PB & C bites

So the other night I had a major hankering for peanut butter and chocolate (the craving was definitely instigated by eating Reese's Peanut butter cups the night prior, yum) so I created these delicious energy bites that are ready in 15 minutes.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of peanut butter (I used Kraft Chunky because chunky is where it's at)
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 1/2 tbsp pure maple syrup
1 tbsp almond milk
2/3 cup of cooked quinoa (~1/2 cup uncooked)
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup oats
2 pinches of salt
2 shakes of cinnamon

Directions:

1) Cook quinoa: There are different techniques to cook quinoa but I have found the quickest way to do it is by placing uncooked quinoa in pot and turn burner on high (NO water). Stir frequently and only add water when the quinoa starts to make popping noises. This helps to remove the outer coating on the quinoa (or so I am told). When you add the 1 cup of water it will steam or make a sizzling noise as the quinoa is hot.  Turn the burner down to medium and let the quinoa cook for another 5-6 minutes with a lid on untill all water is evaporated. It is now very similar to cooking rice. When all the water is absorbed, fluff the quinoa with a fork and set aside.

Note: Quinoa is gluten-free grain that has a balanced set of amino acids making it a complete protein. Yay for lean sustainable energy! It is a great way to incorporate protein into baked goods. I usually replace half of the flour I use with quinoa flour (ground quinoa in my coffee bean grinder).

2) Mix peanut butter, cocoa powder, maple syrup and almond milk together in a bowl. I made my first batch without almond milk and it honestly looked like a turd.... It still would have worked though.

Note: Do not microwave your small delicious turd. I thought the peanut butter would melt with the heat but nooooo. I just ended up burning the mixture. Yes I ended up with a small smelly turd. Needless to say I threw my first trial out.

3) Add in cooked quinoa, oats, coconut, raisins, salt & cinnamon.

4) Form mixture into little balls with your hands on cookie sheet and set in freezer for 10 minutes.

5) Store in cookie tin in freezer. These are delicious cool treat that still holds together when brought back to room temperature. SOOOOO good!