Chocolate Cherry Peanut Butter Bites

These little bites are packed with flavor and nutrition. They are my favorite treat when I am craving some chocolate, which is always. The recipe is super easy and the result will have you swooning for this sweet and tangy dark chocolate confection.

The best part is these these babies are naturally sweetened with fruit. Raisins and dried cherries make these bites sweet and tangy. And dark chocolate chips make them decedent and daringly delicious. I love chocolate so much I could marry it.

 

Chocolate Cherry Peanut Butter Bites

Ingredients:

1 C. Rolled Oats

1 T. Cocoa Powder (unsweetened)

1/3 C. Raisins

1/3 C Peanut Butter

1/2 C. Dark Chocolate Chips (I used Ghirardelli 60% Cacao chips)

1/2 C. Dried Cherries 

 

Method:

Measure out all of your ingredients into a food processor, I use my Ninja prep blender but a food processor works just as well. Process until there are no big pieces left. I usually process until the mixture looks uniform and sticks to the sides of the bowl.

Roll dough into bite sized balls and serve.

These bites can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for one week, or maybe even longer. They haven’t lasted more than 2 days in our house.

Zucchini Brownies (with Healthy Chocolate Frosting)

My sister gave me a wonderful recipe for zucchini brownies that quickly became my favorite go-to semi-healthy dessert. But after swearing off white sugar and flour I had to say goodbye to my favorite brownies. boo hoo hoo.

But then I realized I am not powerless in this new no-sugar diet plan. So I grabbed a couple of bowls and zucchinis and made up a new recipe that I can enjoy (occasionally) without feeling guilty. And the frosting. . . oh man, I am so happy with how it turned out! Addicted? yes!

Zucchini Brownies:

Ingredients:

2T Olive Oil

1/4 C Unsweetened applesauce

3/4 C Evaporated Cane Juice (Sucanat) or Coconut Sugar

1 tsp. Vanilla extract

1 C Whole wheat flour

1/4 C Unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 tsp. Baking soda

1/4 tsp. Sea salt

1 C Finely Shredded Zucchini

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease 8x8 inch pan.

In a large bowl, mix together olive oil, applesauce, cane juice, and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine whole wheat flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.  Add flour mixture to sugar mixture and mix well. The mixture will be kind of dry but don't add liquid to it. Trust me. Next, fold in the zucchini until everything is moistened and the mixture is consistent. It will still seem dry but the liquid will cook out of the zucchini in the oven so don't add any liquid.

Spread batter in pan and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

 

Amazing Healthy Chocolate Frosting

1 Can of Coconut Milk (use a reliable brand like Thai Kitchen)

1 C Dark Chocolate Chips

1/2 tsp. Vanilla

3T Stevia in the Raw (or other dry sweetener)

 

Directions:

Place the can of coconut milk in the fridge overnight. Don't shake it up. Carefully open the can and scoop out the scrumptious coconut cream on top.

Melt coconut cream and chocolate chips together over med-low heat, stirring occasionally. Once they are melted and mixed together into chocolate goodness, remove from heat and add vanilla and stevia.

Now you have to wait for the frosting to cool down so you you can put in in the fridge for about 3 hours or overnight. I put my frosting in the freezer for about 30 minutes to cool it down fast. Fluff up frosting with a fork or hand mixer and serve cold.

DO NOT let this sit out at room temperature or warmer because it melts much faster and easier that regular frosting. Keep it refrigerated until you are ready to use it and make sure your brownies are all the way cool before you frost them.

Watch them disappear.

Feeling brand new {our new look, and designs}

It’s spring cleaning season and I am cleaning up things around here and making Cantaloupe Corner all fresh and new. A little while back I was looking over my blog and thinking. . . “bleh, I need a makeover, and I know this rockin’ awesome girl I went to college with that does graphic design. I need her. . . bad.” So, long story short, me and Erin from Eedee Design Studio got together and she created our fresh new look! Isn’t she the best? 

She found a way to incorporate the orange and green colors and she turned the o’s into cantaloupes. Cute huh? Just don’t stare at them too long or they start to look like amoebas. (Or maybe I just had too much caffeine today.)

If you need a blog makeover or a new logo or any other graphic design stuff, check out Eedee Design Studios. Her designs are sweet and memorable, and she really works with you to make it just what YOU want. I was really impressed with how easy she was to work with and how she made sure I was completely happy with my new design. 

 

 

And along with our new look we also just added a bunch of new designs to our shop! YES! New stuff makes me so happy!

Not only is it brand new but we are going completely out of the box here and adding C-O-L-O-R!

That’s right, COLOR! I have found the most amazing way to print these shirts in color while still keeping them lead free, and super duper soft. Trust me, it’s pretty amazing. I’ve been working on this new technique since about 6 months ago and I finally have it perfected and ready to make for you.

Here’s our newest members of our CC family!

Splatter Number- Toddler Birthday shirt.  This is a 2 tone color printed tee with your choice of number in the center. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7. We now have Navy shirts up to size 8!

Teach Me – Toddler T-shirt. Green or Navy Blue with Yellow distressed words.

This was inspired by my kids. I’m a work at home mom and life gets really stressful with 3 little ones running (or crawling) around here. I’ve adapted a motto that I have even taught to my kids. It is “Don’t get mad, teach.” This is my little reminder that when I’m about to get angry or lose my temper those are the best teaching moments. Take a breath, look at the situation and teach them how to make it better. This shirt also is a great reminder that we need to be teaching our kids all day long every day. Teach them to read. Teach them about the world. Teach them to love.

Girls Typewriter Number Shirt- Toddler Birthday shirt , available in Purple with aqua blue number or Fuchsia with cream number.

I wanted to bring in some simple and fun birthday designs for da girls! And there are more girl designs in the works!! So keep checking back to see what’s new!

Girl's Vintage Applique Number Shirt – Toddler Birthday shirt  '

Girl’s version of our popular applique tee. The fuchsia and orange are bright and cheery with just the right amount of vintage to make it super fashionable for the little birthday girl.

 

Vintage Applique Number T-shirt  -  Kelly Green with Royal Blue number.

 

Spanish Number T-shirt -  Toddler birthday shirt

Here in AZ everyone there are so many people that speak Spanish. So I wanted to make a fun option available to my Spanish speaking neighbors, or anyone else who wants to mix it up for a Birthday or everyday. This would be a great shirt for a fiesta style birthday party!

That’s what we have going on over here. We also have some more new designs that will be making their grand appearance soon. I can’t wait to show and tell!