Winter has been short this year, and I couldn’t be happier.  I don’t deal well with cold weather.  I shut down, and don’t want to do anything except sit in a recliner with a blanket thrown over me.

Tonight it’s supposed to be down to 47 degrees, but I’m trying to ignore that fact, and focus on other things.  Like chocolate hummus.  Yeah, weird, right?  But I’m craving something sweet, and it’s either cook or drive through Dairy Queen.  This blog is about making better choices, so cooking wins.

I read a few recipes on the Internet, but many of them use ingredients like milk or vanilla that would dilute the rich, dark chocolate taste I love.  Most are also chickpea-based, but black beans feel like a more chocolate-y alternative.  Almost every recipe also leaves out olive oil, which I want to keep in the recipe, mostly because I have a bottle of smoked olive oil.  Smoke + chocolate = yum.

The remaining ingredients are pretty standard — cocoa powder, nut butter (I’m using almond tonight), salt, maple syrup, and brown sugar.

I’m planning to slice apples to go with this tonight. Tomorrow, if I have leftovers, I’ll buy some pretzels on the way to work and feed the office.