Easy Mint Hummus

Fast, Simple, Delicious

Hummus is delicious on just about everything (pita bread, corn chips, vegetables… cookies), and luckily it is also super easy to make.

Mint Hummus Recipe

1 can chickpeas (reserve 1/2 cup of the liquid)

1/4 cup tahini, which is like a sesame seed butter (I use Sunland brand).

About a 1/4 cup of fresh mint

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 clove of garlic

3 tablespoons of olive oil

The juice and zest from one lemon

Method
With a food processor:Combine all of the ingredients and 1/4 cup of the reserved chickpea liquid in a food processor and pulse until it is smooth (you may require a little more reserved liquid to reach the consistency you enjoy).

Or with a blender:If you are using a blender, I would start by adding 1/4 cup of chickpea liquid, olive oil , lemon juice, and tahini and blend together. Gradually add the chick peas until it is smooth, then add the other ingredients and you should be good to go.

This recipe really is super easy. I plan on posting a more intricate version using dried chickpeas and homemade tahini in the future, but for the time being, this recipe is very convenient and yields a product that is all kinds of delicious!

Juicing the Mint Leaves

Mint Chip Chocolate Cookies

Mint has always been a flavor that has captivated my palate. However, despite this longstanding love affair, mint was rarely used in the sweets my mom prepared when I was young. This lead me to believe that items with mint components were incredibly exotic and that it must require Herculean efforts to impart that cool flavor to one’s dishes. In fact, my sister and I still use the term “have to juice the mint leaves” when referring to simple tasks that appear to be deceptively laborious.

Luckily, it turns out that making a delicious mint desert can be as simple as adding a few high quality mint chocolate chips to the recipe.


Add a couple cups of Guittard green mint chocolate chips to a chocolate cookie recipe and you will have a mint cookie to rival the devil-spawned (that is to say, unnaturally delicious), cocaine laden wafers purveyed by any girl scout.

Polka Dot Cookies Recipe

Adapted from the recipe from the back of the Guittard Green Mint Chips bag.
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
½ cup butter
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
½ cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon coffee
2 cups (1 12 oz bag) Guittard Green Mint Chips

Method
Preheat your oven to 350oF.

Add the semisweet chips to a microwave safe bowl and heat for one minute in the ole ‘wave. Stir the chocolate and microwave for another minute. Add the butter to the chocolate and stir together until it is all melted evenly (the butter and chocolate may require an additional minute in the microwave together).


When the chocolate and butter is smooth, set it aside and combine the flour, baking soda and salt.

In a large bowl, or in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat eggs, sugar, vanilla and coffee until smooth and light. Add the dry ingredients to the mix until everything is evenly incorporated into the batter. Fold in the green mint chips, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place everything into the refrigerator to chill for 15 minutes.


(The Master's Glaive?)

When the cookie batter has firmed up a bit, scoop it into rounded teaspoons and drop onto a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes and buen apetito!