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