After a cancer diagnosis left me with pesky food restrictions, I refused to resign myself to a lifetime of eating boring healthy food. Instead, I learned to cook. I taught myself how to cook treats every bit as decadent and satisfying as what I used to eat. Now that I make most of my meals from scratch, culinary alchemy sprung up as a theme in my new mystery, The Accidental Alchemist.
Here’s a sampling of that culinary alchemy: a recipe that’s easy, delicious, and healthy. This Brownie Bites recipe is one of my favorites because it transforms a few simple ingredients into a rich dessert in only a few minutes.
Total time: 10 minutes. Makes 12 brownie bites.
1/3 cup walnuts
1/3 cup almonds
2/3 cup dates
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp cocoa powder, plus more for dusting
1 Tbsp water
Put the nuts into a blender or food processor and blend until the pieces are tiny. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until combined; you may need to scrape the edges with a spatula a couple of times. (Tip: If the dates are hard, soak them in hot water for a few minutes to soften them before adding them to the blender.) Roll the lumpy dough into a dozen balls, and dust with additional cocoa powder to taste. That’s it! The Brownie Bites are ready to eat.
Gigi Pandian is the USA Today bestselling author of the Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt Mystery Series and the new Accidental Alchemist Mysteries about a centuries-old female alchemist and her French chef sidekick—a gargoyle who was accidentally brought to life by a stage magician. Gigi was awarded the Malice Domestic Grant for her debut mystery novel, Artifact. Find her online at http://gigipandian.com/, and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter .
