This Tastes Like Cookie Dough!….Well, Kinda. Sorta. Not Really.

I’m sure many of you have noticed the Cookie Dough Craze that seems to be taking over the blogosphere. It’s a little crazy if you ask me. I mean, cookie dough is yummy but I do not want or need a way to eat a bowl of it, nor do I want or need a pancake to taste like it. But I know there are a lot of people who crave such things and I suppose that’s why those recipes exist.  I’m fine having my cookie dough simply baked into a cookie.

But the other day I came across a recipe for a ‘Healthy Cookie Dough Dip’ and I had to check it out. Not because it excited me, but because it really bothers me when people throw the word ‘Healthy‘ around. ‘Healthy‘ (in my opinion) does not mean fake sugar and chemically altered food. ‘Healthy‘ (in my opinion) means whole food, in as close to its natural state as possible. It means eating from the earth and staying away from preservatives (in my opinion). Now, I’m not saying this is how I eat or cook on a regular basis, I’m only saying this is what I believe the word ‘Healthy‘ means.

Anyway, back to my point… So I came across this recipe for a ‘Healthy Cookie Dough Dip’ and I had to check it out. It even said ‘No Sugar!‘ at the top of the page, (which was an immediate red flag for me). But I continued to read on. And what I found was a dip that this girl created that she swears tastes like cookie dough, consisting of chickpeas, dates and nut butter. I was baffled. First of all, I slapped my wrist for just assuming this adorable girl was about to share a ‘fake food’ recipe. Very bad of me to judge, and I would like to apologize to Adorable Girl.  Second of all, I was extremely intrigued. (And a bit skeptical, I must admit…but aren’t you?).  I love the fact that she’s using dried fruit as a sweetener, which is something I’ve been doing in my cereal bars for quite awhile now.  But the chickpeas were something completely new to me.  So I decided to give it a try with my son today. If anything, I knew we were going to be making something that was, in fact, ‘Healthy‘.

And after making this ‘Healthy Cookie Dough Dip’ almost like she did, but changing a few things due to the fact that I was short on a couple ingredients, confused by the addition of baking soda, and too impatient to ‘soak the dates in water’ (for 8 hours!), I must admit that this ‘dip’, is actually fairly tasty. It doesn’t, however, taste like cookie dough. At all (in my opinion). It tastes like what it is, which is pureed chickpeas and dried fruit with a hint of nuts and vanilla. Very cool and different and yes, tasty for a ‘Healthy‘ treat.  I applaud this Adorable Girl for creating something so unique and satisfying for those who need to stay off sugar and gluten, which I know is the reason behind her recipe in the first place.  This recipe is something that I feel good about giving to my son with some fresh apple slices because I know everything in it is what I like to call ‘Healthy‘.

So, in short, if you’re looking for a ‘Healthy‘, sweet dip, without the guilt of actual sugar or sugar substitutes, for your restrictive diet or curious mind, or for your young children, then I suggest you give this a try.

Below is my adapted recipe, but here is a link to the original. Thanks Katie!

*Chickpea and Dried Fruit Dip

-1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed well
-1/4 tsp salt
-good splash of vanilla extract to taste
-1/4 cup almond butter (I think macadamia or cashew butter would be better due to their sweet, rich and buttery taste, but I had almond on hand. She and I both feel that peanut butter would be too strong.)
-1 1/4 cup pitted dates (I was short on dates, so I used 1 cup dates and 1/4 cup figs)
–1/3-1/2 cup chocolate chips, depending on how chocolate-chippy you want yours to be. (Raisins, or dried cranberries could also be used if you didn’t want any sugar in here at all.)
-2 T oats
-a little bit of milk (I used almond milk, but use whatever you’d like.  It’s only needed to reach the desired consistency)
——————————————–
-Place your dates (and figs if you’re using them) in a bowl and cover with 1/2 cup of boiling water.  Cover with plastic wrap and allow to soak while you measure out the rest of your ingredients and place them in the bowl of a food processor.
-Once your fruit has softened, add them, along with the water they were soaking in, to the other ingredients in the food processor.
-Process as long as it takes until it becomes very smooth. Taste it.  More salt?  More vanilla?
-Transfer to a bowl or storage container and stir in your chocolate chips.
-Store in an airtight container in the fridge for several days.
-Use this as a dip for apples, or spread on a whole grain tortilla or pita with sliced bananas.

4 Year Old Approved.