Nutella Flax Seed Coco Butter Bars

I needed something to munch on this holiday weekend with all my time at home and these bars are perfect.  A little sweet, a lot healthy and freezer convenient as well.  They took less than 10 minutes to mix up and get chilled ready to eat.  The Nutella chocolate hazelnut spread is low sugar, the ground flax seed works well as a binder instead of white flour,
and the Coco Butter helps keeps the shape.

Nutella is running a Sweepstakes right now to win a case of Nutella!

Now that would be awesome!  Check it out here: http://www.nutellausa.com/giveaway.htm

Any bar with Chocolate, Hazelnuts, Coco Butter and Shredded Coconut can't be half bad right?

Just don't tell anyone they're held together with Flax Seed and they'll be a new favorite to snack on.

The recipe for these lovely little bits couldn't be easier:

Line a container with wrap to make cutting the bars easier or spay w/ vegetable spray

Cover the batter with shredded coconut and push down into batter

Be sure and check out the great Cookbook giveaway going on now through Monday at
"Averie Cooks"

Coconut Butter Biscoff Spread Fudge

 Dairy Free if you don't add the Jiff Mocha Cappuccino icing, and "no cook" fudge with 
just 3 ingredients?  Awesome..........

 This fudge was inspired by Chocolate Covered Katie's Triple Chocolate Nutella Fudge but.....

I like this one even better!

 If you want to make it a little more decadent, and don't mind the dairy, spread a little

Jif Mocha Cappuccino  spread on top........yum!

 The combination of Coconut Butter, Biscoff Spread and Mocha is....well......
you'll have to try it yourself to realize just how great the taste is!

The recipe for this fudge is still in my head, as easy as it gets:

1 Cup Biscoff Spread, softened slightly in the microwave (maybe 10 seconds, not melted)
1 Cup Coconut Butter (Manna is a great brand) Melted inside a bowl filled with warm water
1/4 Cup slivered Almonds

Blend together Biscoff and melted Coconut Butter in a mixer. 
Stir in Almonds to mix through.
Pour the fudge into a lined freezer safe container and freeze
to set the fudge.

Optional icing:   Jif Mocha Cappuccino or melted Chocolate
Store in the refrigerator or freezer in an airtight container.

Enjoy!


This post is linked to Allergy-Free Wednesdays

Peanut Butter and Jelly Truffles

Peanut Butter and Jelly Truffles  - Sugar & Dairy Free

The inspiration for these truffles started out to be this wonderful recipe for

Creamy Mixed Berry White Chocolate Crumble Bars.
From Averi Cooks

Well............they didn't quite work out when I tried to adjust them to Dairy and Sugar Free...Oh well.
Try Averie's recipe to try those beauties.  But my Peanut Butter and Jelly version is darn good too. 

Here's what mine turned out to be in the end:

Peanut Butter & Jelly Truffles
1 2/3 Cup Coconut Flour
1 Cup Old Fashioned Steel Cut Oatmeal (you could use either quick oats or regular)
4 Oz. Softened Organic Vegetable Spread like Earth Balance

Mix dry ingredients and then add in:

1 tsp. Liquid Vanilla Stevia ( I used NuNaturals brand)
1 Cup of Nut Milk Creamer ( I used an almond / cashew creamer this time, Coconut would be fine)
1 Cup unsweetened Peanut Butter softened in the microwave but not melted
1 Cup of shredded Coconut

When all this is stirred in together,  fold in 2 Cups of frozen mixed berries.
I used my hands to blend everything together evenly, sometimes fingers just work better than spoons......add more creamer if the dough is too try to stick together.

Chill the batter in the fridge until you can roll spoonfuls into large balls.  Freeze the balls until they are firm. 


Roll the frozen Peanut Butter and Jelly balls in Cocoa Powder. 

Add in some Stevia Powder to the Cocoa if you want them really sweet.

Keep the truffles in the fridge sealed for storage.  They taste better a little thawed though.

I drizzled some melted dark chocolate on the

tops of these for added sweet but they are

fine without it.

They taste like little PB & J's dipped in Cocoa.


The recipe should make 24 large 1 1/2 inch balls or up to 30 if you used less batter for each one.

Thanks for all the Holiday LEDS String Lights Giveaway entries,

be sure and leave a comment for each entry.

This post is linked to http://glutenfreepantry.blogspot.com/2012/04/allergy-free-wednesdays-blog-hop-week_17.html

Chocolate Donuts with Key Lime Frosting and Toasted Coconut, Oh My!

Makes about 15 Mini Donuts
Donuts:

Coconut Milk

Tropical Traditions Virgin Coconut Oil Giveaway

http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/virgin_coconut_oil.htm

Coconut Key Lime Fudge

Coconut Key Lime Fudge is sugar, dairy and gluten free w/ vegan / raw options.

Mix all ingredients in a blender until a creamy batter is achieved much like cottage cheese or cheesecake batter.  You may need to adjust the amount of almond milk until you get yours just right.

Brazil Nut Cherry Cocoa or Coconut Bites, Raw, GF, SF

Ingredients:
2 Cups of Organic Brazil Nuts, soaked
3/4 Cups Dried Dates
1/4 Cup Almond Meal/ Flour
3 Tbs. Melted Coconut Oil (I like Tropical Traditions)

1/4 Cup Shredded Organic Unsweetened Coconut  (You can use 1/2 cup of coconut or 1/2 cup of almond flour instead if you don't have both, it's just a binder for the nuts)

2 tsp. Organic Cocoa Powder

3/4 Cups Frozen Sweet Cherries
1 tsp. Amaretto (Optional use Vanilla Stevia if you'd rather)
Toppings:
1/4 Cup or so of Cocoa Powder
and / or
1/4 Cup of Shredded Organic Unsweetened Coconut

Ground Brazil Nuts

Ground Dried Dates

Soak 2 Cups of Organic Brazil Nuts in 3-4 cups of filtered water for 3-4 hours.
Drain the nuts and chop them to a small ground like you'd see an ice cream topping nut, like the ones pictured above.

Pour chopped nuts into a medium size bowl and chop the dates to a fine grind.

Add the chopped Dates in with the Brazil nuts and add the Cocoa Powder.  Heat the frozen cherries in a small pan on medium high heat, stir  frequently and add in the Amaretto or Vanilla Stevia.  Mix 1 tsp. of Arrow Root with 2 tsp. of water to make a paste and then pour this into the cherries while stirring constantly until the cherry's juice start to thicken some.  Simmer and stir the cherries for about 1 minute more and then remove from the heat.  Chop the cherry mixture in a blender until it has the consistency of jam.  You can taste it at this point to see if it needs more sweetener before adding it in with the nut/date mixture.  Stir together to make a wet dough similar to cookie dough.  Cool the dough in the fridge to let it set up some.

Roll spoonfuls of the mixture in your palms to what ever size balls you want and sit them on wax paper or a non stick surface.  You should refrigerate the rolled balls if you take a while to make all the dough into balls.  Cool all the balls again for a few minutes and then carefully roll each ball in a small bowl with either Cocoa Powder or Shredded Coconut.  Store in the fridge or freezer for up to 1 month.

Enjoy!

This post is linked to http://glutenfreepantry.blogspot.com/  and http://simplysugarandglutenfree.com/slightly-indulgent-tuesday-2612/ and http://glutenfreepantry.blogspot.com/2012/02/allergy-free-wednesdays-blog-hop-week-3.html

Raw Lucuma White Chocolate Candies

See the recipe here for these yummy little heart candies:

http://www.navitasnaturals.com/recipes/lucuma/lucuma-white-chocolate-candies.html

You can buy Lucuma at iHerb
Recieve $5 off you purchase with this code at checkout: ZOC252

Raw Lucuma Shortbread Cookies

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Recipe - Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients:
2 cups Navitas Naturals Raw Cashew Nuts (unsoaked) 
( I used a cup of cashews and 1 cup of Almond Meal)
1 cup dried coconut

1 tsp. vanilla
(I used 2 droppers of Vanilla Stevia)

4 Tbsp. Navitas Naturals Lucuma Powder 

4 Tbsp. melted coconut oil
2 Tbsp. maple syrup, optional (didn't use because the Lucuma and Stevia were sweet enough)
Top with a dusting of cinnamon/ palm sugar mix

Directions
First, place cashews in food processor fitted with the S blade, and process into fine powder. Empty food processor and then grind coconut into a fine powder. Place ground cashews back into the food processor and add vanilla and lucuma. Grind until it is all mixed and like a fine powder. Melt coconut oil in a dehydrator or by inserting the container into a bowl of hot water. Add melted coconut oil and lightly process until all mixed. If too dry you can add some maple syrup one tablespoon at a time until it is the right consistency to hold together and roll out. Roll out like you would a traditional shortbread, cut into shapes and decorate (with gogi berries, shredded coconut, powdered cacao). If you don't have a dehydrator just freeze the cookies. If you have a dehydrator, place on mesh screen and dehydrate for up to 12 hours. Will store in the freezer for up to 3 months. http://lucuma.gojiking.co.uk/

http://www.wilton.com/store/site/

These are some of the best cookies I've ever eaten..................................ENJOY!

     This post is linked to:  http://simplysugarandglutenfree.com/slightly-indulgent-tuesday-12412/

Raw Cocoa - Nut Truffles

Valentine's Day is just around the corner................try this healthier treat this year as a gift for your love:

These truffles were a spin off from a great recipe on 'Cupcakes and Kale' for raw walnut and almond cookies.  Jess's version is a little prettier, I didn't have a cookie cutter available so I made truffles and also added a sweetened cocoa dusting on the outside............really hits the sweet spot! 
But be sure to check out her original while looking over this one.  I'm sure you could think of lots of variations too...............

Basic Recipe:

3/4 cup raw walnuts
3/4 cup raw almonds
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut, shredded
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup raisins Optional (I just used more dates)
8-10 medjool dates, pits removed

Cocoa coating:

1/3 cup organic cocoa powder mixed with  
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp organic coconut sugar