same as your ordinary cookie. 

They are thinner, more dense, and more moist compared to your average cookie,

but the flavor is amazing! I was pretty impressed.

They were chocolatey and riddled with bits of delicious dark chocolate chips.

These cookies inspired me to try my own version of chocolate avocado cookies,

but I wanted to make them a little different, so I added...

Bananas!

Yep, it doesn't get much stranger than a banana-avocado cookie. 

But I was determined to make it work.

I tried it once, and the texture just wasn't quite right. They were super gooey.

The not-so-great kind of gooey.

So I tried again, and my Dark Chocolate Banana-Avocado Cookies were born!

Dark Chocolate Banana Avocado Cookies

Inspired by: The Smoothie Lover and Sprint 2 the Table

Total Time: 20 minutes

Yield: 1 dozen cookies

Nutrition (per cookie):

Calories (81), Fat (3.1g), Carbs (12.2g), Fiber (2.1g), Sugars (6.9g), Protein (2.3g)

High in Vitamin B6 and Fiber

Ingredients:

• 1/4 c. unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or milk of choice)
• 2 medium eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp. raw honey
• 1/4 c. ripe, mashed avocado (about 1/2 a large avocado)
• 1/4 c. very ripe, mashed banana (about 1/2 medium banana)
• 5 Tbsp. whole wheat flour
• 5 Tbsp. dutch-processed cocoa
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 2-3 Tbsp. miniature dark chocolate chips (or any kind of chocolate chip you have on hand!)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or spray lightly with non-stick cooking spray. 
2. In large bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, vanilla, and honey. Add mashed avocado and banana and mix well. 
3. In a small bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir well to combine. Fold in chocolate chips.
4. Spoon dough onto cookie sheet in 1 heaping Tbsp. per cookie. Bake in oven for about 8 minutes or until the cookies appear set and are not "shiny" anymore (see picture below).
5. Let cookies cool on baking sheet for about 15 minutes and then transfer them to cooling rack. If you try to transfer them when the cookies are still really warm, they will fall apart.
6. Place the cookie-filled cooling rack in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes until the cookies are chilled.
7. Enjoy with a tall glass of chilled milk!

Cheers! :)

What surprisingly delicious foods have you tried? 

Flutterings (& Chocolatey Mug Cakes)

It was a lazy Tuesday morning (my only "lazy" morning)
and I laid awake in my bed.

Just laying there.
Breathing in and out, in and out.
Trying to picture that little, growing baby inside me.

I laid my hands on my belly and continued to breath.
In and out, in and out.
And there it was!

I gentle poke from the inside.

I laid perfectly still...Another poke!
Gah, I love this! My favorite part of pregnancy is being able
to feel a baby wriggling and stretching inside me...

Me! Just another human being who happens to be housing
another, growing human being, who will grow up to be a big
girl or boy who can laugh, cry, dance, think, believe, and achieve.

The thought is beautiful and almost unfathomable in some ways.

Hah! I think I can feel my little peanut squirming around as we speak!
It's miraculous.

While pregnancy brings the joys of feeling a human-being inside,
it also brings the feeling of some random cravings...
Which is where the "chocolatey mug cakes" part of my post comes in!

Remember this post from a while back?

Well, I have another chocolatey mug cake recipe to share with you!
Because I want everyone to know the joys of mug cakes. ;)
And so I don't feel alone in my random chocolate cravings

Healthy Chocolatey Mug Cake
Total Time: 5 minutes
Yield: 1 mug cake
Nutrition at a glance (more detailed nutrition at end of post):
Calories (337), Fat (20.4g), Carbs (40.3g), Fiber (7.6g), Sugars (18.6g), Protein (5.9g)

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. whole wheat flour (or white flour)
• 2 Tbsp. dutch processed cocoa (regular cocoa works fine, but dutch is more rich!)
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1-2 Tbsp. organic cane sugar (regular sugar works, or 1 Tbsp. of honey or agave nectar)
• 1 flax egg (1/2 Tbsp. ground flaxseed + 1 Tbsp. water) -- a regular egg, well beaten, also works!
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. dark chocolate almond milk
• 1 Tbsp. applesauce
• 1 Tbsp. melted coconut oil (you could also just use 2 Tbsp. canola oil in place of the 1 Tbsp. applesauce/ 1 Tbsp. coconut oil--I just like to use applesauce for half of it because it's healthier ;) )
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp. Ghirardelli dark chocolate chips--they're the best!

Directions:

1. (If using the flax egg) In a small bowl, prepare the flax egg by combining the flaxseed with water. Let sit for 3-5 minutes until it has a viscous, egg-like texture. 
2. In a large mug, stir together the flour, cocoa, and sugar (if not using agave or honey).
3. Add to the mug the egg (if not using flax egg), almond milk, applesauce, oil, vanilla, and agave or honey (if not using sugar). Mix until well combined.
4. Stir in the chocolate chips. 
5. Microwave somewhere between 50 and 60 seconds. The time really depends on the strength of your microwave. It may take a bit of experimentation to get it just right.
6. Enjoy! And keep a glass of milk nearby. :)  

Note: The flax egg makes the mug cake slightly grainy, which I don't mind because I'm not sensitive to different textures. However, if you are not so much a fan of different textures, I would use a regular egg for a more fluffy texture. :)

                                                                                          

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 1 Serving

Per Serving% Daily Value*

Calories 337

Calories from Fat 184

Total Fat 20.4g31%

Saturated Fat 14.7g74%

Sodium 14mg1%

Carbohydrates 40.3g13%

Dietary Fiber 7.6g30%

Sugars 18.6g

Protein 5.9g

Vitamin A 1% · Vitamin C 15%

Calcium 5% · Iron 29%

*Based on a 2000 calorie diet