Category Archives: dessert

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Tasty Alternatives to Traditional Halloween Candy

Healthy versions of some traditional Halloween treats

Rice Crispy Chocolate Bars

(my spin on a traditional candy bar)

Ingredients
*I used this recipe for “rice crispy treats” from the Gluten
Free Goddess for the inside of the bars
*One bar of this chocolate for the coating
*Shredded coconut, if desired

How To
*I made the above rice crispy treats, smoothed the mixture out
on a silicone baking mat – around 1 inch high. Chilled them
in the fridge until nice and solid. Then cut them into bars
*Melt an entire bar of chocolate on a double boiler (I fashioned
my own using a small 8″ non-stick saute pan on top of a small
sauce pan filled with some water)
*Quickly cover bars with chocolate, rolling them around
with a wooden pair of tongs. When fully coated,
transfer immediately to a cooling rack with a baking sheet
underneath to catch the chocolate drippings
*Transfer to fridge until cooled
*These do very well sitting out at room temperature,
the chocolate does not melt. Perfect to eat like a “candy bar”

These are so decadent. But I love that the

chocolate bar is only sweetened with

filtered beet sugar.
My husband said the coconut covered
ones tasted (like, but much better than)
a Mounds bar.

Chocolate Covered Figs

(my spin on a Tootsie Roll Pop)

Ingredients

*Fresh Figs

*One bar of this chocolate for the coating

How To

*Melt an entire bar of chocolate on a double boiler (I fashioned
my own using a small 8″ non-stick saute pan on top of a small
sauce pan filled with some water).

*Place lollipop stick into fig. All I had on hand when I made these was a few wooden skewers, a little too sharp on the end for children. I found some 4″ lollipop sticks here in town the next day…much better.

*Using a silicone spatchula, drizzle chocolate quickly over fig

*Be sure to get some chocolate on the area between the stick and the fig, this will provide a nice hold, like a glue, ensuring the fig won’t fall off. I missed this on a few as you can see in the above picture and these were much more precarious

*Transfer immediately to a cooling rack with a baking sheet

underneath to catch the chocolate drippings
*Transfer to fridge until cooled
*These do very well sitting out at room temperature,
the chocolate does not melt. Perfect to eat like a “Tootsie Roll Pop”

These fig pops are so delicious! I was very pleased with

how they turned out. These would make super

cute hors d’oeuvres at a party!

Caramel Pops and Caramel Apples

(My spin on traditional caramel)

Ingredients

*5 Tablespoons brown rice syrup (or Yacon Syrup might work)

*5 Tablespoons coconut sugar

*1 Tablespoon coconut oil

How To

*Spray some oil on wax or parchment paper and strategically place lollipop sticks on paper

*Have a small space on paper sprayed with oil for the apple. Have apple ready (with wooden skewer firmly in place)

*In a small non-stick saute pan (same as used above but not as a double boiler) heat brown rice syrup until bubbly, always stirring quickly to avoid burning

*Add in coconut sugar and coconut oil and stir quickly

*Keep on med/low heat with a slight bubble for about 2 minutes stirring the entire time to prevent burning

*Remove from heat and continue stirring for about 30 seconds

*With a silicone spatchula, pour a small amount of the sauce on the end of each lollipop stick. Let it sit and repeat once more, this will make it a little thicker and give the stick a little more to hold on to

*For apple, hold apple by the skewer and drizzle the sauce quickly over apple and then place on the oiled paper

*Transfer lollipops and apples into the fridge to cool

*When the sauce has hardened, take out items and remove from paper. You may get a little paper stuck on your treat, but it peals off pretty easy

*I suggest eating the lollipops right away, as they do get a little soft at room temperature

*Slice apple and let it sit at room temperature before eating. The sauce turns ooey and gooey when it warms up. So delicious with the tart apple!

*You will see in the picture below (the pops in the jar) here look a little different than the flat version described above. For these I made another batch of the sauce and let it cool a little and then started pulling it like taffy. It took a bit to get the texture just so, but it allowed me to make a thicker sucker

*This recipe may work with honey (instead of the brown rice syrup) or with Yacon syrup, but I didn’t test it out.

I haven’t had “real” caramel is so long. It was even years before I was diagnosed. I never loved caramel, but I thought this would be a fun challenge and I am very please with how it turned out. And I am now remembering that as a young girl I was forbidden to eat caramel apples due to a mouth full of braces. Bummer. For fun I looked up a traditional caramel recipe and can I tell you that my stomach started hurting from just reading the ingredients!

Shared on: Allergy-Free Wednesdays

Posted by Amber at 10:41 pm

Labels: candy alternatives, dessert, Halloween, holidays.

4 Comments

Tessa October 27, 2011 at 3:29 am
Can’t wait to try some of these goodies! The fig one makes me swoon!!
Reply
Amber October 27, 2011 at 8:11 pm
Hi There~

Thanks Tessa.

I have to say, the figs are decadent and my favorite.

Happy Halloween!

Be Well,
–Amber
Reply
Squash Blossom Babies October 28, 2011 at 4:39 pm
Hi, I love these ideas! I featured your fig pops on my site today! Stop by and check it out: http://squashblossombabies.com/2011/10/28/happy-halloween/
Reply
Amber October 28, 2011 at 9:50 pm
Hello Squash Blossom Babies~

Thank you for including me in your post. I’m flattered! What a fun blog you have there. And a happy 1-year anniversary to you. Keep up the great work.

Be Well,
–Amber
Reply

Raw Vegan Banana Fudgesicles

Hello and welcome to The Tasty Alternative! My name is Amber and this blog is a combination of alternative cuisine, green living and holistic healing. You can read more about me and this blog from the links above. I’m just thrilled to create my first post today. I thought it would be fun to kick things off on a sweet note and make one of my daughter’s (and son’s) favorite desserts, and of course my daughter is helping me out in the kitchen today. Please let me know how you like this delicious and healthy spin on one of my favorite childhood treats.

Raw Vegan Banana Fudgesicles

Author: Amber Husten

Ingredients

1 large ripe banana
1 can of full fat coconut milk (or any non dairy milk)
3 tablespoons of grade B maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons raw carob power or raw cacao power

Instructions

Blend ingredients in any blender
Pour into popsicle molds and freeze 4-5 hours
Enjoy!

Notes

*I like to make these with carob because chocolate aggravates eczema (my son suffers from this skin condition) and overall, chocolate is far too stimulating for my little ones.

*Vegans can also use coconut nectar. Honey is a great sweetener for non vegans.

*I like THESE popsicle molds. And HERE are some in stainless steel.

Affiliate links in recipe. Thank you.

Shared on: Just Another Meatless Monday , Melt in your Mouth Mondays, Monday Mania, My Meatless Mondays, Mealtime Monday, Made From Scratch Monday, Wellness Weekend, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Whole Food Wednesdays, Real Food Wednesdays, Gluten Free Wednesdays,, Raw Foods Thursdays

Posted by Amber at 9:01 pm

Labels: allergy-friendly, chocolate free, dessert, raw, summer treats.

5 Comments

Mary Hudak-Collins June 18, 2012 at 5:30 pm
How wonderfully quick and easy! I’m planning on making Rocky Road ice cream tonight, but who says I can’t throw some fudgesicles in the freezer for tomorrow? Thanks for sharing in our recipe hop this week!
Reply
Debbie @ Easy Natural Food June 18, 2012 at 6:03 pm
Yay, I bought popsicle molds recently because I have a 2yo who LOVES this type of thing, and your recipe sounds yummy!
Reply
Rogene Robbins June 20, 2012 at 7:27 pm
No children at my house, but we love frozen treats. These look really good.
Reply
Laura October 11, 2012 at 2:57 pm
Skylar is simply adorable! I can’t wait to make this treat with my daughter. And I happen to have all of the ingredients on hand…hmm think I will be making this in a few hours!
Reply
Heather @Gluten-Free Cat August 12, 2013 at 1:29 pm
What a beautiful model for your fudgesicles! Love this recipe. Makes me want to buy popsicle molds. 🙂 And I love that you use carob. I’m one of those people who actually likes the taste of carob and doesn’t use it as a healthy alternative to chocolate. Thanks for sharing at Raw Foods Thursdays!

Heather
Reply