Crio Bru Truffles

These rich, chocolatey no-bake truffles are full of healthy, energizing, guilt-free ingredients, and they whip up in a jiffy!  As the sole sweetener in these morsels, dates compliment the chocolate and nut flavors beautifully. 

One of my favorite healthy ways to get my chocolate fix is drinking Crio Bru. If you haven't tried it, you should! It is a drink made from brewing ground, roasted cacao beans. It is full of antioxidants and important minerals, gives me a natural boost of energy, but it doesn't have the addictive high-caffeine-content that coffee does. 

After I brew my Crio, I like to save the damp grounds to use in recipes. They add rich chocolate flavor, fiber, and all of the health benefits of the brewed drink!

My entire family loved these truffles. I had to hide them in the freezer so my husband was sure to get some before they disappeared!

Crio Bru Truffles

Makes 18-20 

Ingredients

1/2 cup Crio Bru grounds (previously brewed and well-drained, but damp)

1 cup of raw pecans, walnuts, or cashews

1/4 cup coconut oil, softened

10 Medjool dates, pitted

4 tablespoons cocoa powder, divided

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Directions

1. Line a small cookie sheet with wax paper. Measure 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder into a small bowl, and set aside. 

2. In a medium food processor or blender, process damp Crio Bru grounds and nuts until finely chopped. Add coconut oil, dates, 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder and sea salt. Pulse on high 5-10 seconds at a time, scraping the bowl as needed, until all ingredients are well incorporated. 

3. Using a medium cookie scoop (or your fingers), form 1.5 inch balls. Roll the balls in the bowl of cocoa powder, then set on the wax paper.  Once all the dough is used, place the cookie sheet in the refrigerator for 30 min to 1 hour to set.  Tasting is allowed. :)

Sea Salted Crio Brü Granola Bars

Yep! I've added leftover Crio grounds to another recipe! A couple of posts ago I put them in some delicious no-bake cookies.  Now, you won't BELIEVE how yummy they are in these soft, scrumptious granola bars. 

Crio Brü is a drink made from brewed cacao beans. Each time you make this tasty drink (which brews like coffee in a coffee maker or french press), save the grounds. I save my used grounds in a covered bowl in the fridge. They are so great for baking with that I rarely throw them out! These granola bars are full of yummy chocolate flavor before you drizzle them with melted chocolate chips, and Crio is the sole source of that flavor.  

(By the way, I am NOT being compensated for this post. I sincerely love Crio Brü and enjoy baking with it!)

For this recipe, you'll need to save 1 cup of your previously brewed grounds (which adds up fast because the grounds expand when brewed), pulse them in the food processor or blender for a few seconds, and they are ready to go!

1 cup previously brewed Crio grounds

Pulse in food processor or blender for 15-30 seconds, scraping sides once.

These bars also have delicious flaked coconut, chia seeds, and oatmeal! So they have a TON of redeeming health value!! My entire family went nuts!  I made two batches: one I iced and one I didn't; ALL were devoured. 

Sea Salted Crio Brü Granola Bars

Makes 12-14 bars

Ingredients

1 cup previously brewed Crio Brü grounds

1/2 cup coconut oil, room temp

1/2 cup honey

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 egg

2 tsp vanilla

2.5 cups quick oats

1/4 cup chia seed

1.5 cups unsweetened flaked coconut

1/2 cup chocolate chips for drizzle (optional)

1 tablespoon coarse sea salt 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9"x13" baking dish with cooking spray. 

2. Place previously brewed Crio Brü grounds in food processor or blender and pulse 15-30 seconds, scraping sides once. Set aside

3. In a large mixing bowl, beat coconut oil, honey and brown sugar until smooth. Add egg and beat well. 

4. Stir in Crio grounds and vanilla. 

5. Stir in oats, chia seed, and flaked coconut. Spread in prepared pan.

6. Bake 30-35 minutes, until sides and bottom begin to brown. Remove from oven and cool. Cut into bars.

7. To make drizzle (optional): Melt chocolate chips by placing in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 1 minute. Stir. Microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring after each, until chocolate is smooth. Spoon into a plastic sandwich bag. Snip off a bottom corner and drizzle over cooled bars. 

8. Sprinkle with sea salt (with or without drizzle). Wrap individually in plastic wrap to store. Store in refrigerator or freezer.

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No-Bake Cookies with Crio Bru

Have you tried Crio Bru? If you like chocolate--especially if you like rich, dark chocolate--you will LOVE Crio. I am a huge fan. I drink it several mornings a week.  Crio is a drink made from 100% roasted and ground cocoa beans, and it is brewed like coffee. I brew mine in a french press. My favorite way to drink it is iced with a pack of Truvia sweetener and a shot of creamer.  So delicious!

A beautiful feature of Crio grounds is that they can be re-used in baking.  And after making a few recipes with my used grounds, I never throw them away. They are too deliciously valuable!

I buy my Cri Bru on Amazon, and it is also available in many grocery and health-food stores. I am NOT being compensated for this recipe post--I'm just sharing a product I truly love with my many chocolate-loving readers!

After some questions on social media from readers, I am posting a link to the french press I use. I'm sure there are others that work well out there, but I can personally attest to the ease of use (and ease of cleaning!), as well as the effective brewing ability of this press: 

Now on to how to use the grounds to make your chocolate no-bake cookies over-the-top with rich yumminess!

Here are the used grounds. They should be damp, but not at all juicy. This recipe uses 1 cup of previously-brewed Crio grounds. If you brew daily, you'll have a cup in less than a week.  The grounds expand when they are brewed, so they accumulate pretty fast. I just scoop them into a bowl after each brew and keep them covered in the refrigerator. 

Place your cup of grounds into a food processor/blender. 

Pulse for about 1 minute total, scraping the sides a couple of times. The grounds will still be coarse,  but less rough than they started out.

Now make the chocolate candy base for your no-bake cookies by melting 1 stick of butter, 1 cup of sugar, and 1/3 cup of cocoa powder.  Once melted, stir in the processed Crio grounds.  Bring to a boil and boil hard while stirring for 2 full minutes. This breaks down the sugar so the cookies aren't gritty. Don't boil more than 4 minutes, though, as the sugar will start becoming too hard. 

Remove from heat, and stir in 1 cup peanut (or other nut) butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla.

Stir in 2.5 cups of quick oats.  Similar recipes for no-bake cookies call for 3 cups of oats, but the Crio grounds add fiber and bulk, so these only call for 2.5 cups. 

Drop by heaping tablespoons onto wax paper. Refrigerate or freeze to set. 

I kept these in my freezer for a few days and LOVED grabbing one when I needed a little chocolate treat. My kids discovered them and they were gone shortly after. The chocolate flavor in these are SO incredible! And they have less sugar and more health benefits than most cookies, so you can feel good eating them and sharing them with your family!

Here's the recipe: 

No-Bake Cookies with Crio Bru

Makes 30 cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup previously brewed Crio Bru grounds

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1 cup peanut (or other nut) butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 cups quick oats

Directions:

1. Place previously brewed Crio grounds in a food processor and pulse 1 minute, scraping sides 2 times.  Set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan, melt butter with sugar and cocoa powder, stirring until smooth. Add Crio grounds and bring to a rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil 2 full minutes. Remove from heat.

3. Stir in peanut butter and vanilla until smooth. Stir in quick oats. Immediately drop by heaping tablespoon onto wax paper-lined baking sheets. Place in freezer of fridge to set. 

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