I’m pretty sure sugar should be classified as a drug. Granted, I’ve never tried any sort of illegal substance, but I’d put good money on the fact that it has you addicted as quickly, if not quicker, as the most hardcore stuff out there.
Prior to Friday, I hadn’t had a real dessert in three weeks and I didn’t really even miss it. Fruit or a tiny sliver of dark chocolate did the trick if a craving hit. Then we went away, a 5 course tasting meal and my birthday happened and within 2 days I had consumed more sugar than I probably had in the entire previous month.
And now I want more. And more. And more.
For as good as those vegetables tasted when we got home, I got hit with an intense craving for something sweet yesterday afternoon. I tried to shut it up with lunch, but it came back 2 hours later. Then I tried to shut it up with a smoothie and it laughed in my face an hour after that.
So here we are with the solution that actually worked.
And there’s only half a tablespoon of actual sugar in it.
I’ve done the healthy cookie dough dip before and it was good, but this one is on a whole other level thanks to the peanut butter. Pb does an excellent job of masking the “healthy” in this and makes it much smoother than beans ever could.
It’s sinfully delicious and there’s seriously not one ingredient to feel bad about.
Consider it sugar’s methadone.
- 5 oz. tofu, drained & pressed (1/4 of a block)
- ¼ cup oats
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- ½ tablespoon turbinado sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon cacao nibs
- Combine all ingredients except cacao nibs in a food processor and process until smooth, scraping down the sides once or twice.
- Add cacao nibs and process for 10-15 seconds more until incorporated and chopped up just slightly.
- Keep refrigerated.
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wo wasn’t expecting the tofu- interesting! I find if I get a good sized meal with lots of protein and fat that I don’t crave sugar, but I do agree that once I start its hard to stop!
WHAT?! TOFU?! holy crap. you could’ve fooled me!!! never in a million years would i have thought this was made with tofu..i was reading this and then got to the recipe to see what was really in it to make it healthy and i was completely blown away. consider yourself awesome!
Hmmm, Tofu in it? I never bought or used tofu, but if it’s a peanut butter dip, I am betting I would LOVE it!!! I understand about sweets, once you start to eat it, you can’t stop! I’m currently trying to stop the sweet train!!
YUM. That actually looks exactly like the PB Crave Cookie Nookie.
Oh, I am right there with you re: the sugar. I can’t have even a pinch of it or I go on sugar binges for days. Right now, I am on day three of my endless sugar banishment routine. I feel so much better without it, but it always somehow manages to taunt me and drag me back in to its circle of evil. It’s all or nothing with sugar as far as I’m concerned!
I’m with you that sugar can be addicting but that there are also so many great healthy alternatives. This looks like a GREAT one!
I just started picking up tofu for random reasons to attempt to integrate it more and this (along with the banana bread I posted today-YUM!) seem to be great reasons to keep it on hand! I can’t wait to make this for family, watch them gobble it up and then say “it was made with TOFU!!! HAAAA!!!!” (My family won’t eat anything if they know its healthy so this is a perfect sneak in!)
I like the tofu in this. I’ve tried the other version with the beans and while good, I can always taste the beans. I’ve got the sugar monkey on my back, too, so I think I’m making a batch of this today.
Sugar is definitely addicting. I was doing really well on the no sugar thing too until I had a little handful of jelly beans. That was all it too for the ugly sugar monster to rear it’s head. This dip looks great. I love using tofu for stuff like this. I even made a chocolate PB pie using tofu and no one knew!
Ahh isn’t it crazy how that works with sugar cravings?? You gotta quit cold turkey
oh my goodness…girl after my own heart…I could eat cookie dough by the gallons! I’m so in love with it! (Now I can do it guilt free!) Thank youuuu!
sometimes, I think I’ll get the vapors if I don’t get sugar. It’s a small problem I have.
oh yes, i love my sugar. thank goodness there are healthier alternatives like this one that help me not turn into sugar. this looks great!
Sounds fantastic. Only 2 Tbsp peanut butter!
Love the tofu in it. Never would have thought of adding tofu in a cookie dough. I’m happy to know I’m not the only one out there who loves cacao nibs!
This healthy food looks so yummy and delicious. This is one of good food that I will make for the kids.
I have two coupons for tofu products and have been waiting to use them because I had no idea what I wanted to make with it…I think now I have an idea
I make a PB Cookie Dough dip using ricotta!
Just a small scoop ricotta, scoop of PB, chocolate almond milk (just add until you get the consistency you like), vanilla extract and cinnamon to taste, and mix in a handful of mini choco chips. Tastes just like cookie dough and has lots of protein
oh wow, that sounds delicious too. I love ricotta!
With ricotta? In my cooking class we make sugar cookies with ricotta that were frosted with royal icing. They were so good and moist. The cookies were heavy but not dense…if you can picture that. Moist, but not chewy… Can you imagine that?
MMmm, that sounds amazing, Molly!!
Yes, ricotta is my new favorite desser-for-one tool…. I also use it to make chocolate protein mousse
Great recipe and I’ve seen all kinds of recipes for cookie dough dips but most use 8 oz of cream cheese as the base (not tofu) and I’ve heard some of them taste more like cream cheese dip than cookie dough, which I love cream cheese and all, but want cookie dough to taste like..cookie dough
Awesome photos, Gina! I hope you are loving the new lens! And this sounds awesome…I’ve never made it with tofu, but have with chickpeas. Will be trying this version, especially with the PB!
I think you’ll love it with tofu! I loved the chickpeas but you could always taste the beans in the background. You really don’t get that with tofu.
That sounds sooo good. It almost sounds like a doughy version of a Lara bar. but not quite.
Wow, I totally wasn’t expecting tofu. I can see how it would be good though – I made a chocolate tofu pudding once with silken tofu and I couldn’t taste the tofu at all(with other varieties I could though). Love this idea to get some extra protein in
Looking at that decadent dip I would have never known that it wasn’t actually cookie dough! It looks incredibly yummy, Gina. I could definitely demolish an apple – or twelve – slathered with this stuff! Great recipe!
I started back on sweets on Easter and cannot get a grip on my cravings. I am all or nothing girl and it looks like I have to get back on the nothing side of things.
Tofu in a dessert? I don’t know if I can get behind that.
don’t knock it till you try it, lady
The dip sounds awesome. I would’ve never guessed there’s tofu in it! I’ll swap the peanut butter out for almond maybe since I can’t do peanuts and make it soon. I think I might have a sugar craving coming
I’m off to the kitchen!
This is brilliant Gina, thank you so much for sharing lady
Wow.. This makes my mouth really melt.. Actually, I have never tried this one yet and I am sure my kids would love it too..
I’ll be honest…I’m a total tofu skeptic. But the creaminess of this dip sounds fantastic!
“Sugar’s methadone” – I love it! I finally succumbed to trying the unhealthy cookie dough dip last week and I’m HOOKED. I’ll definitely have to try this version before I grow out of my whole wardrobe!
I can’t tell you how much I agree with you about sugar being addictive. I recently took a hiatus from sugar and once my sugar hiatus was over, there was pudding, there were milkshakes, there was baklava…frozen yogurt…sigh…it’s like an all or nothing thing as far as I’m concerned. On a separate note, your dip looks awesome and I like the cocoa nibs addition! Never heard of turbinado sugar, but I trust it’s a step above cane sugar?
You said Peanut Butter–I’m there. This looks and sounds amazing. I can’t wait to give this a try!
I may end up eating more dip that apples but that’s okay with me!
Amazing idea!!! definitely one to pin!
Great idea..only I’d have to substitute the sugar added, with …. raisins? or maybe chopped dates? Dried cranberries?
I made a double batch of this yesterday. As with all awesome recipes, I wanted to take a picture and share it on my blog to help spread the love for the recipe. Well it was so good that I never actually got a picture of it, because I finished the whole thing yesterday! It was delicious!! My new favorite way to use tofu.
I’ve also seen this made with chickpeas… You are SO right about sugar. If I cut if out after a few days I don’t miss it, then when you have a little you want more more more!
Oh, now that I look back I see you’ve made the kind with beans!
The more you have it, the more you crave it. The less you have it, the less you crave it. Isn’t that strange how sugar works like that? It’s been over a year since I’ve had any added sugars, and I don’t miss ‘em one bit!
I’ve never had tofu before, but this is such a nifty way to use it! I’d love to try out this recipe (sans sugar, of course, haha) with some sunbutter or almond butter – to help those suckers last a little longer! If it weren’t for the fact that they cost about $7 a jar, I would totally sit down and finish it off in one day, whoops!
When I saw this recipe, I was intrigued. I tried it and am WOW’d!!!! This recipe was awesome. Thanks!!!!!
So glad you liked it!
Do you cook the oats first?
nope, just throw them in uncooked!
Just made this! Tried to be fancy and make it more like plain cookie dough dip by using 1 1/2 tbsp cashew butter and just 1/2 tbsp peanut butter, and I could still taste the tofu – I don’t mind the taste of tofu but probably most would, so I added more peanut butter and it was wunderbar! So yeah, don’t try to be fancypants like me and mess with a great recipe – it’s fabuloso Gina! Ooh yes – and I removed the sugar and instead used vanilla stevia. But again, I don’t mind the flavour of stevia. It was yummy!
Never skimp on the pb! haha
So glad you liked it!
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