Afternoon Snack
May 11, 2008
This is a snack idea that was inspired by a vegan snack submission from CPBG reader, Erin Foster. She spreads peanut butter on a Wasa Rye Cracker and tops it with chocolate chips. Fast and tasty.
However, I didn’t stick to her version exactly. I used Wasa Oats Crackers since rye is a flavor I don’t particularly care for and used cocoa nibs… for no good reason, really. But for me, “because they’re delicious” is enough of a reason. I also suspected the nuttiness of the nibs would go well with this fruit. And they did!
Not just any fruit either! A Pluot! Er… Plumicot! Or is it an Aprium? Conclusion: this fruit hybrid has too many names.
Whatever this was called, I think it’s my new favorite fruit. It looks a little closer to an apricot, but tasted just a bit more like a plum. My tastebuds were a bit confused but extremely delighted at the same time. I will have to track these down again. I love when the weather gets warmer and fruits are in season again, don’t you? These were as sweet as candy and disappeared from my fridge in record time.
As for the other ingredients, I am still obsessed with PB & Co’s The Bees Knees Honey Peanut Butter. And though I had no idea what to expect from the Wasa crackers, they were surprisingly tasty. They are light, crunchy with a great nutty oat flavor, and provided the perfect bed for peanut butter. My only qualm with them was that they were a bit fragile, and with every bite I hoped that the disturbance wouldn’t make the rest of the cracker that remained in my hand crumble, decorating my shirt with a fruity-peanut-butter-cocoa-nib mess. Easy solution though: eat over a plate. I know, you wish you were this smart.
Back to the cocoa nibs. I suppose now’s a good time to admit that I’ve polished off a lethal amount of Askinosie Nibby Bars in the last few weeks. Thinking about it makes me feel gluttonous. And now I have a bag of their lovely Roasted Cocao Nibs. Let the gluttony continue! Bwahaha! For those of you who may not have ever had the pleasure of tasting cocoa nibs, here is a definition for you from Gourmet Sleuth:
Cacao Nibs are perfectly roasted cocoa beans separated from their husks and broken into small bits. They are the essence of chocolate. Nibs add crunchiness and subtle chocolate flavor to baked goods and savory dishes. They make a great substitute for roasted nuts or chocolate chips, without added sweetness.
They basically taste like chocolate nuts. The top of Askinosie’s Cocoa Nib box suggests that, “they taste great with yogurt, peanut butter, toast, smoothies, brownies, cookies and ice cream.” I’ve even been known to put these in my salad. Yes, salad. I was not kidding when I professed my love of them. Hmm… maybe I could try a salad with the cocoa nibs, that apricotplumthingy, some goat cheese, dried cranberries… hm!
Erin said that this was her favorite vegan snack before being diagnosed with a nut allergy. My taste tester also developed a nut allergy in recent years so I have seen second hand how unfortunate it is to deal with. He can eat every nut but peanuts (they are a legume). While I don’t suffer from this I often think about what experiencing it would do to my diet. Obviously, given the title of this blog I might be just a little upset. Since my focus is peanut butter, I can’t post recipes that are void of nuts but I do try to keep an eye out for vegan and gluten-free recipes here and there. If anyone out there has a special diet chocolate peanut butter recipe they’d like to share, please do.
By the way, a small note for you vegans: I just read here that all Wasa Crackers are vegan except the oat flavor. So keep that in mind if you decide to purchase them!
In the meantime, enjoy this tasty refreshing treat!
Both of our versions after the break.
Erin’s Vegan Snack: Wasa Crackers with Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chips
Ingredients Wasa brand Light Rye Crackers *Peanut Wonder Low-Sodium Peanut Butter *Tropical Source vegan chocolate chips
Directions I would spread a long cracker with the peanut butter, and liberally sprinkle the chocolate chips on top. It’s really good, and actually good for you!
My Snack
Ingredients 1 Wasa Oat Cracker 2 tsp PB & Co Honey Peanut Butter 1/2 Apricot Plum Hybrid (known as a pluot, aprium or plumicot), sliced 1 tsp Askinosie Roasted Cocoa Nibs
Directions It feels silly to write directions for something like this. Spread 2 teaspoons (or however much you prefer) of the honey peanut butter on the cracker, layered the apricot plum slices on top and sprinkle some cocoa nibs on top of that. This is very complicated, I realize.
If you don’t have Honey Peanut Butter, use regular and drizzle some honey over the top of the snack. Mmmm!
In retrospect, I think this would also taste fantastic with some dried cranberries.
