Double Chocolate Protein Cookies

They're real, and they're spectacular!

Looking for a tasty protein packed snack that is a cookie in disguise? I fed these to coworkers and they had no idea they were good for them. SCORE.

That is totally my go to test for if a recipe is a win or not. Pass it on to coworkers and see if they happily eat it, and then the most important part, ask for more :D

Check out the recipe for these chocolate protein cookies on Food Fanatic.


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Fresh Start 2013 #CooksNetwork

Looking for a romantic evening? Or maybe a fresh and healthy start to 2013? How about both?

It's John's birthday this week and I like to celebrate in both delicious and healthy ways. Remember he's the reason this whole healthy blog started! So I wanted to take a classic William Sonoma Recipe for Molten Chocolate Cakes and health it up a bit! (Click on the image at the bottom of the post to go to the original recipe: since I know a lot of you love the full fat and sugar versions too!)

Skinny Chocolate Cakes
recipe by steph chows

1 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/4 cup splenda blend for baking or 1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup Hershey's Cocoa
2 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
dash salt
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup chocolate chips (or in this case chopped up mini eggs!)

Preheat over to 350 F
Mix apple sauce, sugar, vanilla, and beat in egg
In a separate bowl mix flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt.
Add flour mixture to wet mixture a little at a time, stir in chocolate chips.
Spoon batter into 6 lightly greased ramekins
Bake for about 20 minutes or until tops are firm to touch. (don't over bake!)

Now for a delicious but less skinny version head over here:

This post is a collaboration with Williams-Sonoma, but all words and opinions are my own.

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Christmas Cookies- not healthy

Friday's events are still on all of our minds. It's hard to think about moving on with normal life when so many are left shattered. I keep going back and forth between feeling so sad and not wanting to do anything to thinking we need to live and be happy for the sake of those lives lost and to celebrate the life that is still here. So many have said much more eloquent things but I felt like I wanted to say something, and not just ignore what is going on. Below is the post I wrote last week that was scheduled for today.

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One of the awesome things about blogging is you meet all these wonderful people, and sometimes if you are lucky, those people actually live near you! Such is the case with Tracy of Sugarcrafter, and Sarah of A Dash and Pinch. Sarah lives literally a mile from my house, and Tracy is just on the other side of town!


We decided to meet up and get our cookie making skills on! But first there was copious amounts of bread, meats and cheeses... and don't forget the marshmallow vodka to go in our hot chocolates *drool*.


Once we had our fill of chitchat and carbs we got into some hard core baking! I had just seen this recipe over at Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice and knew I had to make it. No way John would eat these butter balls so making them for a cookie exchange was the best idea out there. These things are delicious! I brought some in for my boss and he basically went through them like potato chips, kinda impressive, and scary, all at the same time.



Another great thing about baking with other bloggers is they take awesome action shots of you baking.


Thanks Sarah! So pretty!

Sarah made Chanukah Oreo Balls. So festive! Tracy made these polish/hungarian deliciousness things who's name I forget... filled with her very own delicious jam to boot! Amazing!!

Do you live near other bloggers? Ever done a meet up? What's your favorite go to cookie recipe for an exchange?



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SMORE bites

I've recently started getting very excited thinking about my yearly summer camping trip with my BFF Jeanne. Oh who am I kidding I've been thinking about it since we booked the date back in December! (yup the camp site is so cool we book it 9 months in advance.)

Anyway, when I get thinking about camping my mind immediately wanders to thinking about SMORES. They are a camping MUST if you ask me. The best part about these smores are you can make them from the comfort of your own home. Perfect for all of you that hate camping. Come now I know not all of you love it.

What's your go to camping staple when it comes to food?

 

Smore bites
recipe by ::steph chows::

4 sheets graham crackers (4 crackers per sheet)
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup dates (about 5)
1 Tbs apple butter
6 marshmallows
1 more graham cracker (crushed) to roll balls in

Place everything into a food processor and go until everything forms into a dough (add a little more apple butter if things aren't sticking together enough). Form into 1" balls and roll in remaining crushed graham cracker. Place in freezer or enjoy at room temperature.

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Triple Chocolate Chunk Muffin Knock-Offs

My sister forwarded me a link she found on pinterest of these healthy muffins. Their photo looked AMAZING... my muffins in no way puffed up that much, and I got 16 instead of 12... next time I will try filling them to the tip top... even so, I think I had more than 12 muffins worth of batter. (UPDATE: the pinterest photo wasn't for the recipe... found the real recipe owner with different looking pictures here.)

I loved the muffins, puffed up or not and will be trying this again for sure! One other thing I wasn't sure about was she put all the ingredients together at once... which didn't seem to make sense to me since you need to make oat flour out of the oats... and getting them wet isn't going to make that easy. So I ground all the dry together and mixed the wet in a separate bowl and then mixed them. Might be another reason mine didn't puff as much?? Any suggestions??


Triple Chocolate Chunk Muffin Knock-Offs of Whole Food’s 6 Dollar per 4 Chocolate Chunk VitaTop Muffins
Thanks to an awesome reader I found out the recipe originally came from Dashing Dish

Ingredients:
1 3/4 c oats
3 egg whites
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (or regular plain low fat yogurt)
1/2 tsp cream of tartar (or 1-1/2 Tbsp. vinegar)
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1-1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup hot water
1 cup sugar substitute (like Splenda granular) OR 1/4 cup + 2 tbs stevia
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (or use white chocolate or peanut butter chips!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line (12-cup) muffin pans with foil cupcake liners, or spray muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

In a blender, (or food processor), mix all of the ingredients together, except for the chocolate chips. Blend until oats are ground and mixture is smooth. (I did dry together, and wet in a separate bowl, then mixed them together)
Place mixture in a bowl and gently stir in 1/2 of the chocolate chips (set the rest aside). Scoop mixture into prepared muffin pans.
Place muffins tins in the oven for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove muffins from the oven (but don’t shut oven off), and distribute the other half of the chocolate chips on top of each muffin.
Place the muffins back into the oven and bake for an additional 2-5 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. *Note, you could skip this step by putting all of the chips in the batter, and baking the muffins for 12-15 min straight, but this method gives the muffins the traditional ‘VitaTop Muffin’ look with the chocolate chips on top!
Cool muffins before removing from pan. ENJOY!!!
Servings: 12 Big Muffins or 24 Smaller Muffins
Calories: 116 Calories Per Muffin or 58 Calories Per Muffin

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Chocolate doughnut... muffins? With PB choco frosting

Bet that title got you drooling ehh? Side note, I've been saying ehh lately. I blame Jeanne. Cause she's Canadian and she writes it in her emails... which somehow has translated to me saying it. Maybe I just want to be Canadian or something? John goes nuts every time I let one slip LOL "why are you pretending to be Canadian?!?!" :D

Right... onto the doughnut muffins. I saw this on a blog and NEEDED to go home and make them. Only problem... I don't have a doughnut pan... so I tried making them as muffins, I increased the baking time... but they stuck like MAD to the pan... next time there will be liners. The tops had the perfect texture though, so I can see how making these shallower in a doughnut pan would be AMAZING. Either way, they tasted amazing, and I love her frosting, YUM! (as you can see above my muffin tops pulled off... so I put the frosting sandwich style under the tops, and then put a smear of coolwhip on top for flare.

She mentioned there not being enough batter to make 6... so I upped the nuts a bit and they filled 6 muffin tins to the top.


BAKED CHOCOLATE DOUGHNUTS
recipe by neverhomemaker

What you'll need . . .

1 cup rolled oats, processed into flour
1/2 cup cashews (processed with oats) (she used pecans and only 1/4 cup)
1/4 cup agave (she used maple syrup)
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt
1/2 cup skim milk (she used almond milk)
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 egg, (she used Ener-G egg replacer (plus required water) for one egg)

Method . . .

Preheat to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a mini bundt pan (or doughnut pan, if you have one).
Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
Pour into five of the six bundts (I need to rework the recipe to make more -- trust me, it's so good, I'm making more today).
Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until slightly firm. Let cool in pan and then turn over to pop out.

Frosting:
Just use a fork to mix everything together in a small bowl:
2 tablespoons peanut butter
2 Tbs splenda (she used 1/3 cup powdered sugar)
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 to 2 tablespoons almond milk

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Oatmeal PB bars - vegan friendly

Who wants chocolate and peanut butter for breakfast!? I do I do! I saw these over on (neverhome)maker on Friday and promptly made up a batch Saturday. Yup it was one of those mmmm those look good, MUST MAKE NOW! Kinda recipes! I'm not sure if I did something wrong, or maybe baked them a bit too long, but mine were super crumbly. Still wicked tasty, but definitely not a bar you could eat in the car... unless you like crumbs everywhere :)

The only other thing I can think of is I used all natural PB, which tends to be a bit dryer than Skippy or Jiff (although I doubt Ashley used either of those, she's a pretty all natural kinda gal). Either way, I liked these, even if they were crumbly. Just grab a glass of milk and you're good to go. Oh another bonus for these, they are vegan!

PEANUT BUTTER HUG BARS
recipe by (neverhome)maker
What you'll need . . .
1 cup rolled oats

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1-1/2 tablespoons flax meal mixed with 1/3 cup warm almond milk
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Method . . .

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8" x 8" baking pan with parchment (or grease lightly).
In a small bowl, heat up almond milk in your microwave (or stove) until it's wrist temperature. Mix in the flax meal with a fork and let sit for a couple minutes until thickened. Set aside momentarily.
In a large bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In another bowl, combine the olive oil and peanut butter. Then add the flax mixture. Add this wet mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until well moistened.
Fold in the chocolate chips. Then pour mixture into your baking pan and flatten.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

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Mocha Peanut Butter

Peanut butter cups, they are a weakness. Leave me with a bag of them, and I will happily nibble my way through it in record time. I'm not sure what I was thinking when I made this recipe, I knew I'd just sit with a spoon and take little nibbles, oh just a tiny one here, and there, and.. huh... where did the jar go?? I wish this had more of a coffee flavor, perhaps next time I'll add in some more instant espresso powder than the recipe calls for, other than that. LOVE.




Mocha Peanut Butter
recipe by Healthy Food for Living
1 1/2 cup dry roasted, unsalted peanuts, preferably organic
1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/8 -1/2 tsp canola oil (omit entirely for a thicker, less drizzle-able consistency) - that's what I did
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp cocoa powder
tiny pinch of Kosher salt
1 Tbsp instant espresso powder
2 tsp evaporated cane juice OR granulated sugar
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Instructions
Place peanuts into the bowl of a food processor. Process until peanuts break down into a paste, scraping down the sides as necessary, about 3-5 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the chocolate chips over a double boiler (set a heat-proof bowl over a pot with 1 inch of simmering water), and stir until fully melted. Set aside to cool slightly.

If you’re looking for a drippy consistency, start with adding just 1/8 tsp canola oil: with the motor of the food processor running, stream in the oil and process until a smooth butter forms. Add an additional 1/8-1/4 tsp if desired.

Spoon in the melted chocolate, and process until combined.

Add in the cocoa powder, salt, espresso powder, evaporated cane juice, and vanilla extract, and puree until well-combined.

What's your no self control treat of choice? PB and chocolate for me all the way!

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Cheesecake! and a winner

And the winner picked by random.org of The CarbLovers Diet Cookbook is....
Rebecca S. who said "Favorite food in the entire world is cheesecake. I hardly ever eat it since it is so terrible for you, but it's an awesome treat when I do eat it." I'll shoot you an email so I can get your address. Thanks everyone for entering!!


Speaking of cheesecake have you all tried my favorite cheesecake recipe ever?? It's an amaretto-amaretti chocolate cheesecake, and it's only 1/2 bad for you! But it tastes full on bad for you :) You can find the recipe here. You know you want to go make it!!

Do you like cheesecake? Do you prefer it Plain Jane, or do you like to mix in fun tasty things like this recipe does?

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PB Oatmeal Chocolate Chippers

These need a warning label... a label stating that you might just eat all the dough and not bake any of these... a warning that once you do manage to get some in the oven, when they come out they will disappear in mere minutes. These things are dangerous!!!


I was daydreaming about snack time at work yesterday... oh come now I know you do it too. And somehow I got peanut butter oatmeal cookies into my head... and then my brain added in some chocolate chips for good measure... I started jotting down a rough layout for the recipe and knew I'd be making them as soon as I walked into the door... ok fine I did manage to make dinner first.. (shrimp, broccoli, onions, mushrooms, udon noodles, in a tahini and soy spicy sauce... sorry inhaled it, no pictures) but THEN I made these.


Any guesses on what I have for snack time today?? Yup, not these, because they are already gone... maybe I should make some more tonight...


PB Oatmeal Chocolate Chippers
recipe by ::steph chows::
makes 18 cookies (need to revisit this to get the number up to 24)

In a medium bowl whisk together and set aside
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1.5 cups old fashion oats
1 tsp baking soda
dash of salt

In a large bowl beat together
1/3 cup smooth peanutbutter
2 tbs smart balance (or butter of choice)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup splenda (or use 1/3 cup white sugar)
then beat in 1 egg and 1 tsp vanilla

Mix dry into wet, then add 3/4 cup chocolate chips

Using your hands (time to get dirty!) form into large balls and then smoosh flat onto a greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 in a preheated oven for 12-15 minutes. Remove and let cool.


Do baked goods disappear quickly around your house? Are you good and only let yourself eat a few at a time? Or do you eat them all in one big sitting?

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Fudge + animal crackers + booze =

Sorry I missed a post on Wednesday. Things have been crazzzzy busy YIKES! Can't wait to take a breather this weekend and just enjoy relaxing!! Speaking of which...

Fudge + animal crackers + booze = amazing delicious nostalgic adult fudge!!

Boozy fudge has turned into a christmas gift tradition for me. Exhibit A: Captain Morgans SMORE fudge. Exhibit B. Coconut Malibu fudge

And now to add to the list. Amaretto Animal Cracker Fudge. Over the top easy to make... over the top decadent and delicious. Don't fool yourself, there is nothing healthy about this... unless you are my cousin Ann who would say... well it's got chocolate, which comes from beans, and beans are vegetables... therefore it's a vegetable!

OK who else loves my cousin's logic? Pretty fun right? :)

Amaretto Animal Cracker Fudge

by steph chows

1 14 oz can fat free sweetened condensed milk

about 2 cups (12 onces) semi sweet chocolate chips

1 oz amaretto

1 cup animal crackers (plus some to stick in the top)

Pour condensed milk into a medium sauce pan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Once simmering add in the chocolate chips. Stir occasionally until chocolate is melted and creamy. Pour in booze and stir until incorporated. Remove from heat and stir in animal crackers. Pour into a wax paper lined 8x8 baking square and refrigerate until set (I normally leave it overnight). Once set remove from pan and cut into 1 inch squares.

Happy Holidays everyone!!! What are you all doing? Going anywhere fun? Any fun and exciting traditions?

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Silken Chocolate Mousse Cake

Welcome back everyone! Did you have a nice long weekend (if you're in the US that is)? Ours was wonderful and relaxing, and best of all I made this amazing cake!

I've mentioned Hannah over at Bittersweet many times before, but I have to say this recipe of hers is my new favorite! It's actually from her first cookbook,My Sweet Vegan: passionate about dessert. If you didn't know she just came out with a second cookbook, Vegan Desserts: Sumptuous Sweets for Every Season! I really need to get myself a copy ASAP!


Hannah's version calls for shaved dark chocolate to top the cake, unfortunately I was all out (plus John doesn't like dark chocolate anyway) So I subbed in some fresh strawberries instead. The shaved chocolate would have been prettier but the strawberries sure were delicious too!

The crust is made from almond meal and cocoa, and the mousse has a silken secret... silken tofu that is! Ok now don't get all up in arms telling me there is NO way you'd eat tofu in a dessert. I promise you will NOT taste one little bit of it. John is a "I'm not eating tofu" kinda guy and he fully admitted this was sweet, decadent, and delicious. This is not health food people, it's full on, and it tastes like it is... well it's a little healthy, tofu instead of cream is WAY healthier, plus it still gives it that smooth silky texture. Just make sure you buy silken tofu and not firm or extra firm block tofu... that would be gross. Now go whip some up and I'm positive your guests will be none the wiser.

Seriously, I am in LOVE with this dessert! Go get her book and cook this up! OH and another bonus, no oven needed, just a blender or food processor and it sets in the fridge, perfect for summer :)

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Brownies and Milk

We had a sunny weekend!! Finally spring was here this weekend. It was sunny and in the 60's, and I'm jumping for joy! To celebrate I decided to make a batch of brownies. There is just something so comforting about brownies and milk. Maybe it's the memories making brownies with my Mom, either way this recipe is a keeper for sure.

I found it over at What would Cathy Eat and it's delicious!

Are you a milk with your brownies kinda girl/boy or maybe a scoop of icecream with them? Or straight up plain!? And don't you love the retro milk jug? It was my Nana's, too cute not to use.

Decadent Lowfat Brownies
recipe by What would Cathy Eat

2 oz. bittersweet chocolate (she used a Ghirardelli 70% baking bar) (I used Pure Dark Slab provided to me by Foodbuzz tastemaker program)
2 T. water
1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce
1 egg + 2 egg whites
2 t. vanilla
1/2 c. sugar (I used splenda)
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 T. canola oil
1/2 c. whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 c. cocoa powder
1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1/2 c. chopped walnuts (I left these out)


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a small saucepan, heat the chocolate and water on very low heat, stirring until melted. Stir in the applesauce. In a bowl, vigorously whisk together the egg and egg whites, vanilla, sugars and canola oil. Stir in the chocolate mixture. Add the dry ingredients and mix briefly. Fold in the walnuts.

Spray an 8×8″ metal baking pan with oil. Spread the batter in the pan and bake for 25 minutes. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

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Whole Wheat CC Cookies

Foodbuzz and Electrolux are partnering to host a Top 9 Tea Party Takeover this Friday. For this Electrolux Tea Party Top 9 Takeover, we want you to create the perfect tea party recipe.

The best part is for every post entered Foodbuzz is donating $50 to Kelly Confidential to help ovarian cancer research! I had to join in.


For my tea party I wanted to make delicious healthy chocolate chip cookies. The cookies pictured above are my modified version, I used half the oil, and subbed apple butter for the other half. I also used splenda in place of the white sugar. The image below is the original recipe. You can see the originals spread more and have a smoother finish to the tops whereas my version puffed a bit but didn't spread out. All in all the flavor of both were delicious!!

I brought the original recipe to a friends house and they were none the wiser that these contained white whole wheat flour, and were vegan! I'll be making my modified version to chow down at home again and again I'm sure.


Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip cookies - Vegan
recipe from Vegan cookies invade your cookie jar

1/3 cup sugar (my version I subbed splenda)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup canola oil (my version used 1/4 cup oil 1/4 cup apple butter)
1/2 cup almond milk (or non dairy milk of your choice... or use milk, they just wont be vegan anymore)
2 Tbs tapioca flour (or you can use corn starch, or arrowroot powder)
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups white whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I did 3/4 cup and then 1/4 cup butterscotch chips)



Mix sugars and oil for a minute, then add in milk and tapioca flour, beat until all incorporated. Add half the flour baking soda, salt and mix well. Add in remaining dry and then fold in chocolate chips.

Drop rounded tablespoonfulls of dough onto parchment paper or a silicon baking mat, press down slightly with your fingers. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

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Glazed Chocolate Pumpkin Bundt Cake

Here I go with pumpkin again! And a bundt cake! Who doesn't' like bundt cakes, I mean it's just so fun to say!

Bundt bundt bundt bundt bundt... ok you get the point. I registered for a bundt pan when we got married, and was so excited to get it. We had some friends over for dinner on Saturday and I decided it was the perfect excuse to make the inaugural first bunt cake in the pan. I remembered that the one person coming was in love with gingerbread... so off I went to the internets searching for a good gingerbread bunt cake. Low and behold I found this one hiding in the crevices at Eating Well.

It didn't call for a ton of ginger, just pumpkin pie spice, so I added more ginger and a good helping of cinnamon and called it a day. Only a few slight changes to the recipe but I stuck to what they had for the most part.

Glazed Chocolate Pumpkin Bundt Cake
recipe by Eating Well

CAKE

1 cup all-purpose, flour
3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1 cup granulated sugar ( I used 1/2 splenda, 1/2 white sugar)
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, (not Dutch-process)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice ( I used 3/4 tsp ginger 1 tsp cinnamon)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup nonfat buttermilk
1 15-ounce can unsweetened pumpkin puree
3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 large egg white, at room temperature
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

GLAZE & GARNISH

1/2 cup packed confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon nonfat buttermilk
2 tablespoons mini chocolate chips, or toasted chopped nuts

PREPARATION

To prepare cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 12-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray.
Whisk all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, granulated sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and salt in a medium bowl.
Blend 1 cup buttermilk, pumpkin puree and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on low speed. Beat in whole egg and egg white. Stir in oil, corn syrup and vanilla. Gradually add the dry ingredients, stirring until just combined. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan.
Bake the cake until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached, 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove from the pan and let cool completely on the rack, about 2 hours.
To glaze & garnish cake: Combine confectioners' sugar and 1 tablespoon buttermilk in a small bowl, stirring until completely smooth. Place the cake on a serving plate and drizzle the glaze over the top; garnish with chocolate chips (or chopped nuts) while the glaze is still moist.

(or another great opportunity to toss on some bacon!!!!)

PS it's the last day to enter the Shabby Apple Giveaway!

ChocoBosto Cream Pie

Don't forget to enter the Shabby Apple Giveaway!


We all know John is a bit finicky with what he eats (health-nut), so when the man lets me know he likes something (bad for him) I do my best to remake it into something he will actually eat (not so bad for him). I've had this discussion with you before... but the man loves boston cream pie, personally I can't understand it, that creamy white filling creeps me out something fierce!

Today is actually the little health nuts birthday! Happy Birthday John!! I didn't make this for today but don't you worry he got something even better (you'll have to wait to see it).

Choco-Bosto Cream Pie
recipe by ::steph chows:: with some help marked below

Cake:

1 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/2 cup white sugar (I used splenda)
2 Tbs brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup Hershey's 100% Cocoa Special Dark
2 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
dash salt
1/8 tsp cinnamon

Preheat over to 350 F
Mix apple sauce, sugar (and/or) splenda, vanilla, beat in egg
In a separate bowl mix flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon.
Add flour mixture to wet mixture a little at a time. Spoon batter into greased 8" spring form pan
Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Set aside and let cool completely.

Filling:

Direct from CookingLight

Icing (I'm not sure where I wrote this down from... but I'd probably use something different next time, this one was ok though)

1/3 cup chocolate chips
2 Tbs canola oil
1 cup powdered sugar

Place chips and oil in a heavy bottom pan, stir and cook over medium heat until melted, remove from heat and stir in sugar.

Assembly/Toppings

With a sharp long knife cut your cake in half (this is the hard part) place on a nice plate and then slather on all the filling, top with other cake half and then drizzle chocolate frosting over top. Toss on some toasted hazelnuts for some flair... or anything else you have laying around.. sprinkles... bacon.. you know, whatever you've got :)