Following the International Food Bloggers Conference (IFBC) 2014, Ninja Blender provided the blender system featured in exchange for a review. The opinions expressed are my own.
Soft peanut butter cookie dough bites made with oats and rice cereal, this is a sweet treat you can feel good giving your kids. Unlike traditional cookies these are sweetened with fruit - which also helps the ingredients stick together.
Recipe Highlights
- No refined sugar in this safe-to-eat cookie dough snack.
- Uses whole foods that happen to be gluten free and vegan
- The cookie dough bites are around 50 calories a piece or 2 Weight Watchers Points Plus
Today I have enticed my oldest to hang out with me while his brother naps. I wooed him with the prospect of new technology. He is keen to get his mitts on our new blender. My primary intention is to keep his curious hands busy while he accidentally learns a few things about food and life.
This recipe is perfect for his attention span, each step is short and hands on.
We have been trying out this Ninja blender system for a few months, but I have only just gotten around to using it for something other than smoothies. (BTW - it makes amazing smoothies. The Nutri-bullets can even liquify kale!)
We are a family of gadget lovers. If the kids (or my husband) see something with buttons, and a screen, they need it in their hot little hands ASAP. My son is usually eager to help prepare a recipe involving a gadget.
The blender blades are super sharp, I didn't let him near the inside of the pitcher. However, after setting the tower of blades into the blender I was shooed away from further interaction with the blender. I didn't mind. The blender practically operates itself. With the lid clicked in place, our half dozen pitted dates became a smooth sticky paste in a matter of seconds. It has these suction cup feet that grip the countertop like a barnacle clinging to a seaside boulder keeping the heavy base from walking off the counter. Since we can't store the machine on the countertop, the suction cups make the heavy base a bit cumbersome to move around but, since it stays put while it is running, I don't mind the trade-off.
The motor is loud, my son might compare the sound to an approaching robot army or Transformers attacking the house. Luckily, the baby can sleep through the commotion. Besides, between the powerful 1300 watt motor and the whirling blades of furry, most blending is done before I can finish saying, "Honey, I can't hear your story about the Lego ninja kitties right now. Just hang on a while the blender finishes."
The rhythm of rolling the dough in to snack-sized bites gives our minds a chance to wander. While he works my son looks to me for answers to some of the fantastic thoughts bouncing around in his brain. "What if the world was made of Legos?" "What if people ate themselves?" "What if I woke up and there was no one home and I didn't know where you were and I thought you were dead?"
In the span of just a few seconds, he makes me laugh and melts my heart. While I stare back at him in wonder he licks his fingers and sticks them back in the mixing bowl and I scold him with the age old question, "how many times have I told you?" He shrugs and asks if he can wash the dishes.
The blender components fit easily into dishwasher but who I am to stand in the way of a bit of initiative. After all my mission was to occupy those St. Bernard puppy paws - wash away kiddo!
Before he finishes washing a few extra dishes will make their way out of a drawer and into the bubbles.
Surrounded by the evidence of our cooking project we sink our teeth into the sweet cookie dough bites. Sunlight dances across the mess and I realize the grey morning has turned into a sunny afternoon. My ambitious helper dashes off to find his next adventure. I slide the partially washed dishes into the dishwasher and mop up the bubble strewn pond around the sink.
I glance at my tea kettle cold on the counter and snap the lid onto the container of peanut buttery bites. I would love to brew up a cup and sink my tired body into the soft embrace of the couch. Tea time will have to wait. The cooking project is done but the baby is awake and yelling to be fetched, and it is time to make lunch.
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Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites
Ingredients
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 6 large Medjool dates halved and pits removed
- ¼ cup peanut butter smooth or crunchy
- ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 tablespoon agave
- 1 cup crispy rice cereal
- 2 tablespoon mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Use a blender or food processor to grind the oats into flour, blend for 10 - 30 seconds. Once they have become a fine powder (a few remaining large bits are okay), remove the oats and set aside.
- Add the pitted dates to the blender and blend at low speed until they become a smooth paste, about 30 seconds.
- To the dates - add the peanut butter, applesauce, and agave. Blend until combined, about 20-30 seconds. Add the oat flour and blend 1 minute to make a stiff dough.
- Add the rice cereal to the dough and blend again for about 20 seconds to loosely incorporate the cereal.
- Turn the dough out into a medium bowl and add the chocolate chips. Knead the dough with a fork to incorporate the chocolate. Continue kneading the dough until it becomes even in texture, about 2 minutes. If the dough remains crumbly after 2 minutes add additional applesauce by the teaspoon, kneading well between additions until the dough holds together. The finished dough should be very stiff.
- Measure the dough into small portions of ½ ounce (14 grams each). It helps to scoop the dough using a scant tablespoon. Roll the dough into balls between damp (not wet) palms.
- Store the cookie dough bites in a sealed container in the refrigerator. The bites will firm up a bit as the sit. These should keep for a week to 10 days
Home movie time!
Watch the Nutri Ninja Auto IQ make a smoothie with fresh and frozen fruit in under 45 seconds!
But wait! There's more! It also makes oat flour in 10 seconds!!
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