Black-Forest Protein Pops (Veg|GF)

Chocolate with cherries are an elite duo and these little pops give you all of that flavor along with the combined texture of ice -cream, brownie and fudge in just a single bite... and did I mention they're healthy?

Depending on how much time you thaw them for, or put them in the microwave for, you can adjust whether they taste more like ice-cream, fudge, or brownie. I have included my favorite way to eat them below the recipe!

The story behind these is a bit funny. I woke up one morning in the mood for brownies. (Most mornings do start like this for me, I must admit) But this day I actually went ahead and started combining some random ingredients (of course involving protein powder and oats) in the hopes of something working out. I saw a bag of cherries in my fridge and thought I create some ~black forest brownies~. I made the batter. Let it chill. Put them in the oven. Went to Jump Rope. Came back. And then realized they were quite the disaster.

but the story does not end there. (If it's not a happy ending, then it's not the end!)

I started molding the messy brownies into spheres. I tried one and realized they were actually quite delicious. They just didn't hold together too well as brownies. So I began experimenting some more. I taste tested a few batches on my family. My dad did not seem to mind when I kept popping into his work meetings with a new version of my protein pops (pun intended).

But alas, here we are... many batches later, with what I think is my perfect Protein Pop recipe!!

They are literally everything I have ever dreamed of in one bite and are the perfect size to satisfy my post-dinner sweet cravings. Try them out and I promise you might just make 4 batches in one week like I did!

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dEATS

(24 pops, 37 calories and 4 grams of protein each!)

Ingredients

POPS

• 1/4 cup oat flour (you can make this by putting rolled oats in a blender)

• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

• 1/2 cup chocolate protein powder ( I use Gold Standard Whey)

• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

• 1/2 cup almond milk

• 1 egg (sub for banana for vegan version)

• 1 tbsp sweetener (I use Lakanto Monkfruit)

• 1/8 tsp baking powder

• 1 tbsp vanilla extract

• 12 cherries (pitted and chopped)

COATING

• 1/2 cup nonfat greek yogurt

• 1/8 cup vanilla protein powder ( I use Gold Standard Whey)

• 1/2 tbsp of water

THE MAGIC

1. Mix all the dry ingredients for the pops together (oats, cocoa powder, protein powder, sweetener, baking powder).

2. Add in the wet ingredients and mix well (applesauce, almond milk, egg/banana, vanilla).

3. Keep batter in the fridge to thicken for at least an hour

4. Pour into a greased baking dish or divide batter into a muffin tin. Add in the chopped cherries.

5. Bake for 16 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

6. Meanwhile create your coating, by simply mixing together the yogurt, protein powder and water in a bowl. Add more water if you feel like its too thick.

7. After 16 minutes are up, let the pan cool for a few minutes.

8. While still warm, destroy the "cake" or "muffins" you have baked by molding them balls using your hands (it may get a lil messy... be a kid and enjoy it)

9. Stick a skewer or toothpick into your molded sphere and then dip it into the bowl with the coating. Use a spoon to evenly coat the pop. Place it down on a plate lined with parchment paper.

10. Repeat for all 24 pops and then place tray in the freezer to cool.

11. After 30 minutes, you could drizzle with chocolate syrup and then put back in the fridge to cool for more time. Otherwise, they are ready to enjoy!!!!!

The best way to enjoy these (in my opinion) is to microwave them for precisely 12 seconds, for the best combination of icecream/fudge/brownie type texture. You could also leave them out to thaw for a few minutes. (For more ice-cream feel, warm it up less. For a more brownie feel, warm it up more).

Store in the freezer for up to a week though I doubt they will last longer than 3 days. We finished all 24 pops in 2 days! Oops!