Since my good ol’ Southern California home isn’t exactly designed for the makings of a picturesque white Christmas, the past week I’ve taken it upon myself to maintain festive cheer the one way I know best: sharing good food. Steamed local cauliflower and hearty kale salads have become some of the staples for dinner, and it’s inevitable that the almond gingerbread men and acai berry fudge plate gets at least 3 visits a day.

But the big hit this season has been, indeed, in the hot chocolate category: my uber awesome recipe for Candy Cane White Hot Chocolate.

Homemade, using ingredients you can feel really good about, and scoring 1000% on the “special” test, make this delight for yourself and those you love and tell me you don’t see smiles. Luxuriously creamy and sweet with a tickle of candy cane flavor, this warm drink is like confronting a polar bear who (instead of being big and scary) was really friendly and gave you a belly rub and a candy cane for your time. I know these things.

Happy Holidays & Good Tidings!

Candy Cane White Hot Chocolate

An instant new holiday tradition! If store-bought hemp milk is used as opposed to homemade, I recommend Living Harvest brand – it has a white, smooth viscosity that is ideal for this recipe. Rice milk works as well, but consider leaving out some of the water as rice milk it is naturally a thinner type of milk.

INGREDIENTS:
¼ cup water
1 cup unflavored hemp milk
1½ Tbsp shaved cacao butter
1½ tsp agave nectar, or to taste (stevia also makes a good substitute)
3-4 drops mint extract
¼ tsp vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:
In a small saucepan, heat all the ingredients over low for about 5 minutes (cacao butter should be entirely melted at the surface). Transport to a blender and blend for 30 seconds to emulsify cacao butter into the beverage. Or, keep liquid in pan and use a hand-held blender to whisk directly in the saucepan. Serves one.

Natural benefits: low sugar, omega fats

At least that was the plan.

The slugs ate the dill, the oregano never grew, the cilantro disappeared (in all seriousness… where did it go?), and we’ll just refer to the parsley as “pre-dried.”

On the other hand, the mint is practically taking over the entire garden. So in the spirit of making lemonade out of lemons, I thought it might be a good idea to make chocolate mint ice cream sandwiches out of mint. With off-the-charts levels of cool vibrant flavor, this is a recipe I’m going to be making as much as possible.

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Chocolate Mint Ice Cream Sandwiches

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Another persuasive example of junk food without all of the junk. Luxurious and decadent, yet full of living whole foods, this innovative recipe is loaded with essential minerals and healthy fats.

INGREDIENTS:

(For the ice cream):
½ cup hemp milk, almond milk, or other non-dairy milk beverage
2 frozen bananas
½ medium-sized Hass avocado
2 Tbsp agave nectar
½ tsp peppermint extract
1 Tbsp minced fresh mint
several drops of liquid chlorophyll (optional – enhances green color)

(For the cookie):
1/3 cup raw cacao powder
1 cup almond flour (ground almonds)
8 dates
¼ cup agave nectar
1/3 cup raw cacao nibs, plus a little extra for rolling

DIRECTIONS:

Blend: In a blender, combine non-dairy milk of choice, bananas, avocado, agave nectar, mint extract and fresh mint. Blend until smooth. Stir in liquid chlorophyll if desired. Transfer to a small bowl.

Freeze: Freeze the ice cream for 1-2 hours.

Mash: Combine all of the cookie ingredients in a food processor, and process until thoroughly chopped. Form “dough” into two even halves.

Assemble: Use a muffin tin, and line 6 of the muffin molds individually with saran wrap or tin foil. Sprinkle lightly with cacao nibs. Using one of the cookie dough halves, place a spooful of dough evenly into the bottom of 6 the lined and “nibbed” muffin molds. Press firmly to form a “cookie.” Next, fill each of the molds evenly with the partially frozen ice cream. Line an empty muffin mold with saran wrap, and use to form 6 more cookies from the second half of the cookie dough, sprinkling with cacao nibs prior to pressing each time. Top each mint ice cream with a cookie to form a sandwich.

Freeze: Freeze sandwiches for 2 more hours. To serve, simply remove ice cream sandwiches from the saran wrap or aluminum foil and serve whole or sliced, if desired. If wrapped tightly, these sandwiches can keep in the freezer indefinitely for future enjoyment.

Makes 6 sandwiches.

Raw, vegan, & gluten-free

©2009 www.JulieMorris.net

Chocolate Mint Ice Cream Sandwiches

Another persuasive example of junk food without all of the junk. Luxurious and decadent, yet full of living whole foods, this innovative recipe is loaded with essential minerals and healthy fats.

INGREDIENTS:

(For the ice cream):
½ cup hemp milk, almond milk, or other non-dairy milk beverage
2 frozen bananas
½ medium-sized Hass avocado
2 Tbsp agave nectar
½ tsp peppermint extract
1 Tbsp minced fresh mint
several drops of liquid chlorophyll (optional – enhances green color)

(For the cookie):
1/3 cup raw cacao powder
1 cup almond flour (ground almonds)
8 dates
¼ cup agave nectar
1/3 cup raw cacao nibs, plus a little extra for rolling

DIRECTIONS:

Blend: In a blender, combine non-dairy milk of choice, bananas, avocado, agave nectar, mint extract and fresh mint. Blend until smooth. Stir in liquid chlorophyll if desired. Transfer to a small bowl.

Freeze: Freeze the ice cream for 1-2 hours.

Mash: Combine all of the cookie ingredients in a food processor, and process until thoroughly chopped. Form “dough” into two even halves.

Assemble: Use a muffin tin, and line 6 of the muffin molds individually with saran wrap or tin foil. Sprinkle lightly with cacao nibs. Using one of the cookie dough halves, place a spoonful of dough evenly into the bottom of 6 the lined and “nibbed” muffin molds. Press firmly to form a “cookie.” Next, fill each of the molds evenly with the partially frozen ice cream. Line an empty muffin mold with saran wrap, and use to form 6 more cookies from the second half of the cookie dough, sprinkling with cacao nibs prior to pressing each time. Top each mint ice cream with a cookie to form a sandwich.

Freeze: Freeze sandwiches for 2 more hours. To serve, simply remove ice cream sandwiches from the saran wrap or aluminum foil and serve whole or sliced, if desired. If wrapped tightly, these sandwiches can keep in the freezer indefinitely for future enjoyment.

Makes 6 sandwiches.

Raw, vegan, & gluten-free

©2009 www.JulieMorris.net