Laddu - A Gluten-Free Indian Cookie that Doesn't Require an Oven

Laddu is a gluten-free Indian cookie most commonly prepared in small balls (laddu literally means small ball in Sanskrit).  Although laddu can be spiced with anything, mine were flavored with orange, cardamom, and a touch of nutmeg and were drizzled with a chocolate coconut ganache.

Laddu are prepared differently than most American cookies.  The process begins by roasting chickpea flour with ghee or butter (use ghee if you can get it as it will give the cookies a richer flavor).  You then mix in the spices, honey for sweetness, and a touch of powdered milk.  Roll the batter into balls and you're done - no need to touch the oven.

Laddu has a Mexican wedding cookie-like texture - it's hard on the outside, but when you bite into it, it crumbles in your mouth as if you were eating a ball of refrigerated cookie dough.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Cupcakes Made With Garbanzo Bean Flour - My Best Gluten-Free Cupcakes To Date

Ignoring the sweet and salty roasted chickpeas on top, these gluten-free chocolate cupcakes made with garbanzo bean flour and frosted with chocolate hummus are indistinguishable from the chocolate birthday cupcakes that you've had a thousand times - with the smell of smoke still lingering in the air from recently made wishes for ponies and Disney vacations.  The rich chocolate frosting (a step up from the typical turn-your-mouth-blue-"butter"cream) might give partygoers a small hint that something was different, but it's unlikely that they would think about it any longer than the birthday girl did to rip open the princess outfit she'd been waiting for.  These gluten-free cupcakes aren't special or spicy, and they don't have a unique earthy finish; they taste like classic all-American chocolate birthday cake. Sometimes, gluten-free or not, that's just what you want.

Sweet and Salty Roasted Chickpeas - Cheap, Easy, and Addictive

Prior to making sweet and salty roasted chickpeas (garbanzo beans), chickpeas did not entice me at snack time.  I didn't search the pantry saying, "Chocolate, nah!  Graham cracker, no thanks.  Oooh, I know what I should have: chickpeas!"  Silly me!   I now realize that with minimal effort, some sugar, a small amount of oil, spices, and salt, a can of chickpeas can turn into a grazing food akin in addictiveness and crunching pleasure to popcorn.

Hop on board the chickpea choo choo (I'm picturing a train with chickpeas flying out of the engine instead of smoke) and give these a go!  If you're already along for the ride, I'd love to hear what spices you use.

Chocolate Hummus - So Decadent That You Can Use It In Place of Chocolate Frosting

Chocolate hummus is so decadent - like a rich chocolate mousse - that unless you tell your tasters it's hummus, they'll never know.  Case in point: While I slathered chocolate hummus all over pita (probably too much of it because it's "healthy"), I also used it to frost chocolate cupcakes.  Friends and family unknowingly tasted the chocolate hummus frosted cupcakes (they were only told that it was a chocolate cupcake), and not a single soul gave me a sidelong "what are you feeding me" glance.  I asked for feedback and I got comments like, "What do you want me to tell you?  It's just a really good chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting."  Without knowing it, they gave me the exact feedback that I wanted to hear.