Blondie Brownies

I didn't grow up with Blondie Brownies......I know deprived huh! I don't remember trying them until my husband's family introduced me to them. Ummmmm yeah I liked them. And then well a lot of cookies and brownies and things took a back seat while I learned a healthier way to live.

I did slowly add treats I loved back in as I learned the art of "Healthifying" but for some reason there are a lot of things I kind of just forgot about or I don't know maybe just never worried about them. Most of the things I have healthified have been things that I was craving.

It's kind of funny how many things I just haven't craved or really even thought about. There was a time when I thought my life would end if I had to live without certain foods. Well guess they weren't really all that important now were they.  All I know is I have not ever felt deprived on this road to healthy whole foods.

Anyway we were sitting around visiting one evening and we were feeling like a treat. But I wanted to try something new. Like I have said before sometimes I just get bored of making the same things. So I asked Ryan if he wanted me to try Blondie Brownies. He was like, "Oh heck yeah!"

Plus our kids had never had them I wouldn't want them to be deprived like I was. It took a few tries but here they are and they are mighty tasty if I do say so myself!

Blondie Brownies

3 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (ground soft white wheat)
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon Real Salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 dash almond extract (optional)
1 cup coconut oil, melted (add one heaping teaspoon ghee in place of some oil if desired)
3 cups Sucanat
2 organic free range eggs (or double next ingredient)
1 heaping Tablespoon egg replacer mixed with 1/2 cup water
carob chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix egg replacer and eggs together. In a separate bowl cream coconut oil (being sure it is not hot), Sucanat, vanilla and almond extracts together. Add egg mixture, stir in well. Add flour, baking powder and salt. Mix until smooth, should be the consistency of thick cake batter. Spread onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for about 20-30 minutes or until crackly on top and toothpick comes out clean. If wanted sprinkle carob chips over blondies as soon as they are removed from oven. Let cool before cutting. Cut into squares and serve.

Ice Cream Sandwiches

This recipe has taken quite a bit of trial and error. When I first thought it would be fun to make ice cream sandwiches I was sure it was as simple as taking one of my cookie and ice cream recipes and making a sandwich out of them.

Nope! We tried that the first time and although they did get eaten they were not the grab out of the freezer and enjoy like the ones I remember.

They had to sit on the counter until the ice cream was almost melted for the cookie to be nice and chewy.....and then the cookie still wasn't nice and chewy. Again we ate them but the cookie was crunchy!

I found too that the ice cream needed to have a softer, creamier texture to really make the sandwiches good. That was easy we just added more fat. If you are looking for a fun way to get lots of medium chain fatty acids in your kids....I don't think you'll have any problem getting them to eat these.

Then once we got the right textures down we needed to work on how to easily fill each sandwich. I came up with putting ice cream in the solids end of a Pampered Chef Measure All Cup and freezing it that way. Then I could just pop the ice cream out and slice it.

That worked really well but I had more ice cream and cookies then one measure all cup was enough for. So I also found that freezing your cookies first and letting your ice cream soften our of the freezer for just a bit, made it fairly easy just to scoop ice cream onto the cookies. You still have to be careful to not break your cookies though.

But see now the trouble shooting is all done for you so it will be a cinch to make now right?........RIGHT!

Ice Cream Sandwiches

Cookies:
5 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 cups Sucanat
1/4 cup carob powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon Real Salt
1 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted but not hot
1 Tablespoon vanilla
2 Tablespoons molasses
2 Tablespoons maple syrup
egg replacer for 4 eggs

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix wet ingredients in measuring cup (make sure they're blended well). Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Using hands, form dough into a big ball. (If it sticks together well, then its the right consistency. If it's kind of dry and crumbly then add a bit of water, 1 Tablespoon at a time and mix it well. If it's too wet you may add up to 1/2 cup more flour just add it a Tablespoon at a time. You want a sort of sticky dough but not wet just a little greasy you need to be able to roll it into a ball kind of like play dough.)DO NOT over mix or oil can separate out.

Form dough into ping pong size balls then gently press with the bottom of a 1/2 cup round measuring cup that is lightly greased with coconut oil. (use the leftovers from the dish you melted the coconut oil in) Press to the size needed or desired. Bake for 5-6 minutes in preheated oven. NO LONGER! You want the cookies not all the way cooked it makes them not so hard after being frozen. Let cool for at least 5 minutes before removing to cooling rack.

Ice Cream:
2 cups raw cashews, soaked overnight then drained
1 1/2 cup favorite herb tea just barely warm* (see options below)
2 cans coconut milk
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup Sucanat
1/4 teaspoon Real Salt
1 Tablespoon vanilla and/or the insides of 2 vanilla beans
Optional Spices* (see notes below)

Directions:
In blender blend drained cashews and herb tea until smooth. Add coconut milk, oil and the rest of the ingredients to the blender. Blend until just mixed and smooth. Churn and freeze in your ice cream machines according to manufacturers directions.

I talk about our ideas for easiest assembly of the ice cream sandwiches in my ramblings above. So if you didn't read those you may want to reference them now. ;) Basically just make ice cream sandwiches out of them obviously store in the freezer. They are best taken out of the freezer 5 minutes before eating.

*Here are a few fun flavor ideas that will change depending on the type of tea you use. Be sure to make a good strong tea. If you are using teabags use 5-6 of them.

Peppermint: dried peppermint leaves made into a good strong tea. (pour 1 1/2 cups boiling water over about 3 heaping Tablespoons of dried peppermint leaf. Let cool some, strain out leaf use the 1 1/2 cups in the ice cream) You could add carob or chocolate chips to this ice cream when it is almost done churning if you would like mint chip.

Mormon Mocha: Dandy Blend(No Coffee for this girl), Carob and/or Cocoa Powder. Pour 1 1/2 cups boiling over 2 heaping Tablespoons Dandy Blend and 1 Tablespoon carob powder. Stir until well combined let cool till just warm use in making the ice cream.

Chai: Roastaroma blend and/or Rooibos type tea.(again nothing from the Tea plant so no green or black tea for me) Make a strong tea with 1 1/2 cups boiling water, strain off herbs or remove tea bags. Use in making the ice cream also add these spices.
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cardamom
May adjust seasonings to taste.

Nutty Vanilla: Just cut up some vanilla beans and make a strong tea with that. Pour 1 1/2 cups boiling water over beans let steep for longer than the other teas. Strain, use this in making the ice cream, you may want to add more vanilla too.
recipe inspired by the minimalist baker

Peanut Brittle

 

I can't believe it's been exactly six years since I originally posted this recipe. We have made it almost every year since in fact I just made some today in preparation for Christmas. In honor of my "brittleversary" I'm bringing this fun recipe forward. The rest is from the original post enjoy!


One of Ryan's favorite holiday treats!  I made some last night so he could take it to work to share with his employees he also took some of these with him.  He says he doesn't miss the old version at all with this healthified version.  In fact he actually likes this one better.  He also says they were well received when he brought them into work this morning! 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

 

Peanut Brittle

3 cups dry roasted (preferably unsalted) peanuts

2 cups dehydrated cane juice crystals or Sucanat

3/4 cup agave nectar (could use honey but I love the mild flavor of agave)

1/4 cup water

1/8 teaspoon sea salt

2 Tablespoons coconut oil with a drop of butter flavor

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 teaspoons baking soda

candy thermometer

2 oiled baking sheets (I used one cookie sheet size and one cake pan size this was about right)

In a large saucepan, combine Sucanat, Agave, salt and water. Cook over medium heat, stirring until sucanat dissolves. Bring to a boil, blend in coconut oil and vanilla. Stir nearly constantly until temperature is at 280 degrees, add peanuts. Stir constantly until 295-300 degrees is reached. Remove from heat and quickly stir in baking soda. Mix well. Pour onto the baking sheets try to spread it out with a spoon as quickly as possible to get to desired thickness. Loosen from the pans as soon as possible and turn over. (They were pretty well set up and cool by the time I did this) Break hardened candy up and store in an airtight container or double Ziploc.

Crunchy Candy Bars

So this recipe came about because I was wanting a high protein healthy fat snack that wasn't super high in SWEET! ;)

Remember when I told you that my body hasn't been really thrilled with with overly sweet things. It's been to my benefit really because it keeps me from overdoing even the healthy treats and I think that's a good thing.

But in the late afternoon before dinner time I found my self pretty dang hungry and needing a good snack that didn't make me feel tired but fueled me on for the rest of my evening. Lately this has been my snack of choice. And it's one the whole family loves so I thought you might like too!

It actually kind of reminds me of those Krackle or Crunch bars....although it's been a very long time since I have had one of those so I'm not certain it can really compare but that's what these reminded me of.  ENJOY!

Crunchy Candy Bars

1/2 cup coconut oil
2 heaping Tablespoons almond butter
1 Tablespoon honey
2-3 Tablespoons carob powder
1/2 teaspoon Real Salt
1 cup brown rice crisps
1/2 cup oats
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1-2 Tablespoons chia seed (optional)

On very low heat melt the coconut oil, almond butter and honey together. Add the carob powder and salt, mix well. Remove from heat and add the rest of the ingredients. Spread into a 9 inch square pan covered with parchment paper and freeze until firm. Doesn't take very long.

Toffee

Okay so I wouldn't categorize this in the healthy nourishing food section. But this time of year with the junk food around every corner.....this is a so much better version.

Years ago I made some Toffee Pretzel Crunch that my oldest daughter really enjoyed. She requested it every Christmas and I made it a few times. Then one year I tried making it and totally burnt it......I tried again and it was better but still  had a kind of burnt flavor.

So I gave up and haven't made it since. I wasn't sure why it had worked before but then pretty much failed 2 times in a row. I hate to waste food so I get a little nervous to keep trying when one batch completely fails.

Then this year for Missy's birthday she wasn't really excited about any kind of cake or really her birthday for that matter. She is 17 now.......dang wasn't I just 17?!?!?!

So I asked her, "What if I made you some toffee?" I could see her being excited about that so I started trying to figure out how I could make some really good without burning it. As I thought about it I decided to use the organic sugar instead of Sucanat. I like the rich flavor of Sucanat and the dark color but it seems to have a lower burning point....although next time I think I will add a little in just for the richer darker flavor.

And because I found I didn't have to get it clear up to the hard crack stage of 290 degrees or more and still have it be a hard candy. I just needed to get it up to about 270. Honestly I like it better cause it's not so dang hard!

Trying to push it up to that higher temperature just made the candy making process so much more iffy. This was simple and worked really well.  Maybe I have found the secret too all my candy making woes! It works to not push it clear up to temperature.

Obviously this is not a recipe I will make often......it's funny back in my sugarholic days I would not have been able to get enough of this. It is super tasty! But a little bit was sweets enough for me. In fact Missy's birthday was over a week ago and there is still some hanging out in the pantry.

We just don't crave it. This is such a wonderful feeling for a past addict.  It's so nice to no longer be addicted to sugar! You can read about how I kicked the sugar habit here.

Easy Healthified Toffee

1 cup chopped and toasted almonds or pecans
1 cup coconut oil (remove 1 Tablespoon if using ghee)
1 Tablespoon ghee (optional)
1 drop natural butter flavor (optional)
1/2 teaspoon Real Salt
1 cup Raw and/or Organic Sugar
1 Tablespoon agave or maple syrup
3 Tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla 
carob chips (enough to sprinkle over the top)

Toast nuts in a dry hot skillet until just golden brow. Stir them frequently and be sure not to burn they toast quickly. Sprinkle half of the nuts onto a small cookie sheet or cake pan that you have placed a sheet of parchment paper in.

In a medium sized sauce pan melt the coconut oil, optional ghee, butter flavor and salt. Add sugar, syrup and water.  Stir constantly at medium high heat until candy thermometer reaches 270 degrees. You may need to play with your stove and have it more on medium because you don't want it to get too hot too fast because it will burn. It gets to temperature pretty quickly so don't rush it.

As SOON as it hits 270 degrees then pour it as quickly spread it over the nuts in your pan. Wait just a minute then add desired amount of carob chips to cover the top. The toffee is still really hot so it will quickly melt the carob chips so within about a minute you can gently spread the carob with a knife and then add the rest of the chopped nuts on top.  Let cool completely. May put into fridge or freezer or just your freezing cold garage. (I guess that depends on where you live. But right now my garage is about as cold as my freezer. ;)

Ginger Bread Cookies

and/or Ginger Snaps!

Ryan has always liked molasses type ginger bread cookies. I finally tried healthifying some a while back! Ry said they were perfect and we have had them many times since because they are Simple, Healthy, and Tasty! If you want the harder Ginger Snaps just bake them longer; Simple! I hope you enjoy them I know we have!  So fun this time of year and the aroma that fills your kitchen is so yummy, warm and cozy feeling!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Ginger Bread Cookies

3/4 cup coconut oil melted

1 organic egg or egg replacer for

1 cup Sucanat

1/4 cup blackstrap molasses

2 cups soft white wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon each of ground cloves,

nutmeg, and sea salt

Cream together oil and Sucanat. Add Egg Replacer and molasses then mix in spices, soda and salt. Add flour last mix well roll into walnut sized balls. Gently roll in Raw sugar place on cookie sheet press down gently with hand to flatten. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes or 10-12 minutes for Ginger Snaps. Let cool for 3-5 minutes before removing from pan to cooling rack.

Candied Almonds

I haven't made candied almonds for a few years because......well to be honest the only candy I have gotten any good at making perfect every time is Peanut Brittle (knock on wood).....the last 2 times I made these they turned out sticky, although tasty, not at all how they are supposed to.

I have noticed that Sucanat seems to have a lower burning point than more refined sugars.  I wonder if maybe I don't need to get it quite so hot.  I have found that when I'm more patient and keep it come to temperature more slowly it is less likely to burn.  But I'm still not sure why they don't always crystallize even when it does make it to the right temp without burning.

I have decided that candy making is an art and one that I'm not good at.  Which isn't all bad because even healthified it's still candy.  But sometimes I want to make fun candies for us and to share with our friends and neighbors. 

So I ordered me some more almonds from Green Smoothie Girl's Group Buy that happens every fall.  And I have told myself I'm going to get a bit better at this art.  And besides that I also want to practice the art of food photography and take me a better picture too! ;)  And oh I'm also craving me some of these too!

Are you good at the art of candy making?  If you have some hints and tips for me PLEASE share!

Really this recipe would be good with most any kind of nut. Walnuts, Pecans, or Almonds would probably work best! I have tried this recipe with Walnut also it's very good but mostly I use almonds because I have lots of them. I made one batch with soaked and then dehydrated Almonds. These were super tasty and I'm guessing still had a few enzymes left in them not to mention bursting with nutrition. I also tried it with just roasting them. Both kinds were very fun to eat and YuuuUUUuuuMMMMMmmmY!

Candied Almonds

3 3/4 cups Almonds (baked in a 375 degree over for 5-10 minutes stirring once OR soaked overnight then dried in dehydrator at 105 degrees for 12 hours)

1 1/2 cup Sucanat
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup water
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 drop butter flavor (optional)
1 drop maple flavor (optional)

With Coconut oil; Oil sides of large heavy sauce pan. Cook (ON MEDIUM HEAT, do not go over medium you want to get this to temperature SLOWLY or you will burn it!) water, Sucanat, cinnamon and salt. Stir until Sucanat dissolves and mixture boils. Cook without stirring to 236 degrees using a candy thermometer. (Again this will take a little time but it must get to temperature in order to become "candied" DON'T turn up stove keep it on medium-low) Quickly remove from heat as soon as it hits 236 degrees. Add vanilla, optional flavorings and nuts. Stir for one minute until nuts are well coated. Spread out onto oiled cookie sheet. Break into pieces when cool.

Snickerdoodles

We just love this recipe!  Not only does it make great Snickerdoodles (in small or fun jumbo size) but it's a awesome Sugar Cookie type substitute (just don't roll it in the cinnamon/sugar)....it also makes a great crust for fruit pizza.  We often find a single recipe is not enough or even a double.  Last time I made a quadruple batch.  Did you know that when you increase a recipe you don't always want to increase the spices (especially things like baking soda and salt)?  For example when I made a quadruple batch of this recipe I used:

6 cups flour

2 cups Sucanat

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon Real salt

20 Tablespoons coconut oil

2 Tablespoons Vanilla

4 Tablespoons Maple Syrup

egg replacer for 4 eggs

I kind of "play it by ear" depending on the type of recipe but a good rule of thumb is when you double a recipe don't double the spices.  When I say spices I mean:  Salt, Vanilla, Baking Soda or Powder, cinnamon and any other herbs or spices.  Sometimes you may want to increase these things at least a bit but just be aware....especially of strong items that could ruin your recipe like salt or even cinnamon.  Some is really good of these things but more is usually too much!  Be sure to look below the recipe to see how we make a very simple fruit pizza using this recipe as a crust!

Snickerdoodles

1 1/2 cup ground soft white wheat flour

1/2 cup Sucanat

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

5-7 tablespoon coconut oil

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 tablespoon real maple syrup

replacer for one egg

cinnamon and dehydrated cane juice for coating

Directions:

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix wet ingredients in measuring cup (make sure they're blended well). Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Using hands, form dough into a big ball. (If it sticks together well, then its the right consistency. If it's kind of dry and crumbly then add a bit of water, 1 Tablespoon at a time and mix it well.)

Form dough into cookie sized balls and roll into cinnamon/cane sugar mixture. Place on cookie sheet, (no need to grease). Flatten each ball a little bit. Bake at 375 degrees for about 7 minutes.

For Fruit Pizza:

You can make individual size ones (as pictured above) by just making a jumbo cookie.  Or you can use the whole batch of dough and make a full size pizza. (This will need to bake a little longer but you don't want to over bake it because it will get very crisp.  I like my crust....and cookies for that matter....to be chewy.  I use My Favorite Whipped cream recipe for the "frosting".....(I make this ahead of time so it can be in the fridge for at least 6 hours because it thickens up in the fridge after it's made).  Then just pick your favorite fruit and put it on top of that. 

Turning my Crispy Caramel Corn into Chewy! MMMMmmmMMMMmm

We recently found that this crispy caramel corn recipe also makes a great chewy caramel corn recipe. By just leaving out the baking part. A great recipe either way!  It is actually just really similar to this recipe but this one seems to just melt in your mouth more and for some reason we like it better.  Both are good but you know how it can be with recipes.  Enjoy!

Crispy or Chewy Caramel Corn

1 cup coconut oil

2 cups Sucanat

1/2 cup Agave Nectar

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla

20 cups (5 quarts) popped popcorn

Place popcorn in 2 large shallow baking dishes. I used my two rectangular bakers (large cake pans) if you have the smaller average size cake pans you could use those too but it will probably take 3. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. (skip this first part if making chewy)

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt oil. Then stir in Sucanat, Agave, and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil without stirring 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in soda and vanilla. Pour over popcorn stirring to coat. (if you want chewy you are done if you want crisp more like cracker jacks go ahead and bake) Bake in oven stirring every 15 minutes, for 1 hour. Let cool completely before breaking up and EATING!

Caramel Apples

I'd say it's the perfect time of the year for these and since we didn't tank up on junk this week they are sounding pretty tasty! ;)  I was at my Sister's this weekend and her house smelled so delicious just like Caramel Apples!  It's funny what orange crunchy leaves, smells and a chill in the air will make me love this time of the year even when it's colder than I really want it to be!

Caramel Apples Made Better

Apples, washed stem removed stick inserted on top (I used 19 medium to small Macintosh, that's what I had, Granny Smith are always good too if they are large Apples you may use only 10-12)

2 cups Sucanat

2 pinches of Real Salt

1 cup Vanilla Maple Syrup (how to make this below)

1/3 cup agave

1/2 cup coconut cream

4 Tablespoons coconut oil (mixed with a drop or two of butter flavor if desired)

To Make Vanilla Maple Syrup

Just combine 100% pure maple syrup and vanilla extract to equal one cup.  If you are using my homemade vanilla I did about 3/4 cups syrup and 1/4 cup vanilla because I wanted plenty of vanilla flavor and mine isn't quite as strong.  If you are using regular vanilla extract 1-2 teaspoons mixed with the syrup to make one cup should be plenty.  Feel free to use more or less depending on your tastes. And don't be afraid to taste! ;)

In Large pot combine Sucanat, Vanilla Maple Syrup, Agave, salt and coconut cream.  (To get the coconut cream I just take a can of Thai coconut milk that you get in the Asian section of your grocery store and put it in the fridge overnight, then when I need the cream I just open the can and the thick cream is at the top I spoon that off and then just use the rest of the thinner clearer liquid for smoothies or something.  You should get at least 1/2 cup from one can.)  

Stir ingredients all together and place on the stove at just below Medium-High!  Then with a candy thermometer bring it to 250 degrees.  You can stir some but as it starts to bubble you don't want to stir but you kind of want to keep moving the pot so the stuff kind of swirls around as it gets to temperature.  

As soon as it hits 250 degrees, remove from heat and stir in the coconut oil.  Have cookie sheet with wax paper plastic wrap or oil on it all ready to go take you apples and dip them in the caramel mixture (you will probably need to tip the pot a little for this) until they are well coated.  Then set them on your tray with wax paper.  Let cool completely.  If you want to roll them in other ingredients do this before you set them down to cool!

Pumpkin Cookies

These cookies have been a family favorite for a while now and seem quite versatile. We have made cookies (of course), muffins, (will need to cook longer), bars (just spread the dough out onto a cookie sheet), and I think my mom used the recipe once to make pumpkin rolls (she left out the carob chips and nuts for that though). A great recipe we really enjoy especially this time of year!  Last night I made them using Fresh ground Spelt flour instead of whole wheat and they turned out excellent!  Have fun!!

Pumpkin Cookies

1 cup coconut oil (melted)

4 cups Sucanat

2 Tablespoons Ground flax seed mixed with ½ cup water

and set for a minute to gel

5 cups whole wheat or Spelt flour

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons nutmeg

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon all-spice

1 3/4 teaspoons sea salt

1-29 oz. Can of pumpkin

1 cup Carob chips

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat oil and Sucanat in mixing bowl. Add Flax seed mixture and beat well. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, soda, spices, and salt. Add Sucanat mixture alternately with pumpkin into flour mixture. Stir well after each addition. Fold in Carob chips, walnuts, and vanilla.

Drop by teaspoon onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown at 350 degrees.

Serves: A whole lot! This makes about 70 cookies - you may want to cut this recipe in half. But we like them so much we usually wish we had doubled it!!

Peanut Butter Bars

My Sister gets credit for these she originally healthified them and made them for us.  We loved them.  I took her recipe and fit it to my family, using ingredients I have on hand and of course making a larger batch!  Thanks Em for another super tasty recipe!

Peanut Butter Bars

2 cups rolled oats
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup Sucanat
1 cup all natural peanut butter
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup melted coconut oil
Egg Replacer for 1-2 eggs
1/8 teaspoon sea salt

Combine everything in a large bowl.  Press into a bar pan (mine is 17"x 11" makes a pretty thick bar) bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until done.  Frost when cooled.

Frosting:
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
1/4 heaping cup softened or melted coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
3-6 Tablespoons rice milk
2-3 cups dehydrated cane juice crystals powdered in blender

Mix the first 3 ingredients together really well.  Add  enough milk and powdered can juice crystals to make the right consistency.  Spread onto cooled bars.  Refrigerate for best results.

Caramel Popcorn Recipes -Quick and Easy

This popcorn was a big hit at our house!  And it's super easy to make and doesn't take very long, especially if you like it gooey and chewy!  If you like it less sticky and more crunchy it only takes another 30 minutes of baking time!  There are two versions a Peanut Butter and Honey Caramel Corn and a Classic Caramel Popcorn.  Both would also be really good if you wanted to add some sort of nuts to them too!  Enjoy!

Peanut Butter and Honey Caramel Corn

1/2 cup un-popped popcorn, popped and in a very large bowl,
so you have stirring room
1/2 cup natural peanut butter, chunky or creamy
3/4-1 cup Sucanat
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

In a large pot (at least 4 quarts) on the stove on med-low heat, mix the peanut butter, sucanat, salt, vanilla and honey together.  Stir constantly until it starts to bubble.  Remove from heat add baking soda and stir in well, it will bubble up pretty good.  Quickly add it to bowl of popcorn and stir well to coat.  Spread popcorn out on a cookie sheet to cool.  Before completely cool break up and loosen off of pan.  If you don't eat it all ;) store in a air tight container.  It's super chewy and good this way.

Classic Caramel Popcorn

1/2 cup un-popped popcorn, popped and in a very large bowl,
so you have stirring room
1/2 cup coconut oil
1 drop natural butter flavor, optional
3/4-1 cup Sucanat
1/4 cup agave
1-2 teaspoons teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

In a large pot (at least 4 quarts) on the stove on med-low heat, mix the coconut oil, optional butter flavor, sucanat, salt, vanilla and agave together.  Stir constantly until it starts to bubble.  Remove from heat add baking soda and stir in well, it will bubble up pretty good.  Quickly add it to bowl of popcorn and stir well to coat.  Spread popcorn out on a cookie sheet to cool.  Before completely coo,l break up and loosen off of pan.  If you don't eat it all store in a air tight container.  It's super chewy and good this way.

If you like your caramel popcorn more crunchy:  Preheat oven to 250 degrees.  As soon as you spread the popcorn onto the cookie sheet bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.  Then cool and eat!

Peanut Butter Cups

Peanut Butter Cups

Chocolate Coating:
½ cup coconut oil

½ cup peanut butter or other all natural nut butter (like almond or cashew) OPT.

6 Tablespoons raw carob powder

2/3 cup Sucanat or raw sugar, powdered fine in blender (I prefer the raw sugar)

pinch of sea salt

½ teaspoon vanilla

Peanut Butter Filling:

1/4 cup Natural Peanut Butter
3 Tablespoons Honey

In a double boiler or on very low heat mix Chocolate coating ingredients Until nice and smooth.  If you want the peanut butter filling totally enclosed in the coating put a little coating in the bottom of muffin papers in a muffin tin.  Then freeze, it will only take a few minutes to set up.  While it is setting up mix the peanut butter and honey together.  Add to the muffin papers then add more of the chocolate coating on top to cover the filling!  As shown below in the picture.  Freeze again until set up then enjoy.  Be sure to keep cool (like in the fridge when storing) because they will start to melt at 76 degrees!

Chocolates?

I decided to name this recipe Chocolates? with a question mark because that is what people will say when they hear I made them?  It's been a very, very long time since I have had chocolates!  I remember helping my Mom make them once or twice when I was a kid but I have never made them before until today!  Wow they are sweet! ;)  My first try didn't turn out perfect but I know exactly what I will do next time so I have the changes posted here in the final recipe.  I wanted to be sure and get them posted since Valentines Day is right around the corner and I feel these are a much better option then the typical chocolates we see all over this time of year and I don't think ANYONE will notice the difference!

After the recipe I have posted a sort of picture tutorial to help you see my mistakes and easily fix them!
ENJOY!

Chocolates?

Fondant Filling:
1 small potato, peeled, boiled and mashed
4 Tablespoons coconut oil
2 cups dehydrated cane juice crystals, blended to a powder in blender
pinch of Real salt

Mix together well, it will seem really runny but will harden as it cools.  Divide into 4-6 equal portions to mix in different flavors.  Some different flavor options are listed below.  Roll into small balls then put in freeze while mixing up the chocolate to dip them in.

Peanut Butter:  Add 1-2 heaping Tablespoons of natural peanut butter
Coconut:  Add 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla or Peppermint (this is good like a peppermint patty) flavoring and 1-3 Tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut
Maple Pecan:  Add 1/2 teaspoon Maple Flavoring and 1-2 Tablespoons chopped Pecans
Orange:  Add 1/2-1 teaspoon Orange Flavoring
Chocolate Mint:  Add 2-4 Tablespoons Carob Powder and 1/2-1 teaspoon peppermint flavoring
Turtles:  Forget this filling all together and use this caramel recipe and some pecans to make Turtles!
Dried Fruit or All Fruit Jellies:  Add favorite chopped dried fruit or mixture of fruits and/or Jellies, Cherries, Cranberries, Raisins, Apricots, etc.

Chocolate for Dipping:

½ cup coconut oil

½ cup peanut butter or other all natural nut butter (like almond or cashew) OPT.

6 Tablespoons raw carob powder

2/3 cup Sucanat or raw sugar, powdered fine in blender

1 teaspoon liquid soy lecithin (optional)

pinch of sea salt

½ teaspoon vanilla

Warm up the coconut oil and almond butter in a double boiler until smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until well combined and very smooth with a wire whisk. Take COLD fondant filling that has been rolled into balls and dip them.  Set on tray with plastic wrap put into freezer when cold dip once more for a nice thick layer of Chocolate.  Freeze again before serving.  Be sure to keep cool this chocolate will melt faster then kinds with partially hydrogenated oils. (Since it is almost plastic after all;)

I blended 2 cups of dehydrated cane juice into a powder.  My blender blends it into a nice powder.  An option would be to add a little arrowroot powder so that way the filling wasn't quite so sweet.

I started out mixing the potatoes and coconut oil with a fork but then I found I got a smoother product blending it in the blender.

Okay this is the fondant filling right after I mixed it all together.  It's still warm  I made it way too think.  It made it easy to roll into balls but the finished product wasn't soft enough and was too crumbly.  Next time I will be sure not to add so much powdered cane juice crystals.

I found dividing the fondant onto little plates made it easy to add the different flavors!  Again though It was just a bit too thick.  The recipe should fix that but don't be afraid to adjust even after the fondant cools some you want it to be pretty soft.  I've decided candy making is quite the art!

Alright here they are after the flavors were mixed in.  My Favorites were Maple Pecan and Coconut Mint!

I used my smallest cookie scoop to shape them into balls.  This was still a bit too big a melon baller or just my hands would work better.  Too much filling makes it so you can't have as much chocolate. ;)

These are some of my ingredients in my double boiler.  I tried a different recipe then what I posted and it turned out to have too much of a fudgy texture.  So I change that recipe to one I knew would work.  It's the same recipe as the My Version of Magic Shell one.  I like a more crunchy outer shell not chewy.

So there you have it.  I learned they needed softer smaller filling and harder thicker chocolate coating.  The recipe I have posted should be perfect BUT remember don't be afraid to play with the filling to have it be the perfect texture for CHOCOLATES!

Honey Taffy

This is a very fun family activity, most children think it's lots of fun to oil their hands up and pull the taffy!  Mom thinks it's fun to take pictures of everyone pulling the taffy!  It also makes a fun addition to a holiday treat tray! 

ENJOY!

Honey Taffy

Put as much honey as you want into a large enough pan to hold it. (It will raise and bubble so you will want at least a 4 or 5 quart pan) 

Heat honey on Medium heat stirring constantly until it reaches 285 degrees on your candy thermometer. Remove from heat pour onto 1 or 2 oiled cookie sheets (from what I understand marble slabs for candy making work better but I've never had one) depending on how much honey used. 

We like to flavor our taffy sometimes although the honey flavor is good by itself. But we have added cinnamon or peppermint oil at this point to desired strength and stirred it around. 

Let the Honey cool bringing the edges to the center of the pan. 

As soon as you can handle it without being burned oil hands and start pulling. 

Pull until a shiny whitish golden color. 

We use coconut oil both on our hands and on the pans. 

Have fun try your favorite flavor of oil.