My husband Scott LOVES pecan pie! He loves all dessert really – he doesn’t discriminate when it comes to sweets, but there is something about pecan pie for him…ha ha, let’s be honest, it’s all the sugar…and that yummy pecan flavor of course. Traditional pecan pie is basically sugar, butter, pecans, and eggs. The two main sugars used are corn syrup and brown cane sugar. So it’s not a stretch to modify the recipe and swap out the sugars, for example, instead use honey, maple syrup, coconut sugar, coconut nectar, etc. I wanted to make a pecan pie recipe that was similar to an original recipe but with my own special twist and dates came to mind. I made this pie over the weekend for family visiting. Ah ha! The perfect opportunity to snag some recipe testers. And I’m so happy to report that everyone really liked it! I was afraid it would be too “datey” or too sweet or not “pecany” enough. But everyone genuinely liked it. And Scott LOVED it. He was very excited about it. Yay. I used this original recipe as an inspiration. Continue reading
Category Archives: dessert
Date Pecan Pie
Labels: dessert, fall treats, gluten free, holidays, thanksgiving desserts.
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Healthy Halloween Treats the Whole Family Can Enjoy
Yay! It’s almost Halloween! My favorite holiday. There is something about Halloween I’ve always loved. And it’s not all about the candy and treats (as you might know, I’m not a huge sweet tooth). Truth be told… I’m a big ole’ scaredy cat and don’t even believe in ghosts, but man I love the spirit of Halloween. It’s so fun to dress up and I remember how exciting it was as a kid walking around in the dark gathering candy with the anticipation of being scared out of my Princess Leia buns any minute. My kiddos participate in Halloween, but they agree to eat mommy’s healthy treats and they turn in their trick-or-treating candy for a gift from the “Great Pumpkin” (who comes the morning of November 1st). I’ve done this for years now (since my daughter was 2) and my kids love it. We usually come in early from trick-or-treating and I make some popcorn and other favorites like caramel apples and ginger cookies (via Ricki Heller) and we snuggle up on the couch and watch a low-key Halloween cartoon. And I’m the nerdy neighbor who does NOT give out candy (I know…booo to me) please don’t egg my house. I hit up the dollar store for festive stickers, pencils, erasers, and other little trinkets and that’s my “treat.” It’s nice to have some variety, right.
Below are my family’s favorite treats for Halloween. Continue reading
Orange Kissed Apple Pie
When I was a little girl I loved helping my Gramie make apple pie. She did not play around when it came to the apples. She piled them apples a mile high in a huge mound and placed the crust on top. When the pie cooked the apples settled and there was at least a 4 inch space from apples to the top of the crust. I will always remember how cool it looked. When she broke into the pie, the crust fell nicely onto the apples. What I loved most about her apple pie, however, was the filling. She made it thick and gooey. The liquid ran all over the place. The apples were tart yet sharp with sweet cinnamon flavor. I loved extra scoops of the apple pie liquid on my ice cream which was the ultimate flavor combo. We remember those we love through food. When I taste my apple pie it takes me right back to her kitchen – standing there next to her oven, smelling the cinnamon and drooling for that flaky crust. I’m happy to say I’ve perfected my version of her apple pie with a dairy, gluten, and cane sugar free spin. It’s comforting to smell, taste, and physically enjoy a memory. Food has a way of bringing us closer to those we have lost, and really, then, suddenly they don’t feel so far away. Continue reading
Labels: allergy-friendly, dessert, fall cuisine, holidays, pie, summer treats.
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5 -Ingredient Chocolate Free & Sugar Free Frosting
My son turned 5 years old yesterday! My kids are starting to look VERY BIG to me these days. I’m loving the independence each year brings, but I would love to hold them each again as a baby (until they start crying and pooping – the fantasy ends there). The teenage years will be here before we know it so I am ever reminding myself to treasure small moments and not let the silly stuff feel so big. Continue reading
Grain Free Cashew Thumb Print Cookies
Okay, these aren’t really thumb prints I guess, more like heel prints (ha ha). I like lots of filling in my cookies so I make the dips bigger than your typical thumb print width. So these cookies were inspired by a new paleo cookie that has arrived at my local natural foods coop (created by a local bakery called Sugar Plum Vegan). The ingredients: super simple. The price: OUCH! One cookie costs $4 – I’m not kidding. That’s a bit outrageous, especially since these cookies are very easy to make with some very basic paleo ingredients. I bought one to taste test (and I really liked it) so took note of the ingredients and made my own batch the next day. My recipe contains an egg because I like to use egg as a binder and like the way it tastes with the cashews (vegan option in notes). The flavor is truly spot on. I could not justify buying another $4 cookie when I literally had everything at home to make a big batch. These are my family’s new favorite treat. I try to make 2 or 3 homemade snacks each week for the kiddos to decrease my dependence on packaged food (especially packaged snacks). And these are super easy to make and low in the sugar department (which is always a plus). Continue reading
Labels: cookies, dessert, grain free, grain free desserts, Paleo.
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Raw Pepperminty Nutty-Roons
I shared this recipe last month with Ricki on her blog: Ricki Heller. I found Ricki’s blog shorty after I started blogging (about 2 1/2 years ago). I distinctly remember visiting Wellness Weekend for the first time to share a recipe and instantly fell in love with Ricki, her writing style, and (of course) her recipes (of which I’ve made many)! Personally, I suffer from candida, so her blog is of great interest and value to me. I reference it constantly and refer friends and family to her site. Ricki’s cookbook Naturally Sweet and Gluten Free is one of my favorite cookbooks with so many healthy treats for my family. For the guest post I wanted to share a recipe for Ricki’s readers reminiscent of her cooking style with common ingredients used by Ricki herself. I call these “Nutty-Roons” because they are like a macaroon, but with a nice nutty bite to them. Made with only a few simple ingredients, these raw little bites of coconut bliss are sure to please. I made about 10 batches of these as Holidays gifts last year (I kid you not) and they were well received by all. I hope you enjoy them too. You can view my guest post here.
- 2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
- ⅔ cup raw walnuts
- ⅓ cup raw cashews
- 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup, honey, or coconut nectar
- 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoons peppermint flavor (or more to your preference)
- 5 drops liquid stevia (plain or flavored)
- In a food processor fitted with the S blade, add in the walnuts and cashews and blend for 20 seconds.
- Next add in the shredded coconut and blend with the nuts for another 20 seconds.
- In a small cup, mix together the maple syrup, stevia, vanilla extract, and peppermint oil.
- With the food processor running, pour in the coconut oil and the maple syrup mixture.
- Blend for 10 seconds.
- Scoop out mounds of the mixture and create little macaroon shapes (I use a small ice cream scooper).
- The mixture makes about 15 nutty-roons. Place them in freezer for ½ hour.
- While the nutty-roons are in the freezer, melt some chocolate*. I like to use a 1 cup glass Pyrex, placed in a pot of boiling water. This keeps the chocolate raw and melts nicely.
- Remove the nutty-roons from the freezer and dip each into the chocolate.
- Store the nutty-roons in the fridge. They hold up well at room temperature too, but I like how they taste cold.
2. You could also make your own chocolate (see recipe below).
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons coconut nectar, honey, or maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon raw ground cacao
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract -Optional: a few drops of stevia
- Place the above ingredients into a 1 cup glass Pyrex.
- Place the glass Pyrex into a pan of very hot water and mix around until everything is melted. Do not heat over 110 degree
This recipe was shared on: Allergy-Free Wednesdays, Raw Foods Thursday, Plant Based Potluck Party, Savoring Saturdays
Labels: chocolate, dessert, grain free desserts, guest post, low glycemic, Paleo, raw.
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I love You Cinnamon Apple Muffins
I call these “I Love You Cinnamon Apple Muffins” because I make them especially for my children (Daddy gets a few too of course). My kids LOVE these muffins—and they love to make them with me (it’s just a big ole’ love-fest). I’ve included a few pictures of my son, Ethan, helping me one morning before preschool. These muffins are moist, yet fluffy and have such a nice cinnamon apple flavor. They make excellent snacks or can be part of a healthy breakfast. I hope your family enjoys these muffins as much as we do. Join me over at Gluten Free Easily for my gluten free Cinnamon Apple Muffin Recipe (gluten free, dairy free, cane-sugar free, nut free). I shared these muffins last month on March Muffin Madness over at my friend Shirley’s Blog, Gluten Free Easily. You can check out the guest post here.
Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies (dairy free, cane-sugar free, nut free)
Raw Freezer Fudge
Shared on these wonderful link parties: Raw Foods Thursday, Wellness Weekend, Paleo Link Party, Whole Food Fridays, Gluten Free Wednesdays,
Dairy and Cane-Sugar Free Pumpkin Pie (SCD, GAPS, Paleo)
- 1¾ cups fresh baked pumpkin or 1 can of pumpkin puree
- cream from 1 can of full fat coconut milk
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 eggs
- 7 large soft Medjool dates (optional)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 extra egg for crust (this is an optional step)
- Soak dates in warm water for at least 2 hours before making this recipe.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- To a blender, add in all the above ingredients (except the extra egg) and blend until well incorporated (about 15 seconds), then pour the mixture into a pie crust.
- Beat the extra egg in a small bowl and brush the egg onto the entire exposed crust. I like to cover the crust with this silicone crust shield (it's awesome and my crust never burns).
- Place the pie onto a baking sheet (to catch overflow) and bake for 15 minutes. Then turn the oven temperature down to 350 and bake an additional 35 minutes. When the middle poofs up, your pie is ready. The middle will be jiggly, and that's okay. It will thicken as it cools.
- Remove pie from baking sheet and allow to cool on a cooling rack.
-I like to use dates in pumpkin pie because it adds a natural sweetness and helps thicken the mixture. If you don't want to use dates, just add additional sweetener (another 2 or 3 tablespoons).
-Maple syrup or coconut nectar is a nice substitute for the honey.
- I generally bake my pumpkin pie the night before and let it sit out at room temperature. When ready to serve, top with vanilla bean coconut whipped cream.
- Cream from 1 can of full fat coconut milk
- ½ cup cashews soaked for 4 to 6 hours (for a thicker whipped cream as shown in the picture, use 1 cup of soaked cashews)
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla, maple syrup,or coconut nectar.
- 1 vanilla bean cut in half and scraped out
- In a blender (high speed preferably) add all the above ingredients and blend until smooth.
- Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours.
- Mix well before serving.
Labels: dessert, fall cuisine, GAPS, nut free, Paleo, SCD, Thanksgiving.
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This sounds delicious Amber! Pinned it.
Thanks Emily! I’m so glad it turned out. Next up…pecan date bars! 🙂
This recipe looks incredible, Amber! I can’t wait to try it. I know exactly what you mean about too datey. I’m so glad that this recipe is not too datey or too pecany, but just perfect. 🙂
Shirley
Thanks Shirley! I hope you try it. Please let me know what you think!! 🙂
I have to admit pecan pie is one of my favs too, what a creative idea to use the dates for the caramel-esque flavor and binding!!
Yay! Another pecan pie fan. Thanks Tessa. It turned out really well. Easy and tasty. I have to say, I love dates!