No Bake Cookie Dip {Recipe ReDux}

I'm sure by now most of you have heard of the deliciousness that is Cookie Butter.

I haven't tried the crunchy stuff yet, to be honest I'm a bit scared I'll become addicted, but I did find a half eaten jar of the regular kind hidden in my cabinet last week.  A tried a little spoonful, and bam, I was hooked again.

Spreadable cookies in a jar is something I doubt many can resist.

In an attempt to make the remaining butter disappear before I could stuff it all into my mouth in one go, I decided to use it in a bit of my baking.  Or, in this case, no baking.  This months recipe ReDux theme is to go raw and create a quick, no bake, healthy dessert.

I took the cookie route and added a couple tablespoons of Cookie Butter to a typical Cookie Dough Dip recipe.  The result was a thick dip with hints of cinnamon and gingerbread and quite the addictive quality.  If you decide to make it, I must warn you, it may last even less time than the cookie butter.

Cookie Dip (With Cookie Butter!)

• 1 can white beans, drained and rinsed well
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 banana
• 3 tbsp cookie butter
• 2 tbsp molasses
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp vanilla

Place all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor.  Blend on and off until ingredients are well mixed and a thick mixture has formed.  Make sure there are no chickpeas clumps.  Scoop into a bowl and store in fridge until serving time.  Use as a dip for cookies or fruit, or spread onto toast.

Cookie Butter Cups

Move over Reese's...

'Cause here come Cookie Butter Cups!

That's right, the deliciously addictive spread has now been turned even more deliciously addictive, by sandwiching it between rich dark chocolate.

I ate three straight from the freezer.  Whoops.  I couldn't help myself.  These cups are just so yummy.  

Seriously, they blast Reese's right out of the water.  Soon, kids will be asking for these instead of the famous peanut butter cups on Halloween night.

Which is actually totally fine, because, unlike most popular candies on the market, these treats are made with only 5 ingredients, all of which are pronounceble.  So you see, it's a win, win.  Better nutrition, better taste.

Do yourself a favor and, whether you want to be the person to introduce Cookie Butter Cups to the world or just want to try the delicious-ness I'm raving about, get a little bit ahead of the game and throw together these delightful little treats for Halloween this year.  I swear they'll be gone in an instant.

Chocolate Cookie Butter Cups
(makes 10 mini cups)

• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 2 tbsp maple syrup (you can add more of you have a sweet tooth)
• 1/2 banana
• 1-2 tbsp speculoos cookie butter

Combine first 3 ingredients in a small bowl and stir until it turns into a smooth chocolate sauce.  Pour a thin layer into mini cupcake liners (or regular cupcake liners, or molds), making sure to leave some of the sauce for later.  Freeze cupcake liners for 10 minutes, or until chocolate has hardened.  Meanwhile, microwave the banana and cookie butte together in a small bowl until easily stirred.  Mix well.  Put a blob of cookie butter micture on top of chocolate layer in each mini cupcake liner, and cover with another thin layer of chocolate sauce.  Freeze again until hard.  Then, store in freezer or fridge until serving time (personaly, I like them more straight from the freezer).

Wow, writing this post really made me want to eat more of these.  I'm off to go grab the last one... and then most likely make more.  Oh my are they delicious.

Just a few more notes before I go off to devour a Cookie Butter Cup:

• Speculoos Cookie Butter is, in fact, vegan.  Meaning that these Cookie Butter Cups are vegan as well.  Vegans, rejoice!
• For the super easy version of this recipe, just melt down some of your favorite chocolate (i recommend good quality dark chocolate), and use that instead of the coconut oil chocolate sauce
• For a lower calorie version of this recipe, you could try substituting stevia for the maple syrup.  I haven't tried this, however, and am not sure about how the taste would be or what amount would be best to use.

Without further ado, I send you off to your kitchen to mix up some of this utter yumminess.  

Enjoy!

Revisited Recipe of the Day:

Banana Split Bowl with Cinnamon Cake Crumble