Sweets & Treats

Showing: 1 - 3 of 3 RESULTS
Paleo Salted Maple Blondies
Recipes Sweets & Treats

Paleo Salted Maple Blondies

I pretty much am just the happiest right now—seeing review copies of my cookbook arriving on peoples’ front doors is just a dream too good to be true! I can’t wait for you all to get yours in just a few short days! This cookbook was a labor of love, and each page truly gives you a snapshot at daily life or celebrations gathered around the table. I have been so overwhelmed these past few weeks at the amazing emails and messages I have received in response to me sharing my Type 1 diabetes story. Thank you all for each and every word you have said! So to celebrate, I have a little gift for you all and a scrumptious recipe!

There are a few things that I am super passionate about—one is showing people how fun, simple and tasty a healthy lifestyle can be! So I created a handy, dandy resource for you “The Dinner Party Edition.” Filled with everything from drinks to appetizers, main entrees to desserts plus a complete list of preparations, these recipes will have you and your dinner guests reaching for seconds! There is a complete dinner for each season—spring, summer, fall and winter.

Good news is that if you pre-ordered or pre-order my print cookbook by Oct 5 at midnight, I will send you a coupon code for the Dinner Party Edition ebook as a thank you for your endless support as I seriously am so grateful for each and everyone of you!

So to celebrate, I give you these gluten-free and Paleo-friendly salted maple blondies to make all your cozy fall dreams come true! These seriously are so buttery and delicious and like all my desserts and sweets, they are not overly sweet so you can eat one and still feel fabulous! And they taste great warmed up with extra butter and a cup of coffee for breakfast, not like I am speaking from experience or anything!

I absolutely love sweet and salty desserts and these blondies are made grain free and gluten free with cashews which have a mellow flavor you won’t notice they are made with nuts, so this recipe is perfect for entertaining!

So be sure you pre-order my print cookbook, All American Paleo Table, and check out the Dinner Party Edition so that you an get all these scrumptious recipes! Oh and then go make these blondies now, because I promise you will love them!

Paleo Salted Maple Blondies

These little blondies will have you reaching for seconds and I am sure they will become a staple in your house like mine! With just the perfect amount of sweetness for a treat without being too heavy and the sprinkle of sea salt is the perfect sweet and salty compliment!

Recipe from All American Paleo Table: The Dinner Party Edition

 

Ingredients

  • 3 cups raw cashew pieces*
  • 6 tbsp butter, melted or use browned butter ghee for Paleo
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 cup pecan pieces, chopped
  • 1 tbsp maple sugar
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt flakes
  • *I chose to use raw cashew pieces as they are generally much less expensive than whole cashews.

 

Directions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and arrange the baking rack to the lower position. Generously brush an 8 by 8 baking pan with coconut oil and set aside.
  • Add the cashew pieces to the bowl of a food processor and blend for about 30 seconds or until the mixture begins to resemble a clumpy flour like texture.
  • Add in the melted butter and blend again for about 30 seconds or until the mixture begins to look like a clumpy nut butter like consistency.
  • Add in the remaining ingredients: the maple syrup, eggs, baking soda and vinegar. Blend until completely smooth. Pour into the greased pan.
  • Top with a sprinkle of pecan pieces, maple sugar and sea salt flakes.
  • Bake for 20-22 minutes or just until the middle is set, keep in mind that you want these more on the gooey side and they will continue to cook even after removed from the oven.
  • Wait 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Recipes Sweets & Treats

Paleo Vanilla Bean, Berry Cheesecake Bites

Do you just want to jump into this photoshoot? I can’t even tell you all how many times I said that this past week, quite literally my mouth was watering editing these photos. Food photography, yes the struggle is real.

Thankfully I had friends over when I was doing this photoshoot, because let me tell you, when it comes to desserts, I have a lot of self control, but with these little berry stuffed cheesecake bites, all self control was completely gone with the wind.

 

I am the biggest fan of cheesecake, thanks Mom for passing that down to me, and you all have been asking for a dairy free cheesecake recipe, which seems like a complete oxymoron to me, but since I like to make you all happy, I wanted to create a dairy free cheesecake recipe for Valentine’s Day for you all! This recipe makes me so endlessly happy, so hopefully it will make you happy too!

Captured by Kylie Martin Captured by Kylie Martin

Plus, can we talk for a moment how my dog LOVES whipped cream and berries?! Like I have photoshoots in my house practically everyday, food all over the place, pans are placed on the floor and my bowls of garnishes are everywhere, and my dog never once eats any of the food. Weird right? But if I bring out a bowl of whipped cream she goes CRAZY! So I just had to share this photo of Libby going for the whipped cream, because it is just too cute not too share. And, this photo was completely un-staged, she really just is that cute!

 

 

So Valentine’s Day…now you make think this recipe is girly and cute, which it totally is, but my husband devoured these. So much that I had to make a second batch for him, and then he devoured those too! Quite honestly this might just be one of my favorite desserts ever, and that is saying a lot for me! So make these for your lover, husband, kids or friends, with a cup of coffee or glass of champagne, because life is too short not to enjoy a sweet treat!

 

Vanilla Bean, Berry Cheesecake Bites

makes 12 individual cheesecake bites | approximately 18g carbs per bite

Almond Hazelnut Crust

  • 1 cup blanched almond flour
  • 1/2 cup hazelnut flour
  • 1/2 cup finely shredded unsweetened coconut
  • 2 tbsp maple sugar
  • 1 tbsp coconut flour
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 6 tbsp coconut oil

Vanilla Bean Cheesecake Filling

  • 1 1/2 cup raw cashew pieces
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • 6 tbsp grass-fed butter, softened
  • 1/4 cup full fat, unsweetened coconut milk
  • 3 tbsp raw honey
  • 2 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped

Garnish

  • 1 cup fresh raspberries
  • 1 cup fresh black berries
  • whipped cream or coconut cream, to garnish
  • lemon zest, to garnish

Directions

  • Brush the insides of individual muffin tins (12 count) with coconut oil. Cut thin strips of parchment paper and line the muffin tins with 2 strips creating a criss cross shape, you will want some of the parchment paper to hang over the tops of the muffin tins so that you can lift up later on.
  • Add all the crust ingredients to the bowl of a food processor and blend until a ball a dough begins to form.
  • Drop a spoonful into each muffin tin and use your fingers to press down creating a crust. Add 2 berries to each crust and set aside.
  • Clean out your food processor.
  • Add the cashew pieces to the bowl of the food processor and blend to a clumpy, flour like consistency. Add the coconut oil and continue blending until it starts to resemble a thick nut butter.
  • Add in the remaining filling ingredients and blend until smooth.
  • Add a spoonful of filling to each crust using a small spatula to gently smooth out the tops.
  • Refrigerate for 1 hour.
  • Gently lift up on the parchment paper to remove the cheesecakes. Plate and garnish with whipped cream, any remaining berries and lemon zest if desired.
Recipes Sweets & Treats

Homemade Paleo Salted Caramel Chocolate Candy Bars

Life’s better drizzled in chocolate right?! I totally had a splatter painting party making these—chocolate, toasted coconut and sea salt everywhere…oh my! Kitchen messes are so fun to make, but just so darn not fun to clean. Send help. Thanks.

I was craving those frozen ice cream Snickers bar the other day—like badly craving! I have never tried making a homemade candy bar, so clearly my cravings were a good reason! These are layered with a coconut cookie crust, salted date caramel layer and covered in chocolate. Oh and then finaly sprinkled with more salt and toasted coconut, because I sprinkle everything in salt!

These homemade grain-free and Paleo friendly candy bars are sort of a mix between a classic Snickers and Twix—well I actually haven’t eaten candy in over 5 years, so I can’t speak with certainty on that subject. They are also nut free if you use a seed butter so yay!

 

Homemade Paleo Salted Caramel Chocolate Candy Bars

 

You all may see me posting dessert or baked good recipes on my blog or Instagram often…well first they are so fun to photograph so thats a major reason, but second, I only ever eat a few bites. Let me explain. To me, life is all about balance. I pretty much have a treat each and everyday, always something I personally have made so I know exactly what the ingredients are and I usually only have a few bites!

Having Type 1 diabetes, means I can’t really go big or go home so to speak—plus, you all know I can’t stand the term “cheat day!” That would make me very sick! Although in college I did frequently say “go big or go to sleep” (haha)!

Rather, I find that having a few bites here and there is one of the best ways to stay consistent in living healthy each day. So make these and enjoy occasionally! Life is too short not to drizzle the day with chocolate!

 

Homemade Paleo Salted Caramel Chocolate Candy Bars

makes 16 candy bars | approximately 22 g carbohydrates per bar (will vary slightly due to chocolate)

 

Coconut Cookie Crust

  • 1 cup finely shredded, unsweetened coconut
  • 1/2 cup finely ground golden flaxseed
  • 1/2 cup creamy nut butter or seed butter (for nut-free)
  • 1/2 cup coconut butter*
  • 1 tbsp coconut flour
  • 1 tsp coconut oil

Salted Date Caramel

  • 1 1/2 cups pitted dates (about 15 medjool dates)
  • 1/3 cup coconut oil
  • 1 vanilla bean, split open and scraped
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt

Chocolate Covering

  • 8 oz dark chocolate (I recommend Pure 7 honey sweetened chocolate)
  • 1 cup thick toasted coconut flakes
  • 1 tsp sea salt flakes
    *coconut butter is not the same as coconut oil.

 

Directions

  • Add all the coconut cookie crust ingredients to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse several times just until all the ingredients are completely incorporated. (I recommend pulsing rather than blending with a food processor as ingredients will quickly turn from a cookie dough consistency to a nut butter).
  • Line a 8 by 8 inch baking dish with parchment paper drooping over both sides.
  • Add the cookie crust to the baking dish and use a flat spatula to smooth into a thin, even layer.
  • Clean out your food processor and add all the salted date caramel ingredients. Blend until smooth.
  • Pour the caramel layer over the cookie crust, using a spatula to create a thin, even layer.
  • Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
  • Chop the chocolate into chunks. Over low heat, in a small sauce pan, melt the chocolate slowly. Set aside to cool as this will help create the perfect candy bar texture.
  • Remove the candy bars from the refrigerator and lift up on the parchment paper. Transfer the used parchment paper to a flat baking sheet to use later.
  • Slice the bars in half and then lengthways creating 16 bars. Place on the parchment lined baking sheet and in the freezer for 5-10 minutes.
  • Carefully dip the candy bars into the melted but cool chocolate and place back on the parchment lined baking sheet.
  • Sprinkle with toasted coconut and sea salt flakes. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before enjoying. They will keep out of the refrigerator, but I prefer to store them in the refrigerator (to keep longer and avoid any melting) and simply remove 10 minutes before eating.