Chewy Fudge or Vegan Frosting

(Note: This recipe is for the top layer of the above treat, aka the Frosting)

Chewy Fudge or Vegan Frosting-

1/2 cup coconut oil (warmed)
1/2 cup honey or maple syrup (I used maple syrup when making this to use as frosting)
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp carob or cocoa powder
2 Tbsp almond butter (or other nut butter)

Whisk oil and honey. Slowly whisk in powder. Whisk in almond butter (or use a Vita Mix blender and blend everything until well combined- you will have to use your tamper, as it will be pretty thick).

If making fudge, pour into a loaf pan and freeze for 15 minutes. Then cut into squares and enjoy. :)

If making frosting, spread over your cupcakes or vegan cake (or make a pan full of these homemade bars to use as your "cake" like I just did!). Keep chilled until ready to eat. If you want the frosting to be softer, take out about an hour before serving.

Strawberry Bar Cake with Chocolate Frosting (vegan)

Since my son has so many issues with textures that makes him extremely picky, he requested a "Strawberry Bar Cake" for his birthday. He doesn't like the texture of regular cake, but he does like these homemade bars that we make. So I whipped up a special batch of our bars, pressed them into cupcakes and a small cake pan, then made some chocolate frosting using melted coconut oil (1 cup), maple syrup (1 cup), carob & cocoa powder (1/2 cup of each), and 4 Tbsp Sunflower Seed butter (since he's allergic to peanut butter)- recipe for the frosting can be found here. I blended this is my Vita Mix although you could use a hand mixer or whisk probably. After spreading the frosting on the cupcakes and cake, I put them in the freezer (or fridge). To soften the frosting, I took them out an hour or two before serving. They were delicious! Perfectly chewy and the frosting was amazing! The best part was that these didn't have any refined sugar in them (besides a small amount in the rice crispies I used), or white flour! And the ingredients used are actually good for you (raw almond butter, coconut oil, raw protein powder, raw oat flour, etc)!

Step 1: Drop a tablespoon of "dough" into your muffin cups.

Step 2: Flatten with a spoon.

Step 3: Add a layer of freeze-dried strawberries.

Step 4: Cover with another layer of "dough."

Frost with your vegan frosting and add sprinkles (all-natural, such as from Whole Foods)

What to do with the extra frosting? I put dobs of it into my mini muffin pan and added various toppings such as almonds (I pushed them in), unsweetened coconut, freeze dried raspberries, and natural sprinkles. Keep these in an air-tight container in your freezer for a great after dinner treat. :)

Healthy Holiday Candy (made with coconut oil)

If you are one of those people who associate the holidays with candy and stock up as soon as the Christmas candy goes on sale, I invite you to resist the urge to buy all those tempting, beautiful packages, and make your own candy instead! It tastes just as good (better in my opinion) and is made from real ingredients (no nasty artificial flavors, colors, preservatives, etc) and no refined sugar! It's amazing how simple it is too. Just heat up your coconut oil and have several recipes going on at the same time in different bowls. Then you can make an assortment plate for your friends and family!

Reese's Peanut butter (or Sunbutter) Cups
Found this recipe at: http://www.teacheatlove.com/2013/05/unjunked-peanut-butter-cups-and.html 

Chocolate:
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted*
1/2 cup cocoa or carob powder
2 tsp vanilla (alcohol-free)
1/2 cup pure maple syrup (or raw honey)

 Filling:
1/2 cup peanut butter, other nut butter (I used Trader Joe's Sunflower Seed Butter)
1 tsp coconut oil, melted

1. Mix the chocolate ingredients together.
2. Mix the sunbutter or peanut butter filling in a separate bowl.

*Hint: To warm your coconut oil, you can scoop it into a 2 cup glass measuring cup and then place it in a bigger pan that already has a couple inches of hot water. Stirring makes it melt faster. Once it has turned to liquid, I added the other chocolate ingredients directly into the measuring cup. I also warmed my sunflower seed butter mixture this way. Don't microwave it, or it will destroy the amazing nutrients in the oil!)

2. Drop a teaspoon of the chocolate mixture into mini muffin cups. Put in the freezer for 5 minutes to set.

3. Drop a half teaspoon of the nut butter filling in the center of each chocolate. Freeze for 5 minutes to set.

4. Cover with another teaspoon of the chocolate mixture, adding a little more to completely cover the filling.

5. Freeze for at least an hour.

Store in the freezer and take out just before serving.

(Warning: These are so good! You won't be able to stop eating them!)


Coconut Macaroons
Found this recipe here: http://www.rebootwithjoe.com/smart-sweet-raw-macaroons/ 

Mix together:
3/4 cup coconut oil (warmed)
2 cups shredded coconut (unsweetened)
1/2 cup pure maple syrup, honey, or agave
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
(1/2 tsp almond extract, optional)

Drop spoonfuls onto cookie sheet lined with wax paper, and freeze until set.
Take out just before serving. (You can also drizzle chocolate over the top before freezing. See the chocolate recipe above.)

Chocolate Macaroons with almonds

Make coconut macaroons using the above recipe.
Add 1/4 cup chocolate or carob powder.
Add chopped nuts if desired.

(My husband and I loved these better than the regular macaroons- we used chocolate powder and loved raw almonds in them!)


Almond Chocolate Bar
From a recipe here: http://www.rebootwithjoe.com/smart-sweet-raw-macaroons/ 

2 cups coconut oil
1 cup cocoa or carob powder*
1/3 cup Maple syrup or honey
1 1/2 cups nuts, roughly chopped.

*Carob did not work for me in this recipe- I would stick with cocoa

Whip oil in bowl until fluffy (2-3 mins) or vitamix.
Add chocolate (or carob) powder and maple syrup and whip (1 min).
Stir in nuts.
Pour into a 9x9 baking pan and chill for 1 hour. Then break into pieces and enjoy!

Chewy Chocolate Candy:
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup raw honey (thick)
1/2 cup cocoa or carob powder
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt

Combine ingredients (this was a little challenging with the thick honey- I would suggest warming the honey a little to make it easier to mix in). Drop teaspoons onto wax paper lined cookie sheet to form small discs. Freeze until firm (keep stored in the freezer).

Molasses candy:
Taken from: http://www.hybridrastamama.com/2012/03/how-to-consume-coconut-oil-reader-questions-answered-plus-coconut-oil-candy-recipes.html 
(I wouldn't make this for other people, but personally I love them and they are so good for you with the blackstrap molasses- a great source of calcium and iron!)

2 Tbsp. Blackstrap molasses
2 Tbsp. coconut oil
2 Tbsp. nut butter (I used sunflower seed butter)

Mix ingredients and pour into silicone candy mold (or mini muffin pan with liners). Freeze until firm. Enjoy your healthy candy treat!

Chewy Fudge or Vegan Frosting- (previously labeled as Classic Chocolate Candy)

1/2 cup coconut oil (warmed)
1/2 cup honey or maple syrup (I used maple syrup when making this to use as frosting)
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp carob or cocoa powder
2 Tbsp almond butter (or other nut butter)

Whisk oil and honey. Slowly whisk in powder. Whisk in almond butter (or use a Vita Mix blender and blend until well combined- you will have to use your tamper, as it will be pretty thick). If making fudge, pour into a loaf pan and freeze for 15 minutes. Then cut into squares and enjoy. :) If making frosting, spread over your cupcakes or vegan cake (or make a pan full of these homemade bars to use as your "cake" like I just did!). Keep chilled until ready to eat. If you want the frosting to be softer, take out about an hour before serving.

Raw Caramel Dip for apples

My aunt and cousins (the  3 Fruity Chicks) are such an inspiration to me. I love their blog and the yummy, healthy recipes I discover there. This one is absolutely wonderful. Caramel dip for apples! I made this on Halloween for a special treat. You can find it here. 

Carob Brownie Bites

I just created these little wonders. Easy, tasty, healthy. Hope you like them!

Carob Brownie Bites

1 cup raw almond butter (crunchy)
1/4 cup raw honey (thick kind in a jar)
1/4 cup carob powder
1-2 tsp water

Mix together in a bowl with a spoon. Add enough water so that you're able to stir it all together, but it shouldn't be excessively sticky or goopy. It should be pretty firm.
You can press into a square baking pan and cut into mini squares. Or you can roll into balls.
Store in an airtight container in the freezer. You can eat directly from the freezer (they won't be rock hard).

Yum!

Almond Truffles

These are my family's new favorite raw dessert! So good...

Dough:
1/2 cup raw almond butter
1/4 cup raw honey (the thick kind in a jar)
1/4 cup shredded coconut (unsweetened)
Update: I just added 1 Tablespoon carob powder, and more almond butter & coconut since it tasted a little sweet to me... experiment with how you like them)

Add-ins:
Dried cranberries
Raw cacao nibs (or Trader Joe's Chocolate Covered Cacao Nibs)
Anything else you like to put into cookies

Rolled in:
Shredded unsweetened coconut
or
Wheat Germ (my little boy loves wheat germ)

Make the dough by combining the dough ingredients in a bowl.
Add whatever add-in's you want, as much as you like.
Roll into balls and roll in coconut or wheat germ.
Freeze until chilled and enjoy! (You can keep in the freezer, but if you don't want them to be rock hard, let thaw a bit before enjoying.)

Note: You might want to consider doubling the recipe since they are so good and will be gone in a day if you're like us. :)