Carrot Cake Hummus

Yes, this sounds really weird. I know. But please don't knock it till you try it. It's delicious and a really fun thing to take to a fall party to add to the appetizer table. If it freaks you out to call it hummus just call it "carrot cake dip." Maybe that's what I should just call it as to not turn people off but it is technically hummus so I'm sticking to it!

I was inspired to make this because I've been seeing dessert hummus all over the place, but my husband isn't big on sweets. The only dessert he gets excited about is carrot cake and anytime I can sneak a veggie into something I get excited! If you love hummus but you're not sure about sweet hummus I beg you to head over to Cookie and Kate to check out this hummus recipe. This recipe is where I found the tip to cook the canned chickpeas in baking soda. I don't know how or why this easy step makes such a difference in the texture of the hummus, but it does. The carrot cake hummus won't be as smooth because it has carrots and nuts but the savory version is crazy smooth!

One thing I really had to think about when I was making this was, what do I serve it with? Carrot cake and corn chips don't sound good. So, I was wandering around the grocery store and stumbled across something I didn't know existed. Honey and cinnamon Nut Thins! Perfect. They taste like gram crackers! Speaking of gram crackers...they would also work very well. I also grabbed some Glutino gluten-free pretzels and honey crisp apples. I love all the dippers equally! If you have any other ideas, send me an email!

Ingredients

1 can chickpeas

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 cup tahini

Cold water

2 medium carrots

A heavy handful of pecans

1/4 cup maple syrup plus more to taste

2 tsp vanilla

1 TBSP cinnamon plus more to taste

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp cloves

Pinch of salt

Directions

1. Cut carrots into strips and arrange on a baking sheet with the pecans and drizzle with a little avocado oil and sprinkle with a little cinnamon. Bake at 400 until soft and slightly browned (if the pecans start to burn before the carrots are done, remove them from the pan).

2. Rinse and drain chickpeas then add them to a pot with the baking soda. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 10-15 minutes.

3. Add carrots and nuts to the food processor and process until broken up into small pieces then add the tahini, vanilla, and spices and process until well combined.

4. Drain the water off the chickpeas and add them to your food processor.

5. Process until combined and start adding water slowly. Process until the consistency has reached your desired smoothness. I added about 2/3 cup total.

6. Taste and add more of whatever you feel like it needs then pulse to combine.

7. Serve with a dollop of carrot cake spread from Trader Joe's if you have access to it and enjoy with gram crackers, pretzels, apples, or cinnamon and honey Nut Thins!

-Notice I didn't add oil. I found I like the constancy without any oil but you can experiment. I would use avocado oil.

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