About a week ago my daughter’s teacher and I were chatting when she mentioned that another teacher at the school just made a sweet hummus that she said was really good. She found the recipe on Chocolate Covered Katie whose blog I adore.
I decided to give the sweet hummus thing a whirl and came-up with a recipe that I am a bit obsessed with. I have seriously made 5 batches in the last 5 days (some of which was given away, but not much)!
This hummus is free of added salt, oil (just natural peanut butter), and refined sugar. The dates add such a nice sweetness to the hummus without leaving you with the crash and burn that follows a traditional sugar rush. Thanks to the fiber and nutrients in the dates your body will be happy.
While this may taste like cookie dough, you won’t be able to eat the whole bowl because the chickpeas will fill you up so quickly. My favorite ways to eat the hummus are with either a banana, some sliced apples, or celery spears.
This recipe is dedicated to you Nicole! Thanks for the inspiration.
INGREDIENTS
8 Medjool Dates, soaked (I buy mine at Costco) Soaking water 15 oz. can Eden Organics Salt-Free Garbanzo Beans (aka chickpeas) 1/3 cup organic peanut butter 1 1/2 tsp. alcohol-free vanilla 2-3 Tbs. Enjoy Life mini-chocolate chips (optional)Pit the dates and put them into a bowl. Press the dates down into the bowl and cover them with filtered water until they are JUST covered (it is ok if a tiny bit of the dates peak out through the water). Soak the dates in the water for at least 30 minutes.
Once the dates have soaked, place all of the ingredients (except the chocolate chips) in the food processor and process for 1-2 minutes. Stop and scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula. Repeat this process a total of three times until the hummus is very smooth. I usually use this time to catch-up on dishes or mail… multi-tasking rules! Note that the hummus will be thinner than you are used to since it is warm from the processing. Rest assured the hummus will firm-up a bit once refrigerated.
Pour the hummus into a bowl and mix in the chocolate chips if so desired. That’s it. You are done. Place the completed hummus in the fridge to firm-up. Personally I always have a little serving of the hummus at this point with some apple or banana since I don’t have the patience to wait for it to set.
I also prefer to make the hummus without the chocolate chips and keep the plain version in the fridge since I don’t like to have chocolate chips in my dessert hummus if I will be eating it with sliced apples. In general I prefer the hummus without the chocolate chips, so I just mix the chocolate chips in for the kids at serving time.
For a printable version of this recipe click here.