Sometimes, the need for immediate chocolate comes on strongly and without warning.

You know what I’m talking about.

The other night I was sitting in my apartment when it hit me. I began contemplating whether or not I should walk down the street to the bodega where they have my favorite kind of raw chocolate.

The problem was it was late, raining and freezing outside. If I went out into the cold, dark, rainy streets just to get one piece of chocolate… well, I’m definitely not above doing that, but just read on.

Suddenly, a light bulb went off in my head. I probably have all the ingredients to make some type of chocolate without even having to leave the warmth of my apartment. I googled a few recipes and stumbled upon a fudge recipe that seemed fairly easy. I had all of the ingredients except one, nut butter—which is a weird thing for me not to have, but now I know it happened for a reason.

What I did have was tahini. Could tahini it be an adequate replacement for nut butter in a fudge recipe? I decided to go for it.

It turned out to be the best decision ever. The tahini makes it almost taste like peanut butter cups! It’s so good, I may never leave the apartment again (at least not for a late-night chocolate mission).

Vegan Chocolate Tahini Fudge Recipe

Makes 16-20 pieces. Adapted from Detoxinista.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup tahini
• 1/3 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 cup cacao powder
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

In a medium bowl, whisk together the tahini and coconut oil until smooth. (This works best if the ingredients are slightly warm.)

Add in the cacao powder, maple syrup, sea salt and vanilla and stir until smooth and creamy.

Transfer the mixture to a square or rectangle dish. (The original recipe suggests to line it with plastic wrap for easier removal, which I didn’t do.)

Place the dish in the freezer and allow the fudge to set for at least an hour before slicing it up and serving. (I also didn’t let it freeze for an hour, because I’m impatient, which was fine.)

It will melt if you leave it out too long, so for best results, keep it in the freezer until you’re ready to eat it .

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Editor: Michelle Margaret

Image: courtesy of author