High Protein Chocolate Seitan

You might consider this recipe a kitchen crime, and I get it – this is really weird. BUT, weird can be good. And these are really, really good! I will also admit that they look… not that appealing… But you cannot judge a Chocolate Seitan Ball by its shriveled ugly exterior; you must put those balls in your mouth and see how they taste!

Anyways, these are a great high protein snack, and perfect for meal prepping! You get a lot of servings out of one batch, and they don’t take very long to make! Even though you get 16 servings, I can tell you from experience, they will not last very long in your kitchen – we ate them in like 3 days; they’re addictive!

They are a little over 40% protein on a calorie basis. They are like very chewy chocolatey brownie bites!

Ingredients

• Extra Firm Silken Tofu – I really like the brand Mori-Nu, and I really, really like their Extra Firm Silken Tofu – the protein % on a calorie basis is better than most silken tofus. If you’re new to silken tofu, there are two types you can find – refrigerated and shelf-stable. You can usually find shelf-stable silken tofu in the International Cuisine Aisle at most grocery stores. You can also buy it online!
• Maple Syrup – I thought this tasted great with Maple Syrup but I think you could probably use a different syrup if you don’t have maple on hand!
• Vital Wheat Gluten – if you’re gluten-free, I’m thinking you probably shouldn’t make this recipe, because there’s no sub for the vital wheat gluten. You can find wheat gluten at most grocery stores, normally next to the gluten-free flour options (ironically enough). You can also buy this online. If you haven’t worked with this before, it makes things really damn chewy and it has a crazy amount of protein!
• Sugar – I know a lot of people are trying to reduce their sugar intake, but I used white sugar in this recipe. I think you could probably use a sugar alternative, but I haven’t tried that, so I don’t have any recommendations for you if you go that route. If you do happen to make this with reduced-sugar, please share your kitchen wizardry in the comment section so that everyone can learn from your genius!
• Cocoa Powder – any cocoa powder will do!
• PB Fit Powder – this is a powdered peanut butter. I really like the brand PB Fit as it has a little more protein than other brands. Another good one is PB2! You can find at least one of these brands at most grocery stores, and if not, you can buy them online!

Instructions

• Pre-heat the oven to 350 F.
• In a blender, add the extra firm silken tofu, water and maple syrup. Blend for a minute or two until smooth and well-mixed.
• In a large bowl, add the vital wheat gluten, sugar, cocoa powder, PB Fit Powder, and salt. Whisk them together well.
• Add the blended silken tofu mixture to the dry ingredients. Mix well. I like to use a wooden spoon because it does get very thick and hard to mix. You could also use a stand-mixer if you didn’t want to mix it by hand.
• Once everything is well combined, you should end up with a dough.
• On your counter (either a clean counter, on parchment paper, silicone sheet, etc.), knead the chocolate seitan dough. I set a timer and knead it for about 7 minutes. The dough starts out a little loose, but it will get tougher the more you knead it. It should be pretty tough by the time you’re done.
• Next we are going to roll it into little balls. I like to separate the dough into a couple piles, and roll each one out into a very thin log type thing – like maybe a 1″ diameter stick? Then I cut those into about 1″ wide pieces. This is the size chunks I used, so if you are doing different sizes, you may need different cooking times.

• Place the seitan balls on a baking sheet. I like to line mine with parchment paper.
• Cook for 22 – 27 minutes. Do not cook these on the bottom rack or the bottoms of the setian balls may overcook. These should puff up while they’re cooking, but they will shrink down about 3 minutes after coming out of the oven. You’ll know they’re done cooking when they are no longer doughy or wet inside; they should be chewy.
• Let them cool for about 10 minutes!

Silly Little Haiku

A kitchen crime or

Am I an innovator?

Seitan’s shriveled balls