Creamy 'Chocolate' Pie

Ingredients
CRUST
1 cup coconut or walnuts, ground into flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
2-3 TBSP tahini or any other nut butter
1/2 cup water
FILLING
3/4 cup raw cashews
1/4 cup coconut
3 cups grape juice
1/4 cup + 2 TBSP pitted dates
6 TBSP corn starch
4-5 TBSP carob powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
vanilla to taste
hazelnuts, for garnish
coconut, for garnish (optional)
Description There are pies, but there is the luscious ‘chocolate’ pie. A creamy carob custard bedded on a flaky crust.
Instructions 1. Grind coconut with flour, salt and cinnamon in blender or food processor until fine.
2. Pour into bowl kneed in tahini add add liquid and mix.
3. Roll out with rolling pin between two pieces of plastic wrap (wet surface of table first). Remove top plastic. Oil your pie pan. Flip the dough into the pie pan and press it carefully into the bottom of the pan. Remove the other piece of plastic. Bake at 170F for 25 minutes or until lightly brown.
4. For FILLING: Blend all ingredients (except coconut) on high until creamy. Empty into sauce pan and cook over medium high heat stirring constantly until thick, Pour into baked pie shell. Cover top with plastic to prevent a hard film from forming, then chill. After chilling, may top with nuts, toasted coconut or coconut you can also dust with carob powder.

Like-Chocolate Truffles

Ingredients
1 cup pitted prunes
1/2 cup pitted dates
2 tbsp carob powder
6 tbsp almond butter
4 tbsp honey
2 tbsp carob powder, to powder with
Description The ingredients are nutrition-packed rather than empty-calorie packed. These balls really tastes like a rich chocolate truffle but with no butter, cream, cocoa or corn syrup.
Instructions 1. Place 2T carob powder in a shallow bowl and set aside.
2. Combine prunes and dates in a food processor and process until finely chopped. Add almond butter, honey, and carob powder. Transfer to a bowl.
3. Scoop up about a tsp of fruit mixture and roll between the palms of your hand to form a small ball. Roll each ball in carob powder. Refrigerate in sealed container.

Note Makes 20 quick-to-disappear truffles.

Chocolate Mint Cookies

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 large eggs
• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• green mint wafers (or mix peppermint chocolate as directed below)

Directions

In a large saucepan over low heat, cook butter, sugar and water until butter is melted. Add chocolate chips and stir until partially melted. Remove from heat and continue to stir until chocolate is completely melted. Pour into a large mixer bowl and let stand 10 minutes to cool. Mix at high speed and beat in eggs one at a time. Reduce speed to low and add dry ingredients. Mix until just blended. Cover dough tightly with plastic wrap and chill for at least one hour until dough is easy to handle.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets with foil. Roll teaspoonfuls of dough onto cookie sheets 2 inches apart. Bake 12-13 minutes and NO longer. Cookies should come out of the oven looking slightly underdone. They will crisp when cool.

Immediately after taking the cookies out of the oven, place one mint wafer on top of each cookie. Allow mints to soften; then swirl to cover cookie. Peppermint chocolate can be placed on top of cookies instead of wafers. See note below. Sprinkles can be added at this point if desired.

Making Peppermint Chocolate

You will need 1 cup white chocolate and peppermint extract to make this. Melt the white chocolate in a microwave safe bowl by microwaving for 30 secs and then stirring. Repeat until chocolate is partially melted. Remove from microwave and continue stirring until chocolate is completely melted. At this point add 2-4 drops of peppermint extract and food coloring if desired.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup butter
• 1 large egg
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• if desired, 1 cup chopped pecans

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix sugar, brown sugar, butter and egg in a large bowl by hand. Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt. The dough will be very stiff. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light brown. The centers will be soft. Let cool for one minute then remove from cookie sheet and place on wire rack to finish cooling.

Chocolate Drop Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate pieces (2oz)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup finely chopped pecans

Directions

Prepare you oven for baking by preheating to 350 degrees. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. In a separate microwaveable bowl, combine chocolate and butter. Melt the chocolate without burning by microwaving for 1 minute then stirring vigorously. Microwave for 20 seconds and stir again. Continue heating and stirring until the chocolate and butter are completely melted.

Add brown sugar and egg to the chocolate. Add half of your dry ingredients to chocolate mixture and stir until completely combined. Stir in milk and the remainder of the dry ingredients. Fold in chopped pecans with a spoon.

Grease a shiny cookie sheet. Using a 1/2 teaspoon as a measure, drop small amounts of dough onto cookie sheet.

Bake for approximately 10 minutes. These cookies are especially good if frosted with chocolate icing while cookies are still hot.

These drop cookies can also be baked as bar cookies quite easily. Spread the dough in a greased pan until dough is approximately 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Bake for about 20 minutes or until done. Cut into bars when cool.

Store both drop cookies and bar cookies in an airtight container. If you choose to frost the cookies, place sheets of wax paper between the layers of cookies to keep them from sticking together during storage.