Olive Oil Brownies

If you like over-the-top chocolate flavor, there’s a good chance that you’ll like these brownies. They contain olive oil instead of butter, which makes them dairy free, and also more heart-healthy. And they’re also gluten-free because they use almond flour and brown rice flour. And they are MORE, not less, delicious because of all these things (at least if you ask me :). Nobody seems disappointed when I make these brownies.

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Olive Oil Brownies
Adapted from the Insanely Good Chocolate Brownies in The Longevity Kitchen by Rebecca Katz

Notes: Misleading advertising, but this recipe as written makes an 8x8 inch pan of brownies. The 9x13 inch pan of brownies pictured above is made from a double batch of the recipe below. Bob’s Red Mill makes good almond flour and brown rice flour.

1/3 cup super fine almond flour
1/3 cup brown rice flour
3 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa pawder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt

4 oz dark chocolate chips (I use 70%)
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing pan

2 large eggs
1/3 cup coconut sugar
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 - 2 oz dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line your baking pan with foil. If you’re making a single batch, use an 8x8 inch baking pan. If you’re making a double batch, use a 9x13 inch pan. Brush the foil with olive oil.

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a mixing bowl, whisk together and set aside.

Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave in a glass or ceramic bowl, stirring once or twice as you go. Once melted, gently whisk in the olive oil and set aside.

Break the eggs into a new mixing bowl and whisk until frothy. Add the coconut sugar, maple syrup and vanilla and whisk again. Add the melted chocolate / olive oil mixture and whisk until smooth and glossy. Add the flour mixture and whisk more time.

Pour the brownie batter into your prepared pan and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Let the brownies cool before cutting. And enjoy!

Peanut Butter Energy Balls with Buckwheat, Chia Seeds & Dark Chocolate

Snacks have a high bar as far as I’m concerned. They need to offer some healthy fat, fiber and protein, and they need to be compact, easy to eat, low in sugar, and satiating. A successful snack keeps you powered for a few hours without heading for the cupboard where all the chips and popcorn are stored before dinner. Snacks are also where cravings often show up, which is why chocolate and peanut butter are used here.

This recipe is written for natural peanut butter, ie. peanut butter that contains only roasted peanuts and sea salt. Please don’t buy the other stuff - it’s full of refined sugar and hydrogenated oils. If you’re craving more sweetness, you can always add a bit more honey.

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Peanut Butter Energy Balls with Buckwheat & Dark Chocolate

7/8 cup toasted buckwheat groats
2 tablespoons chia seeds (whole)
1 cup natural salted peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)
3 tablespoons raw honey
Pinch of fine grain sea salt
3 oz dark chocolate, chopped

Combine the buckwheat, chia seeds, peanut butter, honey and sea salt and stir well. Incorporate the chopped chocolate until it’s well distributed. To form each ball, press the mixture together with your hands to firm it up, then gently roll into a ball. These store in the fridge for quite some time, but they won’t very long at all.

Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Butter

Chocolate and hazelnuts are a classic combination, and for good reason. This spread is my homemade version of the commercial varieties that are available in stores. If you have a food processor, this is very easy to make. We often eat it on bananas, as well as straight from the spoon when an afternoon pick-me-up is needed. Made from 100% natural ingredients, it satisfies that chocolate craving and provides some good health benefits to boot!

Cacao vs Cocoa

I use a lot of cacao powder in my kitchen for this spread, for chocolate cherry chia pudding, for chocolate cake on birthdays, for port balls, for hot chocolate mix, and even for chili. You’ve probably noticed that sometimes it’s called “cacao” and sometimes it’s called “cocoa',” and while there isn’t one hard-and-fast rule for when each word is used in food marketing, generally speaking “cacao” refers to raw beans / powder while “cocoa” refers to roasted beans / powder. Raw cacao is less processed and full of antioxidants. When cacao beans are roasted and further processed, those benefits are reduced. If you'd like to read more, there are good overviews here and here.

Long story short, if cacao / cocoa is frequently used in your kitchen, it’s worth finding a high quality one that’s tasty, raw, organic and fair trade. I use this brand and I store a big bag of it in the bottom of the fridge and refill a small glass jar that lives in the cupboard for everyday use.

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Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Butter

Note: The only variable here is the sugar content. I generally make this with 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons of coconut sugar. The kids like it a bit sweeter so sometimes I bump it up to 3/4 cup. Either way, this is a dark chocolate spread. Adjust the sugar content to what works for you.

Special equipment:
Food processor

2 cups raw hazelnuts
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cacao powder (see headnote for more on cacao and cocoa)
1/4 cup virgin coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of sea salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees, place the raw hazelnuts on a rimmed baking sheet and roast for 15-20 minutes, depending on your oven. As soon as the nuts smell toasty and fragrant, it’s time to pull them out. Let the hazelnuts cool on the baking sheet.

Place all the ingredients into your food processor and blend. Adjust with more coconut sugar if you’d like things a bit sweeter.

This will store in a 16 oz jar in the fridge for a couple weeks. Note that, similar to other nut butters, it will firm up in the refrigerator.

Makes 2 cups