Crunchy Cocoa Chia Brownies - gluten, nut, dairy free

 After a couple of requests on a previous post about some Crunchy Cocoa Chia Brownies I made with Arthur and his friend, I have decided to do my first 'recipe' blog. No one is more surprised at this than me (well, maybe my husband). ..You are, after all, reading words written by the same girl who tried to cook her husband (then potential love interest) a frozen pizza in the microwave on the night they met.... things have improved since then, thankfully but I'm definitely no Delia, Mary, Ella or even a Gordon. You won't find Pinterest worthy shots in here - I do, after all, do my baking with toddlers, but they can't get enough of these - and we all know how fussy little eaters are don't we?? Best of all, these are all natural ingredients with no added refined sugar and they are gluten dairy and nut free (also possible with nuts).

First of all, in order to make these little lovelies you will need a food processor. I don't have a huge fancy one, this mini processor works a treat, it's great for puréeing baby food and is a lovely little size for your tiny humans to use. I couldn't be without this. Yes, I do sometimes have to do things in batches, but if you want a space saving solution this is for you: 

Now for the ingredients:

• Seeds or nuts (we used sunflower seeds as my nephew is allergic to nuts and we made some for him) - 3-4 table spoons
• Organic Cocoa nibs - in my opinion these are a must! They give it that chocolatey flavour without the naughtiness of actual chocolate. - 2-3 table spoons
• Organic Cacao powder - pure coco if you like instead - 1 heaped table spoon
• Chia seeds - when water is added they become a 'binder' and help to stick things together - 2-3 table spoons
• Organic coconut oil - 3-4 teaspoons
• Pure Canadian Maple syrup (the proper stuff not sugar syrup with a flavour) 2-3 teaspoons
• Dates - ideally medjool but if not, any that you can find which are still a bit 'sticky'  - 10-15 small sized dates, or a good 'handful'
• Water - 1-2 tablespoons to bind the mixture

 

Organic coconut oil, chia seeds, water, Buckwood canadian maple syrup

Organic coco nibs, organic cacao powder, sunflower seeds, dates

The amounts here are an estimate - you can change them around depending on which flavours you prefer, but this is a rough guide based on what I usually use when making these, and they turn out pretty nice!

1. process the seeds ( or nuts) until they are ground
2. add the coco nibs and process until ground
3. add the chia seeds and process to mix together
4. add the cacao powder
5. add the dates and process until chopped
6. add the organic coconut oil and process
7. add the maple syrup and process ( byt now the mixture should look a bit sticky)
8. add the water around the mixture to coat the chia seeds and process

Once completely processed and mixed, press the mixture into a tray or tupperware tub and refrigerate for a couple of hours until firm and then slice into squares. You could also roll into balls and refrigerate in the same way. Enjoy!

Apparently it is inconceivable that I had Cocoa Chia brownies in my fridge last week and there are none today - so guess what we have been making this morning! Noah was my star button presser and Arthur continued his Chef Tumble theme (note self appointed 'hat') by helping to add the ingredients. #eyfs #eyfsactivity #bakingwithkids #cookingwithkids #bakingwithtoddlers #messyplay #chiabrownies #kcacols #ukparentbloggers #unpocodetodouk

A photo posted by Sarah - Arthurwears (@arthurwears) on Nov 22, 2016 at 3:31am PST