October 31, 2012: Identity in Christ and garbanzo peanut butter cookies

During this season, Christians may have a difficult time deciding what to do with Halloween. Do we celebrate it? What do we think it means to us? Would God want our children to go trick-or-treat-ing?  I think that there are different convictions for different families and that we should all respect each others' decisions. For us, our daughter is still under two and either way, we believe she's still too young to go toting around in the cold for candy we don't want her eating.

We must remember that regardless of how we choose to engage in the festivities, we are children of God. We've been adopted into His family as sons or daughters. We have been chosen before the foundation of the world. We are co-heirs with Christ. We have been declared justified in His eyes and that when He sees us, He sees the imputed righteousness of Christ. There is no more condemnation; we have been promised eternal life because of His Son Jesus. We can relax, fully knowing that because He saved us, because He loved us, we will complete the work in us until the end. There is perseverance for His saints. He does not save us and leave us to do all of the work ourselves. That would be contrary to what His Word teaches.

So, whatever you decide to do with your children, remind yourself of His wonderful deeds, rejoice in His everlasting covenants and hope in His expectant return.


On the other hand, you can make your little monsters a delicious and healthy treat to enjoy. This recipe is a combination of many recipes I have found. Big thanks to my sister-in-law for giving me recipes for tasty treats that involve beans! Below is a recipe I made today that is gluten-free, can be vegan depending on the chocolate you use, and made with garbanzo (chickpeas) beans.

TT's Peanut Butter Balls (chocolate chips are optional, but oh so good!)

1 1/4 c garbanzo beans ( I use the reduced sodium or no salt added.  Whole Foods has these options)
1/4 c honey
1/2 peanut butter (I used Smuckers natural creamy. It does have added salt so I didn't add salt to the recipe)
1 t baking powder
2 t natural vanilla extract.

I added all the ingredients into my food processor and let 'er rip. I did not add any chocolate chips while this was 'processing'.

I refrigerated my dough overnight, as I had yet to get my chocolate chips.
If you're vegan you can use non-dairy chocolate or leave them out altogether and use agave instead of honey. *Vegans debate on whether honey is considered vegan.

I made twelve 'balls' of cookies on a cookie sheet. I used parchment paper. I baked them at 350 for about 15-20 minutes. Keep checking on them. They will get a little brown on top and will remain really mushy until they cool. You could try making smaller balls than I did, and then bake them for less time. If you do that, let me know how they turn out. I plan on making these in the future, so I will keep you up to date.