Commercials. Commercials have a way of making me feel really badly about the way I need to eat in order to stay healthy. I cannot go through the drive-through and grab a quick sandwich. I cannot pop in for a “Hot and Ready” pizza on my way home. I can’t get a yummy frappuccino or iced latte to cool me off on a hot day. Forget about thirty-one flavours at Baskin Robbins, or a DQ cake for “every special occasion”. An “all you can eat” buffet is more like an “all you can’t eat” buffet.
But lately, the one that has been mocking me most effectively is the commercial that keeps telling me how fantastic peanut butter and chocolate are together. And how they are EVEN BETTER cold. Like I don’t know that. Like I don’t remember what Reese’s peanut butter cups taste like. Like I haven’t considered eating one and suffering the consequences, because for that flavour, it just might be worth it.
However, the knowledge of how awful I would feel if I did it, and the fact that I would be deliberately bringing on symptoms eerily close to the stomach flu, on purpose, is enough to stop me. Given this, I needed to come up with some alternative that would be close in flavour and included ingredients I had in the house. To that end, I give you…..Sunbutter Chocolate Squares!
1/2 cup Sunbutter (I used smooth)
(Note: don’t use the Sunbutter that gets thick at the bottom of the jar – use the stuff that is nice and smooth, like a peanut butter texture.)
3 tbsp. butter or margarine
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp. brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 chia eggs (1 1/2 tbsp. ground chia seed and 4 1/2 tbsp. water)
1/2 cup sweet sorghum flour
1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
1 cup Enjoy Life chocolate chips or mini chips (amount approximate)
Get your chia seeds soaking in water, so they have a chance to become a gel.
Beat the Sunbutter, butter, sugars and vanilla together. (I just beat with a spoon, by hand).
Mix in chia egg and sorghum flour. Throw in some chocolate chunks or chips. (See – this is why the amount is approximate. I don’t measure them. I just grab some in my hand – yep, my hand – and add until I think there’s enough chocolate in there). Spread in a greased 6 x 10 pan. Bake at 350*F for 20-25 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned. Throw some more chocolate chunks or chips on top, and let sit until they start to melt. Then gently (so you don’t tear up your pretty squares), with the back of a metal spoon, spread evenly.
And – just because I had some in the house – I sprinkled on some of Steeped Tea’s Raspberry Sparkler. The end result is here – and the picture features two of the products that had a starring role in these squares. 🙂
And now, because they are gone, I’m going to go make more! All things in moderation, right?
lovelifetea 