Chocolate Cherry No-Bake Cookies

Thanks in large part to a week’s worth of experimentation with Bare Chocolates, I am now a firm believer in the revelation that is the no-bake treat.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a traditional baked good (blueberry muffins will always have a special place in my heart) but for the time being I’m favouring the freezer over the oven. Here’s why:

It’s practically fool proof. Throw a bunch of delicious ingredients together, add a nut butter/pureed fruit to bind, adjust flavourings, dollop onto parchment paper and freeze.

What you see is what you get. The beauty of no-bake batter is that it will taste identical to the final product so it’s much easier to tweak to your tastes.

No prior baking experience needed. Baking, while a joy for some, is frighteningly intimidating for most. The correct ratios of baking powder to baking soda, the fear of over mixing your batter, the worries about the oven not being hot enough/being too hot – it’s all very stressful. Luckily, the only skill you need to master to the no-bake treat is the one where you open and close your freezer door. Pretty simple, no?

The only down-side is having to wait for your goodies to freeze before you can enjoy them. Hence, today is the day that I add “blast freezer” (a la Food Network’s Chopped) to the never-ending bucket list of appliances for my dream kitchen.

In any case, onwards to todays “recipe”. Having spent the better part of Ramadan eschewing processed foods and eating out a lot less, my body has been feeling better for it.

I knew I wanted to create something healthy, yet still indulgent enough to feel like dessert. Armed with a box full of Bare Chocolates and some fresh cherries, I set about making the perfect guiltless summer treat.

Print

Chocolate Cherry No-Bake Cookies

The ultimate summer treat - super easy no-bake chocolate and cherry infused cookies that come together in minutes.

Course Dessert, Snacks

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes

Servings 7 cookies

Author Nada E.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup gluten-free rolled oats
• 1 tbsp raw cacao powder
• 1/2 tbsp chia seeds
• Small pinch of sea salt
• 1/4 cup or 50 grams of organic dark chocolate melted
• 1 tbsp almond butter
• 1/2 a banana mashed
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup of fresh cherries OR 2 tbsp dried cherries roughly chopped

Instructions

• Melt on the stove using a steam bath. Heat a small pot with several inches of water then place a tightly fitting heat-proof bowl on top and add chocolate. Stir until fully melted on medium heat, making sure that the surface of the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl.
• Combine dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl before adding in wet ingredients, then mix until well combined.
• Line a tupperware box with parchment paper and dollop the batter in heaping tablespoon increments until you have seven cookies.
• Put in the freezer and allow to set for at least 1 hour before serving.

I have always loved the chocolate-cherry combination, and these cookies were no exception.

Fresh out of the freezer they are frosty yet chewy, fruit-infused and sinfully chocolatey. Well, I should say sinlessly actually. Have I mentioned they’re just 96 calories each?

Some notes:

• These are freezer cookies, so you will need to store them (surprise, surprise) in the freezer.
• I preferred using fresh cherries, but the flavour is admittedly far less pronounced, so feel free to opt for dried cherries instead.
• Customise to your heart’s content! Use peanut butter instead of almond butter, or sunflower seed butter if you can’t handle nuts. If you’re not a fan of cherries, raisins or even cacao nibs would be great in these.

Whatever you do, make these soon.

Until next time, dear readers!