Our Cup of Tea: Healthy Dessert Edition

Our Cup of Tea is Annmarie Skin Care’s monthly series featuring the team members’ favorite things! From recipes to workouts to nights on the town, we’ll share the things we love with you. You’ll get to know our team a little better and who knows, you might just find a new favorite thing.

When it comes to dessert, the ASC team has their gameface on. We most certainly have our sugar cravings (there’s always something sweet floating around the office) but being the health nuts that we are, we don’t want to have too much sugar in our diets. Everyone on the team has a different way of combatting those cravings and this month we want to share it with you. Here’s what the team has to say about their favorite healthy sweet treat.

Aub

Healthy dessert? Yikes!
I mix cocoa powder, melted coconut oil, and honey together until I like the flavor. Then I freeze it in ice cube trays or a silicone baking pan.
The amount of each ingredient totally depends on the flavor I’m looking for. I like pretty dark chocolate so I start with a couple of tablespoons of the powder and then only add a little bit of the coconut oil and honey at a time until I like the flavor.

If I’m feeling herbal (which is more often than not) I make what we call “zoom balls” with added ashwagandha, marshmallow root powder, licorice root powder to the cocoa. Then I sprinkle in some goji berries, nuts and seeds-—I like sunflower seeds and crushed walnuts—to make an antioxidant rich complete protein.

Chandra

Sometimes I’m cheap and lazy but I still want the sugiez so I take what I have in my pantry and whip up some quick and easy chocolate PB cups.
Use 1:1:1 ratio of cacao powder or cocoa powder, melted coconut oil, and sweetener of your choice (maple syrup, honey, agave nectar, coconut sugar, etc.).

Mix together and pour 1 tsp – 1 tbsp (depending on how thin or thick you want your bottom layer) into lined muffin tin. Pop in freezer for a bit and melt some peanut butter. Take muffin tin out and drizzle in peanut butter. Pop in freezer for a bit again. Top it off with the rest of your chocolate mix and let it all set for at least 30 minutes or until solid and then eat them… all. hehehehe

Michon

If I do dessert I am usually just going to go all out but if I am trying to be healthy, I will just stick to super dark chocolate 🙂

Jonathan

A plain medjool date (or maybe 5)

Nat

Coco-crazy cookie:
3/4 cup oats
1/2 cup coconut oil (melted)
1/2 cup almond butter
1/2 cup almond milk
1/2 cup honey (or to desired sweetness)
1/4 cup cacoa powder
1 tsp vanilla
dash of salt
– mix it all up. make cookie forms on parchment paper and place in fridge for an hour-ish. OR be impatient and enjoy them hot, because that is typically what I do. #no shame #inmycookiegame

Gwen

Oooh I have so many! My go to is a banana with almond butter and dark chocolate chips, but if you have a food processor:
3/4 cup almonds
3/4 cup cashews
10 or 11 pitted dates (soaked for 5 min)
your favorite dark chocolate bar (melted)

Blend everything in your food processor, then line a small baking pan with parchment paper and spread nut/date mixture out
Pour melted chocolate on top to form an even layer
Put them in the freezer for 15 minutes
Take out and cut them into bars

Jasmine

This chocolate pudding from California Avocado is amazing!

It’s made in a blender/food processor with:
1.5 ripe avocados
1/3 cup organic cacao powder
1/4 cup coconut milk
1/3 cup honey or maple syrup
2 tsp vanilla extract

Just blend everything together and serve it up

Becky

Usually when I want a cookie I just go for it and eat a real cookie but these are so tasty and I have no guilt about them:
Nikki’s Healthy Cookie Recipe from 101 cookbooks
3 large, ripe bananas, well mashed (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup coconut oil, barely warm – so it isn’t solid (or alternately, olive oil)
2 cups rolled oats
2/3 cup almond meal
1/3 cup coconut, finely shredded & unsweetened
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
6 – 7 ounces chocolate chips or dark chocolate bar chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, racks in the top third.

Mix the bananas, vanilla extract, and coconut oil. Set aside.
In another bowl whisk together the oats, almond meal, shredded coconut, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks/chips.
Bake for 12 – 14 minutes.

Kevin

more dinner.

(insert team-wide groan here)

Lauryn

I use 1/3rd a cup of coconut sugar instead of the heaping half cup of cane but these vegan brownies from minimalist baker are awesome.

1 15 oz. (425 g) can (~ 1 3/4 cups) black beans, well rinsed and drained
2 large flax eggs (2 heaping Tbsp (~16 g) flaxseed meal + 6 Tbsp (90 ml) water)
3 Tbsp (45 g) coconut oil, melted (or sub other oil of choice)
3/4 cup (72 g) cocoa powder (the higher quality the better)
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
heaping 1/2 cup (105 g) organic cane sugar, slightly ground or pulsed in a food processor or coffee grinder for refined texture
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
Optional toppings: crush walnuts, pecans or semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 C).
Lightly grease a 12-slot standard size muffin pan (not mini). Make sure you’ve rinsed and thoroughly drained your black beans at this point.
Prepare flax egg
Add remaining ingredients (besides walnuts or other toppings) and puree – about 3 minutes – scraping down sides as needed. You want it pretty smooth.
Optional: Sprinkle with crushed walnuts, pecans or chocolate chips.
Bake for 20-26 minutes or until the tops are dry and the edges start to pull away from the sides.
Remove from oven and let cool for 30 minutes before removing from pan.

Annmarie

Kids and I like to eat a small bowl of frozen mango or frozen berries. Super easy!

(This is while Kev is eating more dinner 😉 )