Monday 11 August 2014

No-Bake Chocolate and Peanut Butter Pinwheels


These chocolate and peanut butter pinwheels sound decadent don’t they? Who doesn’t love chocolate and PB together?

But what if I told you these are ‘no-bake’ and contain no bad fats or refined sugars? You wouldn’t believe me would you? But these really are quite virtuous – made with only natural ingredients, this is another recipe whizzed up in my brilliant Optimum 9400 blender from Froothie.



The recipe is in two parts. First a ‘chocolate’ layer is made from dried fruit, nuts and raw cacao powder. This is pressed down into a pan and chilled.



A peanut butter is made from raw peanuts, a bit of coconut butter and salt.



This is spread on top of the chocolate layer then chilled again, before rolling into a log.





Once chilled for a final time, the log is sliced into little discs which look just like cookies.



The Optimum 9400 made light work of the ingredients in this recipe. Lesser blenders would have burnt out with such a thick, sticky ‘dough’ but the motor in this beast copes no matter what.

If you are looking to purchase a new blender, then I highly recommend the Optimum 9400 from Froothie which you can buy at the moment for a special price of £329, much less than other high spec blenders.

If you purchase the blender through this link, you get a further 2 years warranty added on using the code ‘Special Ambassador Offer’ just for being a Cakeyboi reader. Not bad, eh?

Back to the recipe however…You might need to visit a health food store to purchase some of the ingredients such as raw cacao powder or coconut butter, but it is worth it.



print recipe

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Pinwheels
No-baking and natural ingredients are used in these delicious choccy PB bites.
Ingredients
  • 225 grams pitted dates
  • 125 grams whole raw almonds
  • 70 grams raisins
  • 30 grams whole raw pecans
  • 2 tablespoons raw cacao powder
  • 120 grams raw peanuts
  • 2 tablespoons coconut butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
Line a 9"x9" baking tin with greaseproof paper. In a heavy duty blender, add the dates, almonds, raisins, pecans and cacao powder. Blitz until a ball forms. Add a little water if the mixture seems too dry. Transfer to the tin and press down firmly into an even layer. Pop into the fridge to chill for 30 minutes. Remove from the fridge and peel the layer from the paper carefully. Place back on the paper and back into the tin. Make the peanut butter by placing the peanuts, coconut butter and salt into the blender. Whizz until a smooth paste is formed. Spread all over the chocolate/date layer, leaving a 1 cm gap on one edge.Chill for 30 minutes then remove from the fridge. Using the greaseproof paper as a guide, roll the square up tightly, starting with the end which has no PB on it. Wrap the rolled log in clingfilm and roll on the worktop so it is perfectly round. Chill in the fridge for an hour before slicing into discs about 1 cm, or so, thick. Keep the discs refrigerated until you are ready to enjoy them.
Details
Total time: Yield: 20 pinwheels approx.

The pinwheels are slightly sticky and taste of good old chocolate and PB. A perfect energy snack!




If you get a chance, pop over and look at the Blender recipe board on Pinterest to give you inspiration as to what you can do with a powerful blender.

I am entering these into several blogger challenges!

Firstly Alphabakes hosted alternately by Ros at The More Than Occasional Baker and this month Caroline at Caroline Makes. The letter is P, and P is for Peanut Butter.



And this month Laura at I'd Much Rather Bake is hosting a no-bake theme for her Biscuit Barrel Challenge.




And you may remember our own challenge Treat Petite is also no-bake this month. My lovely co-host is Kat at
The Baking Explorer.

Lastly, I am entering these into this month's Tea Time Treats hosted by Jane at Hedgecombers and this month Karen at Lavender and Lovage. The theme this month is Picnic Food and these would go down a storm at any picnic.



Disclosure Statement: I received the blender free to review. I happen to love it and any opinions expressed are my own.


22 comments:

  1. How wonderfully delicious and much more fun than a raw health bare. Of course, the chocolate/peanut butt combination made these a winner right from the start though. It really is one of the best =)

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    1. Thanks Laura, choc'n'PB is always a winner!

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  2. They look soooo good!!! If I only could make anything with peanut butter... my younger one is allergic and we can't have it at home but every time we go out with my older one alone we secretly buy peanut butter chocolate bars ;)

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    1. What a shame on your youngest! They don't know what they are missing out on. I hope they develop a PB substitute!

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  3. Oh Stuart I want one of these right now they look to die for:-)

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  4. Those look so pretty! You're so inventive with your blender ideas!

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    1. I do try Kavey - have another one up my sleeve I am trying this weekend hopefully!

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  5. These look so lovely and healthy! I'll have to get some raw cocoa powder and coconut butter.

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    1. You could use cocoa powder too, but make sure it's unsweetened as the dates are sweet enough. The cacao is quite bitter so works well here.

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  6. These look so so good Stuart! I love raw treats. Rich and indulgent tasting but all healthy ingredients :)
    Great use for the Froothie too.

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    1. I love raw baking now, must think of more to 'bake' up!

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  7. Clever clever clever!! I love these - and the chocolate PB combo is always a total winner in my book (I am dangerous around a bag of Reese's peanut butter cups...!) ;)

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    1. I know what you mean - I'm sure Reeses are sponsored by the devil :D

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  8. Lovely swirls! I must be a bit strange as I prefer my peanut butter with Marmite rather than chocolate ;-)

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  9. They look superb Stuart and give a real wow factor to what can be seen as a "health food" - fabulous. I want one of those Froothies!

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  10. These look amazing Stuart and would be perfect for a picnic too, as well as afternoon tea! I saw these on Google + and was drooling over them then, but even more now that I have come here to see them on the LARGE screen so to speak! LOVELY! Karen (PS: if you fancy entering them into tea time treats, the theme is picnic food this month) xxx

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  11. We love healthy and protein packed raw treats like these. Eye-catching pinwheel makes it even nicer. Super idea, Stuart.

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  12. They look great Stuart and the fact they are healthy is a bonus

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  13. These look fabulous and healthy Stuart! Just a shame I couldn't eat them as I'm allergic to peanuts :( Wondering if there is a substitute that would work for the PB x

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    1. Any nuts would work Lou, wouldn't taste the same tho :(

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  14. These look really pretty and I like the fact that they are a bit healthier than usual! Thanks for entering Alphabakes.

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