I couldn’t be more pleased with how these turned out.  Folks at the pot-luck gave them a big thumbs up and of course, the plate was empty when the pot-luck was over.   Soft, sweet, chocolaty, just like how a brownie should be, but with the frosting on top, these will take you right into comfort food bliss!

For the brownie bites
3 cups Pecans
2 Tbsp Almond Butter
1/4 cups Agave
1/4 cups Cacao
Pinch of quality salt

For the frosting
2 cups Cashews
2 tsp Vanilla
1/4 cups Agave
1/2 cups Water

Equipment needs
Food processor
Pastry bag, cone, press, etc.
Optional: high speed blender

The How-To-Do-It
Let’s start with the frosting as it needs a few minutes in the fridge to set.  Dump your cashews into the food processor/blender and process into a fine flour.  Add in the vanilla, agave and half of the water into your processor/blender.  Because this frosting is going to be thick, it can be hard to get it all mixed up by the blades.  Add in more and more water (no more than the 1/2 cup) to thin it out and pause every few seconds to mix things up by hand.  Be careful of the temperature of the frosting, it will heat up fast.  Once you have the frosting mixed up, fill up your pastry bag, cone, press, etc. and set it in the fridge to firm up.

Now for the brownie goodness.  Dump the pecans into your food processor and process them down to a fine flour, then until it stops moving — some of the pecans will break down and release their oil and they will start to clump and turn into pecan butter (yum!).  Give it a good stir by hand and then toss in the rest of the ingredients.  Continue to process until the mixture forms a solid ball.  Transfer to a bowl and give the dough a good stir by hand to make sure it is mixed well.

Grab a small amount of the dough and roll into a ball with your hands.  Press the ball down with your thumb to flatten it out and make an impression in the middle.  Place the flattened brownie bite onto a plate.  Prepare the rest of the dough in this fashion.   Next, take your frosting out of the fridge and have at it!  Fill up the indentation of each brownie bite with ‘a healthy amount’ of the frosting.

These can be eaten right away, though the brownie dough is soft at room temperature.  Put into the fridge for thirty minutes to firm up, or if you will not be serving them right away.

Take it further
Well, you could use this brownie dough to make a pan of brownies, but then I wouldn’t be able to post a brownie recipe for you in the near future!  So, don’t do it!

Yield
About 24 brownie bites

When I thought about what to use as a base, quinoa came to mind, mainly because we have been eating a lot of it lately, but also for its soft, subtle flavor. Did you know that quinoa is a complete protein containing all nine essential amino acids, especially high in lysine which is great for working out (tissue growth and repair). Quinoa is also very high in manganese and is a good source of magnesium, iron, copper and phosphorous — amazing!

“Where is the oatmeal?” you might ask.  Well, really raw oatmeal is not easy to find — in most cases it has to be ordered on the internet.  Even though these cookies don’t have and oats, the flavor and texture are really what make them a comfort food winner.  Enjoy and let me know what you think!

For the cookies
1 cups quinoa, rinsed well and soaked over night
1c pecans
1/2c agave
1c raisins
2tsp cinnamon
1 pinch salt

Equipment needs
Food processor
Dehydrator

The How-To-Do-It
In the food processor, process the pecans down to a fine meal. Add the salt and cinnamon. Next, add your damp quinoa into the processor and continue to process for about thirty seconds. Now pour in the agave and continue to process for about a minute, , allowing some of the grain to break down and blend into the dough.

Place the dough into a large bowl and hand mix in the raisins.

Using two spoons, place small dollups of the dough onto your Dehydrator sheets — I used the Teflex sheets that came with my dehydrator, not the fine mesh (yet). You don’t have to space them out too much, as these raw food treats won’t be spreading out when they ‘bake.’ Flatten the cookies slightly, so that they are all the same height.

Dehydrate at 105 degrees for about 4 hours. The outside of the cookies should no longer be tacky. At this point, you can remove them from the sheets and place them onto the mesh so they can ‘bake’ faster. Continue in the dehydrator for about 5 more hours. Watch them carefully as every house and dehydrator is different.

Notes
It is very important to rinse your quinoa well before soaking, otherwise a starchy flavor will be left behind.

Yield
About 24 one inch cookies.

Enter the world of the Chocolate Dream. Rich, sweet, creamy — this drink will satisfy any of your chocolate cravings, no matter how much of a chocoholic you may be. And what could be better than that? Well, it only takes a few minutes to make.

For the drink
1 Young coconut
1 to 2 tbsp raw cacao powder, to taste
1 to 2 ice cubes

Equipment needs
High speed blender

The How-To-Do-It
Crack open that young coconut and pour all the water into your blender. You might want to strain the water if your cracking is sloppy — no one likes to drink splinters!

Next, scrape out the meat of the coconut and clean off any of the hard wood bits that might have come off with the scrapings. I like to rinse the coconut meat under water to be sure I have removed all the little wood bits.

Toss all of the cleaned meat into the blender, along with the raw cacao powder and ice cubes, and blend on high-speed until all of the meat is broken down into heavenly bliss. Pour into your favorite glass and enjoy!

Take it further
Instead of using chocolate and ice cubes, this drink is also super yummy with frozen berries — toss in three or four strawberries and watch in amazement at the magic that comes out of your blender!

Notes
The ice cubes really help to cool down the drink and enhance the smoothness; more importantly, they help to keep the temperature of the drink down while you blend it up! I find that I blend mine on high-speed for about 30 to 45 seconds. This really makes it creamy.

For the dark chocolate
1 cup raw cocoa butter
1 cup raw cocoa powder
1/4 cup agave
1 tsp vanilla

Equipment needs
Dehydrator
Food processor
Chocolate truffle molds

The How-To-Do-It

Start by putting your raw cocoa butter into the dehydrator. It melts at 90 degrees, so setting to 100 degrees will get you there quicker.

Next, process the cashews and pecans together in the food processor until you have a fine meal. Continue to process while adding in the agave and next thing you know, you have a ball of heavenly nougat. Pinch off small pieces of nougat and form into tiny balls to become the center of your truffles. Put these into the freezer to firm up and chill out.

Now that your raw cocoa butter is melted, slowly stir all of the chocolate ingredients together by hand.

Next, fill your chocolate truffle molds about one-third. Place into the freezer to firmly set. Now place your frozen nougat balls into the center of each mold. Slowly pour the chocolate into the molds so that you surround the nougat and top off each mold. Be sure to tap your mold gently to release any air bubbles that might have formed. Place the molds back into the freezer to set.

After about 10 minutes, the truffles should have pulled away from the sides of the molds. If your molds are clear, the tops of the truffles will appear hazy. Turn the molds over and give them a shake and a twist to knock the chocolates out. I suggest doing this over a towel, so the truffles have a soft place to land.

Notes

The truffle molds can be found at any craft mega-store for about $1.99 each; they are plastic and have about 12 pieces per mold. Be careful! Raw chocolate is known to get you high and keep you up all night!

Yield
About 3 dozen truffles, depending on your molds.