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Daily Archives: October 5, 2013

Dessert Kid Friendly Recipes

More Healthy Halloween Recipes

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Chocolate Dipped Caramel Apples

All the flavor of caramel apples & none of the guilt!

Make Caramel Chews and when mixture tests firm remove from heat and using a fork or tongs dip apple slices into caramel. Place on wax paper or oiled aluminum foil or cookie sheet. When caramel has cooled dip in chocolate sauce from Chocolate Dipped Cherries. Place back on wax paper and until chocolate has cooled.

 

Candied Maple Nuts

1 cup maple syrup
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 cups walnuts and/or pecans (preferably toasted)

In a heavy bottomed pan over medium heat stir together maple syrup, cinnamon, butter and salt.

Cook and stir until syrup becomes darker and starts to thicken. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Toss syrup with walnuts until evenly coated. Pour onto waxed paper or lightly oiled baking sheet. Let cool before storing in airtight container.

Coconut-Almond Toffee Bars

No, you haven’t stumbled into another dimension – these really are sugar-free, delicious, easy to make – and yes, this is still the third rock from the sun in the year 2013. Check out the Tropical and budget Oatmeal versions.

These can be stored in an airtight container up to 1 week or frozen for up to 1 month.

1/2 cup unsweetened shredded dried coconut
1/3 cup sliced almonds
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup unrefined sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup coffee
1 tablespoon honey or agave nectar
12 ounces grain-sweetened chocolate chips
2/3 cup chopped almonds or coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spread coconut and almonds on a cookie sheet and bake until golden, 5 to 7 minutes; stirring 2-3 times. Remove from oven and turn oven up to 400 degrees.

Pour coconut and almonds into a medium bowl and add the butter, sugar, vanilla, coffee and honey, stirring until well blended.

Wipe the cookie sheet with the butter wrapper or spray with cooking spray. Pour nut mixture onto buttered cookie sheet and bake about 18 minutes, until toffee is brown and bubbly. Remove from oven.

Sprinkle  chocolate chips over toffee. Let stand 10 minutes until chips are melted. Using a buttered metal spatula spread chocolate evenly over toffee then sprinkle with chopped almonds.

Cool completely. Cut into squares. Store tightly covered in a cool dry place.

Tropical Toffee Bars – use fresh orange juice in place of water, (add 1 tablespoon orange curacuo to toffee mixture before baking), mix 1 tablespoon finely diced orange zest into final topping of almonds or coconut.

Oatmeal Toffee Bars – in place of almonds and coconut use 28 ounces instant oatmeal (toast first), (apple or white grape juice instead of water), 1 tablespoon vanilla instead of 1 teaspoon, add 1/2 teaspoon salt to oatmeal mix, top with any chopped nuts that you have around.

 

Honey Popcorn Bars

It took me five years, but finally I’ve come up with an UnDiet version of one of my favorite treats – Marshmallow Rice Krispie Bars. You won’t believe how close these taste to the snap, crackle and pop version that we all grew up with.

If you’re making these for Halloween in the final step use your hands to shape them into popcorn balls instead of bars. You can even add a few sugar-free cinnamon candies or grain-sweetened chocolate, white chocolate or peanut butter chips.

2 cups butter
1-1/2 cups honey
6-8 cups popcorn (preferably air-popped)

Bring butter and honey to a boil over medium heat in a large heavy bottomed saucepan. Stir frequently while bringing to a boil, then stop stirring while mixture continues to boil until it turns a dark golden brown about 7-10 minutes. Use your stirring spoon to drop a small glob of syrup into a glass of very cold water. If mixture forms a soft ball after hitting the water it’s ready. If it floats to the bottom of the glass in threads boil a few more minutes without stirring and test again.

Remove from heat and stir in popcorn so that it’s all well coated. Allow mixture to rest 5-10 minutes until the popcorn collapses from soaking in the syrup, then press into a buttered cookie sheet or onto a large sheet of waxed paper. Using buttered hands or the back of your stirring spoon press the mixture firmly to further collapse the popcorn.

Variations:
Cut cooled mixture into shapes with knife or cookie cutters.
Add 1 teaspoon vanilla to mixture after removing from heat and before adding popcorn.
Add 1 teaspoon flavoring extract (try peppermint, coconut, chocolate, butterscotch, rum) to mixture after removing from heat and before adding popcorn.
Add 1 cup chopped nuts, dried dates, raisins, grain-sweetened yogurt or chocolate covered raisins, or grain-sweetened chocolate (or peanut, or espresso) chips to mixture when you stir in the popcorn.
Instead of popcorn use whole grain, sugar free air puffed cereal.