Recipe for Making Carob Chunks

Carob chunks?  For anyone from the 70s when carob was the "healthy rage" of their experimenting mothers, this sounds like the "healthy chocolate" hype and about as appealing as grits (sorry to anyone who loooooves grits).  

But the fact is, this yummy confection turns out to be delicious, score higher on the nutrient index than chocolate chunks (with iron, calcium, B vitamins and some antioxidants) and NO stimulants to cause the jitters or insomnia (cocoa, cacao, and chocolate contain theobromine and caffeine).  

Carob is also naturally sweet (was once used as a sweetener), so the recipe only contains a small quantity of added sweetener (and nothing fake or unhealthy). AND, carob is GLUTEN-FREE which is a bonus for anyone out there who is gluten-sensitive or has Coeliac disease.

Ingredients

1 c./200 g      Carob Powder (I used Raw Carob Powder)

1 c./200 g      Coconut Oil, melted

1/4 c./50 g     Coconut Sugar (or sometimes called Palm Sugar)

1/16 tsp/30 g  "Green" Stevia Leaf powder (just stevia, nothing else)

1/2 T/8 g        Coffee Substitute (fine powder)

1 tsp/15 g       Vanilla or Almond Extract

Instructions

1. If you wish to toast the Carob Powder (gives it a darker signature), then put into a skillet and stir over medium heat until the particles begin to clump together and there is a toasty fragrance (just a few minutes)
2. Melt the coconut oil in a bowl over a pan of hot water
3. Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl or a food processor and mix until lumps are gone.
4. Add oil and vanilla extract to the dry ingredient mix and process until smooth and shiny.
5. Spread in an 8" x 8" pan and put in refrigerator or freezer until set.  Cut with a sharp knife into pieces.

After-words: 

I am quite taken with these fudgy little morsels (I won't say "addicted").  They satisfy my desire for something sweet as a snack without shooting my glycemic blood levels to the moon.  

Carob is often labeled "healthy chocolate".  That label tends to set people up to expect the same sort of taste and chemical reactions that they are familiar with where chocolate is concerned.  While carob chunks ARE chocolately brown and the texture is creamy, there is quite a difference in actual flavour.  I have grown to love the unique caramel-esque notes of carob.  I do not miss the rather aggressive high notes in chocolate, the sometimes-headaches and the occasional chocolate hangover.  I particularly do NOT miss lying in bed, wired, unable to sleep because I took in my caffeine in a bar.

I believe you will enjoy this little treat-- these sweet but not noxious Carob Chunks--and if you are a Mommy, your kids will as well.  

Healthy Sweet Recipes Using Carob

**Carob Boston Pie Pancakes

**Carob Frozen Dessert

**Carob Chunks