Tag Archives: chocolate

Almond Chocolate Chip Cookies

Posted on October 20, 2010 | Leave a comment

I know, I know, the picture is awful. I had to snap a quick pic with my phone while at the dungeons and dragons game before they were all gone. So no spiffy camera action today. My DnD group has an interesting conflict of dietary needs. On one side we have a vegetarian, which to me is easy to cook for. On the other side we have its evil nemesis the atkins dieter. Boo! (hehe) To be honest I don’t pay attention much to carbs so this is a bit of a challenge, to make something not uber in carbs but not filled with meat or sneaky meat additives (jello, you know who you are.)…and most of all something tasty. I like to bake for gaming groups I belong to so this required much thinking. This has been my first success. It’s really just a jazzed up old kraft peanut butter cookie recipe. Both vegetarian and atkinarian (oh yeah, I made up a word, deal) were able to snack on these and live happily ever after while we got smacked around by the stuff a really annoying vampire summoned up. Jerk.

  • 1 cup almond butter
  • 1 cup splenda (or sugar but that changes the carbs and info)
  • 2 tbl mini semi sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 egg
  1. Combine almond butter, splenda and egg until well mixed.
  2. Stir in the chocolate chips.
  3. Form the dough into 26 little balls, flatten with a fork slightly.
  4. Bake at 325F for 15 minutes.

This makes 26 cookies. Each cookie contains 61 calories, 5 grams of fat, and 1.2 grams of fibre. For those curious on those carbs they ended up being 1.5 carbs each. Considering these are a super rich cookie a couple will do you. I love how you don’t have to eat a ton of these to feel like you had dessert. If you want to lower the fat I do the same recipe with light peanut butter and they turn out soooo good. I couldn’t use my light peanut butter for the atkins dieter because for some reason light has more carbs than full fat almond butter…go figure.

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Chocolate Cherry Biscotti

Posted on October 1, 2010 | Leave a comment

This weekend is our wedding anniversary (tomorrow to be exact) and apparently it is going to be absolutely gorgeous out all weekend! So, to celebrate not only our anniversary but the last al fresco brunches of the season I decided to make a biscotti to go with our foamy latte. Biscotti just takes a bit of time and care but is totally worth it. A tasty low calorie and low fat treat where the flavour combinations are endless! Make them ahead and you can seem extra fancy during your coffee break with your gaming group. Good times. We all love our fancy treats, even when we game.

  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 3/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 4 tbl cocoa, unsweetened
  • 1 egg
  • 1/3 cup unpacked brown sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp almond extract
  • 1/3 cup dried cherries or cherry flavoured cranberries
  1. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
  2. Beat the egg, sugar and extracts in a large bowl.
  3. Add the dry mixture to the egg mixture slowly. You may need to get right in there and knead it to get all the flour in.
  4. Fold in the dried cherries.
  5. Form a one inch thick oblong log and place on a baking sheet.
  6. Bake for 25 minutes at 350F. Cool for 10 minutes, slice into 12 pieces.
  7. Place each slice on the sheet cut side down. Bake for 10 minutes, flip, then bake for another 10 minutes. Allow to cool.

Makes 12 servings. Each serving contains 65 calories, .7 gram of fat, and 1.1 gram of fibre. Don’t worry about them looking small in the picture…I took the picture next to my uber cappucino bowl…the one I like to quote ‘So I married an axe murderer’ with…you know….”Excuse me, miss? There seems to be a mistake. I believe I ordered the *large* cappuccino. Hello! Look at the size of this thing.” . Hehe, I’m Canadian and grew up in Ontario. The Mike Myers love runs strong.

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Posted in Breakfast, Craving Buster, Dessert, Snack

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Dark Chocolate “Macadamia Nut” Crispy Bars

Posted on September 21, 2010 | Leave a comment

I can’t believe with all this low calorie and low fat cooking I’ve been doing that I overlooked the humble rice crispy bar. You know that one, most of us made them as kids. So simple to make…yet so plain. They are so low in fat and calories they just make for a natural sweet tooth fix, so let’s liven them up a bit. A few extra touches and you can gourmet up these tasty treats in no time! No, I’m not talking about tossing in some m&ms. Imagine the surprise on your gaming group’s face when you serve up these bad boys…o.k. you can even fluff some flour on your face and act exhausted like the commercial used to if you really want to. I won’t tell.Think I’ll bring these to Dungeons and Dragons tonight…if my husband doesn’t eat them all first.

  • 2 tbl butter, unsalted
  • 1 oz extra dark chocolate
  • 1 (7oz) jar of fluff (marshmallow stuff)
  • 2 tbl unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 tsp macadamia nut extract or sugar free macadamia nut syrup
  • 6 cups puffed rice cereal
  • 2 tbl dark chocolate chips
  • 1 tsp cooking margarine
  1. Spray a 9×13 pan with nonstick.
  2. Melt butter and 1 oz of dark chocolate in a large saucepan over low heat. Once melted add the fluff, cocoa, and 1tsp macadamia nut extract. Stir until smooth.
  3. Remove from heat, stir in cereal until well coated.
  4. Press the mix evenly into the pan.
  5. Combine the chocolate chips, remaining extract, and margarine in a measuring cup. Microwave for 20 seconds. Stir until smooth. Drizzle on top of the cereal mix. Should end up looking something like this:
  6. Pop into the fridge and allow to cool for atleast 30 minutes. Slice into 27 bars (I do nine vertical and three horizontal rows).

I can’t believe how much nummy chocolate flavour dark chocolate gives for so little. This makes 27 servings, each serving contains 54 calories, 1.7 grams of fat, and .3 grams of fibre. Once again we thank that delicious puffed rice cereal for another treat of awesomeness! Who knew getting a quick chocolate fix could be so easy and so not naughty?

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Dark Chocolate Fudgsicles

Posted on August 18, 2010 | Leave a comment

Do you remember having these as a kid? Well, I made them a bit more adult and just a bit richer tasting. Ooooh so tasty. Perfect for this last bit of heat in the summer. Also very good for de-stressing after a bad couple of weeks hehe. Parents are gone, its time to celebrate with a gourmet fudgsicle! Sure you can do these with any chocolate you like but I find dark chocolate to be all the more chocolatey and indulgent…does that make sense?

  • ¼ cup dark chocolate, melted
  • ¼ cup milk (I use skim)
  • 2 large very ripe bananas
  1. Spray popsicle molds with cooking spray.
  2. I melt my dark chocolate in the microwave for 20 seconds or so. Easier than a double boiler anyday.
  3. Blend all the ingredients in a blender until smooth and uniform. If you find it is not coming together. Heat the ingredients together in the microwave for 20 seconds and blend again.
  4. Pour into popsicle molds. Freeze for atleast 4 hours.

Typically makes 4 popsicles, depends on the size of your popsicle mold. Each serving contains 120 calories, 3.6 grams of fat, and 2.2 grams of fibre. Definitely more fibre and less chemicals than your everyday fudgsicle. These are delicious, decadent, and good for you! I keep hearing about how just a bit of dark chocolate acts as an antioxidant, paired with all the vitamins packed in the bananas this is a real winner! A really fun variation to try is mexican chocolate fudgsicle. If you don’t have access to mexican chocolate you can always fake it by adding spices, refer to my mexican hot chocolate brownies for the mix. So good! Enjoy!

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Rollo Oat Cookies

Posted on July 22, 2010 | Leave a comment

I whipped these up the other night for a character creation session we attended. So tasty! Definitely helped me keep my mind as off topic as possible hehe. Part of the fun of character creation is the goofing off in between all the game mechanics stuff. Didn’t finish making the character yet but atleast I got my cookie on! It’s definitely game starting season out here so I expect to making more and more shareable treats.

  • 2 cups quick oats
  • 1 cup brown sugar unpacked
  • 1/4 cup skor bits
  • 1/4 cup mini semi sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 tbl cooking margarine
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 tbl applesauce, unsweetened
  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 1/4 cup skim milk
  1. Combine the oats, baking soda, and flour.
  2. Add the sugar, milk, margarine, vanilla, and applesauce. When moistened add the skor bits and chocolate chips.
  3. Using a teaspoon, measure each cookie and roll them into a ball. Place on the baking sheet and flatten a bit using a spoon or fork.
  4. Bake at 325F for 13-15 minutes. Check the bottom of the cookies to make sure they are done. Just a bit of browning is good for a nice chewy cookie.

Makes 32 cookies. Each cookie is 57 calories, 1 gram of fat and .7 grams fibre. They are definitely durable enough for travel and sharing! They also definitely help when that need for chocolate hits.

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Posted in Comfort Foods, Craving Buster, Dessert, Snack

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Chocolate “ice cream” Cake

Posted on June 30, 2010 | Leave a comment

It’s getting nice and warm out there…a little too warm. A nice frosty treat that’s a little bit different from your same old everyday ice cream is definitely in order. This little faux ice cream cake does just the trick for us. I guess its kind of an ice milk cake really. Didn’t have to bring out our fancy ice cream machine for this one either…although I have plans of bringing it out later for sure. It even looks nice and fancy enough to serve to guests!

  • 3/4 cup skim milk
  • 1 cup 1% cottage cheese
  • 1/3 cup twice the fruit spread or other low calorie jam, seedless is best
  • 1 pkg fat free chocolate fudge pudding mix
  • 2 cups fat free cool whip, thawed
  • .5 oz extra dark chocolate
  1. Blend milk, cottage cheese and fruit spread in a blender until smooth.
  2. Add pudding mix and blend until smooth again.
  3. Pour into a bowl, gently stir in the cool whip.
  4. Pour into a small cheesecake pan.
  5. Grate the chocolate and sprinkle to cover the top of the cake.
  6. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for 6 hours or overnight.
  7. To serve just cut carefully with a warm knife and serve cold. We don’t wait to thaw.

Serves eight. Each serving contains 88 calories, 1 gram of fat, and .1 gram of fiber. I love how the extra dark chocolate doesn’t get waxy when frozen like most milk chocolate does. It just becomes melt in your mouth goodness! Enjoy! Sometimes its nice to seperate this out into single servings to pull out when those chocolate cravings hit.

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Mexican Chocolate Cupcake Brownies

Posted on June 10, 2010 | Leave a comment

Making a healthy brownie is easy, making it with a bit more kick is just more fun! Why have a plain boring brownie when you can…dare I say it? Kick it up a notch? *runs from the lawyers* hehehe. It’s kind of like a grown up brownie. These don’t take long at all to make and can help fight that chocolate craving. My husband also discovered that by heating them up in the microwave and drizzling a bit of low calorie chocolate syrup on them you can have yourself a mexican chocolate molten cake with just a fraction of the calories and fat. Yes…we have done that version a lot. We even topped it with a bit of vanilla frozen yogurt. That was a party in my mouth that everyone was invited to. That doesn’t sound right…why don’t I just get on with the tasty recipe talk then, good?

  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 1 1/2 tbl unpacked brown sugar
  • 3 tbl unsweetened mexican cocoa (If you aren’t lucky enough to find this go with: 2 1/2 tbl unsweetened cocoa, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp dried red pepper flakes)
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 1/2 tsp cooking margarine
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • pinch of salt
  1. Combine the flour, brown sugar, mexican cocoa, baking soda and salt in a bowl. In a second bowl combine the water, applesauce, vinegar, margarine, and vanilla. Pour the wet mix into the dry and stir until the batter is smooth.
  2. Fill each cup in a 12 count muffin tin about half full. Bake at 350F  for 18-20 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and either serve or allow to cool on a rack. Most likely you will opt for serving because they just taste too good to resist!

Serves 12. Each serving contains 41 calories, .5 grams of fat, and .7 grams of fiber. Now how awesome is that? A nice grown up brownie and again its less calories and fat than those prepackaged things. Total win. Why not celebrate by having a second one? Why, I think I shall.

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Calorie Wise Chocolate Muffin

Posted on March 11, 2010 | Leave a comment

Craving something fudgie but none pudgie? I know I do…and yes I am aware that my corny-ness factor is at a 10 right about now. I blame the tasty muffin I just had…is it really a muffin though? I’d say its almost on the level of a cupcake. I can’t get over how tasty and low calorie these bad boys are. Hehe I even got the fact that pumpkin is in these muffins past my anti-gourd eating husband. He has eaten a bunch of these and still not guessed the secret.

The kicker is that these muffins also help you get your veggies in…all while enjoying the fudgy goodness! Alright, alright. I’ll spill the recipe already and quit raving.

  • Duncan Hines devil’s food cake mix package
  • 1 can 15 oz pure pumpkin (not the pie filling, just pure, unadulterated, pumpkin)
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 tbl mini chocolate chips
  1. Combine the ingredients as if it were a regular muffin batter. Don’t over mix, just stir till moistened.
  2. Line your muffin tin with paper cups. Fill each cup to almost the brim.
  3. Bake at 350F for 30-40 minutes

This recipe makes 15 muffins for me at 153 calories each. The pumpkin makes it so smooth and fudgie and you can’t even taste it! This recipe works great with all sorts of duncan hines mixes, I find that brand works out best done this way. My other favorite is the spice cake muffin with raisins. Try them out, experiment with the combinations, and enjoy the secret of knowing you are getting a bit of veg and busting a craving all at the same time! I know I do!

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Posted in Breakfast, Craving Buster, Dessert

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Chocolate Almond Crepe

Posted on February 14, 2010 | Leave a comment

Mmmmm, crepes for breakfast. My grandmother used to make crepes for me. I would drop some jam in them, roll them up, and eat them with my hands. I know, I’m such a savage! I have never had much skill in getting that crepe batter to spread properly. Lo! Then I married a man who can! No, no…I didn’t just marry him for crepe making ability. It’s definitely a big winner though. I did marry a man who is a foodie too though…and simple jam just won’t do all the time. The results can be a lot of fun. Expect to see a good deal of crepes here. Especially since my husband has found a low fat and low calorie batter he likes, the secret? Egg whites…no yolks in this batter and he cut down the flour needed. I can’t even tell they are missing! Can you?

They are stuffed with a light chocolate mousse, just a mix from Dr. Oetker that we added sugarfree almond rocca torani syrup to. Then topped with a dollop of fat free cool whip and slices of lightly toasted slivered almonds. Each one of these fluffy delights was only 102 calories. So simple to make, so pretty and tasty! Total for the breakfast before you is 306 calories. Can I get a wahoo? It certainly eats the heart out of those little 100 calorie snackie cake things I’ve seen in the supermarkets. At the end of breakfast I was one full girl! I actually found this carried me right into lunch, no need for a morning snack. Breakfast definitely was the most important meal that day!

And really, who doesn’t love the idea of chocolate for breakfast?

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