Amoreena's Peanut Butter Fudge

This simple and absolutely delicious recipe was given to me by my friend Amoreena, and has been a favorite snack for the past week.  It is also a great way to eat coconut oil for those who don't enjoy eating it straight.

INGREDIENTS:

1 c coconut oil
1/2 c peanut butter
honey to taste
dash of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

METHOD:

Melt the oil in a saucepan on very low heat. 

Pour the oil and remaining ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

Pour this mixture into an 8 x 8 pyrex dish (or similar glass dish), and place in the freezer.

This fudge is best stored in the refrigerator or freezer. 

Candied Butter Pecans

This is basically the candied nuts recipe from Breaking The Vicious Cycle by Elaine Gottschall.  I made this for Halloween along with some other candies it was by far my favorite.  It would make a great praline topping for ice cream if crumbled up.`

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound pecan pieces (or other nuts), previously soaked and dried
2 egg whites
1/2 cup honey pinch of salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon (or more?)

METHOD:

Toast nuts in oven at 300 degrees for 10 minutes on a large baking sheet.  Let cool.

Beat egg whites and salt until soft peaks form.  Slowly add in honey until well mixed in.

Fold in nuts and cinnamon.  Spread mixture on a large shallow pan, such as a jellyroll pan, that has been generously greased with butter or ghee. 

Bake for 30 minutes at 300 degrees, turning nuts every 10 minutes.  Bake a little longer if the butter hasn't disappeared.

Let cool in pan, then break into bite-sized pieces.  Store in a covered container.

Honey Caramels

These are really creamy and delicious, but they are a little soft. It is best to serve them straight out of the fridge. I used raw honey, which I know kills the enzymes, but I buy it in bulk for a better price than "regular" honey. That's why there are flecks of dark in the candy.

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups honey
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
1/2 cup water

Method

Grease a square pan 8x8x2 inches with butter or coconut oil. Heat all ingredients in a three quart saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until boiling. Continue to cook over medium heat, stirring frequently until the mixture reaches 245 degrees F. on a candy thermometer (firm ball stage). Pour into prepared pan, and chill uncovered until set. Cut pieces as needed.

Cinnamon Truffles

I've been looking for ways to get more butter into our diet lately (as an aside, I have to point out that you gotta love a diet that leads you to begin a blog post like that!).  I came up with this simple way to make butter into a nice little snack.

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup butter or ghee (pastured if possible)
1 tsp honey (or more to taste)
1/2 tsp cinnamon (or more to taste)
Drop of vanilla extract

To roll the truffles in:
Any combination of shredded coconut or coconut flour, cinnamon (or any other spice you like), or ground nuts or seeds

METHOD:

Cream butter with honey, then mix in the drop of vanilla and cinnamon to taste.  You can add some coconut flour at this point if you want for texture.  Without the flour it is a lot like ganache, adding the flour makes it a bit more like cookie dough.

The next step is to roll it into little balls.  You may need to refrigerate it for awhile to do this, but it will be tough to do because the heat from your hands will melt the butter a bit.  Decide what you want to roll the truffles in- straight ground cinnamon, ground cinnamon mixed with shredded coconut or coconut flour, and straight shredded coconut all work well.  All of those options are in the photo above.

Put whatever you want to roll the truffles in into a small bowl.  Scoop up a small amount of the butter mixture, briefly roll it in your hands, then drop it into the bowl, and continue rolling it in the bowl.  I prefer a ball about 3/4 of an inch across.

Store in the refrigerator when done.

Raisin-Nut Clusters

Two coincidental events led to this recipe- first, I rediscovered the simple joy of eating raisins and nuts together in the same mouthful, and secondly, I had a terrible craving for chocolate-covered peanut clusters. Something had to be done, and fast... I made a batch of the coconut candy from the Holiday Candy post and added in raisins and nuts, let it chill, and it came out wonderfully! The recipe for the coconut candy comes from Julie Matthews' book "Cooking to Heal", and which she calls white fudge.


Ingredients:

1 c. coconut butter
1 tsp coconut oil
1-2 T honey (or to taste)
1 tsp vanilla
splash of almond extract
pinch of salt

1 handfull of raisins
1 handfull of nuts

Method:

Put the coconut butter into a food processor (it will be chunky), and pulse briefly to break the chunks into smaller pieces. Heat the coconut oil just enough to melt and add it to the food processor while on. Add the honey, salt and extract.

Put mixture into a medium bowl, add in the raisins and nuts, and mix together by hand. Form balls about 1.5 inches across, squish somewhat, and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator and chill for at least 15 minutes. Store in the fridge.

NOTE- any combination of nuts and dried fruits would work, or of course all nuts or all fruit would be good too. Also, other flavor extracts can be used to provide some variety.

Holiday Candy

I made several different kinds of candy for my kids for Easter this year, and this recipe was both the easiest and the one they liked the most. It is very versatile and would work well for any holiday or special occasion, or simply a fun treat. This is also a great recipe to have the kids help with. The recipe comes from Julie Mathews' workbook entitled "Cooking to Heal", that accompanies her book "Nourishing Hope for Autism". This book gives a wonderful overview of the various diet options used to treat Autism Spectrum Disorders, as well as much more detailed and advanced information for those who have been doing special diets for awhile. I highly recommend her book.

Ingredients:

1 c. coconut butter
1 tsp coconut oil
1-2 T honey (or to taste)
flavoring extract of choice (optional)
natural food coloring (optional)

Method:

Put the coconut butter into a food processor (it will be chunky), and pulse briefly to break the chunks into smaller pieces. Heat the coconut oil just enough to melt and add it to the food processor while on. Add the honey and extract, and any coloring that you are using. Taste and adjust flavors if needed.

Pour the mixture out onto waxed paper and place another sheet of waxed paper on top. Roll with a rolling pin to flatten to anywhere between 1/4 and 3/4 inch, depending on preference. Place the flattened mixture in the fridge to cool and harden.

The recipe suggests taking it out and cutting it into squares at this point. This would work fine, but I personally feel that the candy is somewhat plain and would benefit from a little extra attention. I used mini cookie cutters to cut it into Easter-themed shapes. I also added the option of natural food coloring as that would also make it look much more appealing.

Depending on the flavors, colors and shapes used, this recipe would adapt easily to any holiday. The texture of this candy is very similar to chocolate, and for those of you following the blog who aren't doing the GAPS diet you could add cocoa powder to this to make your own chocolate candy easily.