In an attempt to get my unhealthy eating habits under control I decided to make better snacking habits. That is, all the Girl Scout Cookies were finally gone so I wanted to switch to something healthier.
But I love a cookie after dinner! I just do. And chocolate chip are just a classic winner for me.
I had decided to make these 'Protein Balls' that I had gotten in one of my many emails from blogs I subscribe to.
Eating Bird Food has this tasty snack with variations. I also had a jar of tahini in the cupboard that I needed to use before it expired!
But no chocolate chips! Because I am trying really hard to limit my processed sugars.
No sweat! I have cacao powder, coconut oil...and that's all you REALLY need, but let's face it, you can't have bittersweet chocolate chips if you're trying to satisfy a sweet tooth!
I added honey, though I think next time I would plan better and go out for some quality syrup. I don't use much, though. The honey just didn't seem to incorporate as I'd hoped and made the bottom of the chocolate a bit gooey.
I mixed up equal parts coconut oil (melted) and cacao powder. A splash (1/8 tsp, maybe?) of vanilla and 1/2 Tablespoon of honey. I added a bit of pink sea salt because I'm a sweet and salty gal, but that's up to you.
Poured the lot of it in a parchment lined dish and stuck it in the freezer while I made the 'cookies'.
Once the cookies were ready I cut up the chocolate into chunks. Okay, not technically 'chips' but they taste the same.
Since my chocolates were homemade, I didn't think they would hold up with all the mixing that is required with the very dense cookie mixture. So instead I simply formed the balls and them squished them into more of a thumbprint cookie and stuck the chocolates on top.
Same idea and taste. And since they are small snacks, you can definitely get chocolate in each bite!
They are no-bake, so they're pretty much ready to eat. It's a very crumbly dough though so I stuck mine in the freezer to set and am keeping them in jars in my fridge.
I will be trying these again, maybe the peanut butter ones next time. While I am going a little less carb-y these days, I'm a sucker for oatmeal and honestly my main concern to start is the processed sugars. These will be a good transitioning treat.