Gluten Free Chocolate Bar

Wax Orchards - Choc Bar - Plated

I enjoy finding healthier ingredients to cook with and sharing those products with you.  Anytime we can reduce sugar, the happier our bodies are.  Wax Orchards is a company out of  the beautiful state of Washington and they have found a way to cook down three fruits (pears, pineapple and peaches) to a honey consistency.  Their products are rock stars.

Wax Orchards - Products

They use the Fruit Sweet product to make other products like these amazing fudge products.  

Now back to the recipe –  Hmm?   What to do?…What to do?  My soon-to-be daughter-in-law passed on a gluten free recipe; and I modified it to utilize the products.  It took me a couple of tries to get it where I wanted but it has been triple family-approved by my husband, daughter and 2-1/2 year-old grandson and that’s enough for me.

Gluten Free Chocolate Bars
Yields 30
With the exception of the chocolate, this treat is sweetened with fruit juice.
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Cook Time
40 min
Cook Time
40 min
Ingredients
  1. 2 (15 oz) can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
  2. 1 cup peanut, almond, or your favorite nut butter (no sugar added)
  3. 1/2 cup Wax Orchards Fruit Sweet
  4. 1/2 cup Wax Orchards Classic Fudge or Peppermint Fudge
  5. 3 cage-free eggs
  6. 4 tsp of pure vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean
  7. 1 tsp salt
  8. 1/2 tsp baking powder
  9. 1/2 tsp baking soda
  10. 3/4 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
  11. Sea salt for sprinkling
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. Coat a 9 x 12 pan with nonstick cooking spray.
  3. Rinse and drain garbanzo beans.
  4. If using a vanilla bean, slice down the center and remove the paste by scraping a spoon down the length of the bean. Set aside.
  5. Place garbanzo beans into a food processor and pulse 7-10 times, scraping occasionally until they start to break down.
  6. Add all other ingredients except the chocolate chips and blend until smooth.
  7. Add in half of the chocolate chips and pulse until chocolate is your desired consistency.
  8. Pour and smooth batter into prepared pan.
  9. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips on top of batter.
  10. Place in oven for approximately 35-40 minutes, depending on how your oven cooks. A toothpick should come out clean.
  11. Take out of oven. At this point you can leave the chocolate chips as is or using a small flat spatial or butter knife spread the hot chocolate on top (acts almost like a frosting).
  12. Now is the hard part - you have to let this cool completely. It's going to be hard because the smell says Eat me Now.
  13. Cut into squares - these freeze well.
Adapted from The Comfort of Cooking
Deliciously Inspired http://www.deliciouslyinspired.com/
Wax Orchard - Choc Bar - Ingredients
Gather the ingredients

Wax Orchard - Choc Bar - baked
This is the hard part – letting it cool completely before cutting into bars

These are delicious as is but here are a few more ideas on how to plate them:
Wax Orchards - Choc Bar - Plated IC and Strawberries
Fresh Strawberries and an Ice Cream made entirely with frozen bananas in a food processor

Wax Orchards - Choc Bar - Plated with Banana IC and Coconut Cream
Banana Ice Cream and Coconut Cream

 

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Hummus

Hummus is readily available in stores and is wonderful to serve with pita bread and raw vegetables.  If you’ve never tried to make hummus, it isn’t hard, especially this recipe.  It can be made with simple ingredients that are easy to have on hand in your pantry.  

Hummus - Completed

Hummus
A creamy spread that can be used with pita bread, fresh veggies and even on pizza.
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Prep Time
10 min
Prep Time
10 min
Ingredients
  1. 1 (15 oz.) can of garbanzo beans, drained. Retain liquid.
  2. 1/4 cup chopped sweet onion or 1 tsp onion powder
  3. 3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed or 1 tsp garlic powder
  4. 1 Tbsp. sesame oil
  5. 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  6. 1 lime, juiced
  7. 1/2 tsp. cumin
  8. 1/4 tsp. salt (more or less to taste)
Instructions
  1. Drain garbanzo beans. Retain liquid.
  2. Place garbanzo beans and 2 Tbsp of garbanzo bean liquid in food processor for 1 minute.
  3. Add remaining ingredients plus 1Tbsp of garbanzo bean liquid. More liquid can be added for a thinner hummus.
  4. Place in a serving bowl. If desired take a spoon and create a small hole. Fill with olive oil and a few kalamata olives.
  5. Refrigerate.
Notes
  1. Tahini is normally used in hummus recipes. I've replaced that taste with sesame oil because I always have that in my cupboard.
  2. The amount of garlic can be adjusted to taste.
Deliciously Inspired http://www.deliciouslyinspired.com/
Ingredients

Hummus - Ingredients

Invest in the right kitchen tools – There are more expensive tools to squeeze a lemon or lime but this wooden juicer  is my tool of choice.  Tip:  Roll lime on the counter a few times before cutting in half  to release the juice.  I love my Cuisinart Food Processor.  It’s an old friend and is my go to tool when making hummus, almond joy ball or pizza dough.  I use this salt in all my cooking – just because a product tastes salty doesn’t mean it’s giving your body the best nutrients.  If you’ve never bought this type of salt before it will seem pricy but there is a difference.

Hummus - Lime

Prepare an assortment of veggies and enjoy the hummus.

Hummus - Plated

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