We are getting beautiful warm weather on the east coast and it is now September. Which is totally wrong and unjust… So unfair autumn is now so close!
This stunning weather means it has been too warm to bake which is why I made these no-bake chocolate cookies which are a healthy take on one of my favourite childhood treats. The recipe is from the cookbook One Smart Cookie by Julie Van Rosendaal. I am getting a lot of use out of that cookbook already!
You begin with finely chopping 1/4 cup of dried fruit (I used cranberries) and 1/4 cup finely chopped toasted nuts (I used almonds).
In a medium sauce pan add 1 cup of sugar, 2 tbsp of butter and 1/3 cup of milk. Bring to a full boil slowly over medium heat.
Reduce heat and boil for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add the dried fruit, nuts, 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1/3 cup cocoa and 1 cup of quick oats.
Stir to combine and chill in the fridge for around an hour.
Shape dough into 1″ balls and roll around in some icing sugar. Chill until firm.
I absolutely adore that these turn into a kind of low fat truffle, filled with lots of goodies. Each cookies has only 3.3 grams of fat and I would say are best eaten while quite chilly. That way they have more structure to them. I love that the recipe only makes 15 cookies, that is perfect for us. I did not have to divide the recipe in half.
Due to the warmth, these went a little fuzzy and the icing sugar got quite moist almost immediately after I took them out of the fridge though so you may want to re-roll them in icing sugar before serving them.
I did have one major issue but it had nothing to do with the recipe. Mike and Jen, if you noticed a slight “floral” flavour when you tried these I apologize. It looks like this wooden bowl’s previous owner cleaned it with a strongly scented soap that made its way into my cookies!!! My apologies and that bowl is going into the bag of donations and back to the thrift store I bought it from. Blech!
Despite this technical difficult with my foodie prop, I loved these cookies and tried to ignore the ghastly floral aftertaste! I can feel less guilty about one of my favourite treats. Reg was not as huge a fan as I was, probably because they were so soft (he did not notice the floral flavour like I did which I find shocking). Next time I will only rough chop the nuts and fruit to add more structure and texture.
I personally give these cookies four and a half out of five wooden spoons!
Have a tasty long weekend everyone! And those in Toronto going to the CNE this weekend, eat some perogies for me at the food court! Oh how I miss those perogies…
The cookies sound so simple yet so awesome. Too bad about the soapy bowl though, some plastics tend to hold odd flavours too, I am really sensitive to residue and scents, I can detect them a mile away.
I wish I could send you some perogies from the CNE Suzie, I will definitley think of you as I add that extra dollop of sour cream 🙂
i have a dairy sensitivity, im wondering if i can use oil and coconut/rice milk in the boiling liquid stage? im terrible when it comes to understanding exactly what an ingredient does in a recipe (makes it rise, makes it fluffy, makes it crispy) so i dont know if this would totally ruin the ability of these cookies to turn out as edible cookies.
I bought a beautiful butter dish at a thrift store that just had a horrible stink (once I got it home I noticed, of course)… on the flip side, the cookies look delicious!
Ava, yes, I never use plastic, it’s too absorbent! I am shocked I didn’t notice it right away and it just seems to be getting stronger, so weird! Oh yes, enjoy those perogies for me. Man, so delicious.
Amw, You can absolutely try to do taht with the coconut and rice milk. Coconut is much softer than butter though so I would probably just add 1 tbsp and see what the consistency is like. If it’s too hard then add a little more. Thankfully because you’re just melting it together, it’s less complicated than baking. I hope it works!
Mmm… Oh isn’t that the worst? If it’s glass, you could always put it in a bag with baking soda for a few days. Baking soda can negatively impact wood which is why I haven’t done that. People on FB suggested using oil but I find that creates a sealant and if there are chemicals in there…???!!!
Thanks for another great recipe!!!
I’m a fan of Julie Van Rosendaal – I love this book but totally swoon over her “Grazing” book!!! So delish!
I too loved those cookies (or chocolate snowballs as we called them) that Mom used to make. I love this new recipe and am excited to try it out. Thanks Suzie.
Oh my gosh, yum! 😀
Yum! These sound fantastic. I’ll have to give ’em a whirl soon 🙂