"Chocotastrophy": Do try this at home

When you last left this blog (yesterday, if you are a loyal reader), I dropped a hint as to what I was rawifying in my kitchen over the weekend. I talked about my Girl Scouting days, and if you've been keeping up to date with my posts, you also know about my love of cookies and other raw desserts.

I also mentioned that I'd have something sweet to share with you today at the end of last week's We Like It Raw post. Combine the clues and you're bound to come up with a valid conclusion.

If you arrived at this post via the WLIR website (or looked up at the photo above), you already know the answer. But, if you still need it spelled out for you, I was making raw versions of the top five Girl Scout cookie flavors: Thin Mints (25%), Samoas®/Caramel deLites™ (19%), Peanut Butter Patties®/Tagalongs® (13%), Peanut Butter Sandwich/Do-si-dos™ (11%), and Shortbread/Trefoils (9%), according to the Girl Scouts website.

I posted the recipes for my Trawfoils, Do-si-raws and Samoraws on the WLIR post, and saved the Rawgalongs and Thin Mints (no spin on that name) for you. Now, before you get too excited, I'll explain why.

I had a bit of a "chocotastrophy" (which explains the title of this post) in my kitchen near the end of the cookie rawifying process. I was running a little short on time (I needed to get my tookus out the door for our usual Sunday dinner and celebration of my grandfather's birthday; Happy b-day Poppy!), and rather than waiting until I returned to tackle the chocolate portion, I did it then anyway.

Now, I'm not a chocolatier (should have called my friend, Becky, who's a bit more knowledgeable about the stuff), so I had no business whipping some up in a jiffy without an educated plan or a no-fail recipe.

You see, chocolate can be quite temperamental. You must be gentle with it and take it slow. Know the correct ratios to keep it from getting bent out of shape, so to speak.

I didn't heed the warning, tossing raw cocoa butter in a double boiler (it melts at very low heat), melting it down and adding other ingredients (cocoa powder, agave and vanilla) in whatever amount I could pour into the pot (in other words, WAY TOO MUCH agave). The result was a soupy, runny, way too liquidy (but very tasty) mess.

But if you know the cost of good quality raw cocoa butter, you'd understand why I would then do anything in my power to keep it from going to waste. So, in a rush (my second mistake), I poured the mixture into my Blendtec and added more cocoa powder, cocoa butter and coconut butter.

It still wasn't thick enough. I reached for my last resort (the third strike and I was out of there), the lecithin (I've seen it on many chocolate wrappers; I thought to myself, "hey, why not?"). First, I added a tablespoon, which I finely ground in my Magic Bullet, before pouring it into the blender. It mixed in beautifully. But the second tablespoon, I added in haste, officially ruining my chocolate's lovely sheen.

Boo hoo, what was I to do? Well, it still tasted good, so I drizzled it on my Samoraws and used it to dip the Thin Mints and cover the tops of the Rawgalongs (I decided not to dip them entirely after the mess I had made with the Thin Mints, not to mention my time constraints). I even had some leftover to make some molded chocolates.

So, that's my story presented to you for your entertainment (I'm only human). But, if you want to try it yourself, here is what ended up in my chocolate: 1/2 pound raw cocoa butter, 2/3 cup raw coconut butter, 2/3 cup agave nectar (you may want to go a little easy on that one), 6 Tbsp. cocoa powder, 1 tsp. vanilla, a dash of sea salt and 2 Tbsp. lecithin.

And now for the cookies:


Rawgalongs
For the cookie
1/2 cup cashews
1/2 cup almond meal
1/4 cup sesame seeds, ground into a powder
2 Tbsp. agave nectar
2 soft pitted dates
1/2 tsp. vanilla
dash of sea salt

For the filling
3/4 cup almond butter
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup agave nectar
1 Tbsp. lucuma
1 Tbsp. mesquite
1/2 tsp. vanilla
dash of sea salt

*melted raw chocolate (I won't be offended if you don't use my recipe)

In a food processor, grind cashews, almond meal and ground sesame until it reaches a flour-like consistency. Add the agave, dates, vanilla and sea salt, and process to create a ball of dough.

Flatten the dough into a sheet, and cut out cookie-sized circles. "Bake" the cookies in your dehydrator, flipping once, until crisp.

In the meantime, combine all the filling ingredients in a bowl. Top each cookie with the filling in a mound shape. Chill to set.

Then, either make my chocolate recipe or your favorite tried and true version. Use the melted chocolate to dip the tops (or if you are adventurous, the whole cookie), and allow the chocolate to harden in the freezer. The chocolate will remain stable chilled in the refrigerator or freezer (I keep mine in the freezer since it reminds me of how my mom would keep a stash in hers; my sisters and I used to sneak them all the time).


Thin Mints
1 cup almond meal
1/4 cup coconut flakes, ground into a powder
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 Tbsp. agave nectar
2 soft pitted dates
1 tsp. peppermint extract
dash of sea salt
*melted raw chocolate for dipping (if you skipped to this recipe, go back and read the actual post)

In a food processor, combine almond meal, ground coconut and cocoa powder. Add the agave, dates, extract and sea salt, and process to create a ball of dough.

Flatten the dough into a sheet, and cut out cookie-sized circles. "Bake" the cookies in your dehydrator, flipping once, until crisp.

Then, dip the cookies in the melted raw chocolate and allow to set in the freezer.

All the cookies keep well in the freezer, so stock up to be ready for the Girl Scout cookie season. When you are tempted by the real deal, you can reach for your own raw version ... if they last that long. Happy eating :-)