Chocolate Nice Cream

I'm a believer in the 80/20 rule. 

80% of the time, I try to pretty healthy. 20% of the time, I eat whatever I want. 

Thus, I still whole heartedly believe in decadent chocolate desserts. 

This chocolate nice cream is the type of chocolate dessert you can eat during the 80% healthy eating time. 

"Nice Cream" became a huge sensation in on the internet world a couple years ago. I'm behind the times with this, as with most food trends. 

Initially, my thought was, why make ice cream from bananas, when you can have the real thing?  Also, I don't have a fancy high-powered blender, so I was worried I wouldn't be able to pull it off .  Finally, to be honest, sometimes I'm just lazy about getting out, using, and then cleaning, my blender/food processor. 

However, that all changed over the last month. Adam and I gave up dessert for lent, and there were several days when I was realllllly craving chocolate.

Adam has also been on a bit of a smoothie kick recently, which inspired me to break out the food processor.

Maybe it was because I hadn't had real ice cream for other a month, but when I first tried this chocolate nice cream, I was in heaven. Even if you're not a fan of bananas, give this a try.  When they're frozen and blended with cocoa powder, you really don't taste the banana flavor at all.

You don't have to have a fancy blender to make this. As you can see, my chocolate nice cream still has some rough pieces in it, but that's ok.  A regular food processor or blender should work, as long as you break up the banana in small enough pieces.

Also, I made a step-by-step video for how to make this chocolate nice cream over on snapchat-->
steworastory.

I'm not really cool enough for snapchat yet, but I'm going to post a few recipe videos there from time to time!

Chocolate Nice Cream

Ingredients:

1 large banana, frozen

2-4 tablespoons milk of choice

1 date

1 tablespoon peanut butter (or other nut butter of choice)

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

Directions: 

Add frozen banana and 2 tablespoons milk to the food processor or high-powered blender. Begin processing, adding additional milk as needed until banana is smooth. 

Add the date, peanut butter, and cocoa powder, and process until smooth. 

Topping ideas:

chocolate chips

chia seeds

shredded coconut

strawberries 

Notes:

• In order for the nice cream to be more like ice cream and less like a smoothie, add less milk. You can also pop it back in the freezer for a few minutes after making it to allow it to solidify more. 
• The only ingredients you really need are frozen banana, milk, and cocoa powder. The date adds some extra sweetness, and the peanut butter adds healthy fat and protein. Also, I really love chocolate and peanut butter together!
• Depending on how good your blender/food processor is, the frozen banana may be difficult to break up. You can leave it out of the freezer for a few minutes to soften, or try breaking it up into small pieces. 

Brownie Batter Energy Bites

I like to celebrate the blog birthday every year by making a chocolate peanut butter dessert.  Is there really a better culinary combination? 

The first year it was marshmallow filled molten chocolate cakes with peanut butter fudge sauce. Last year it was four-ingredient chocolate pretzel peanut butter cups. 

This year, I've made brownie batter energy bites--a healthier chocolate peanut butter dessert--made with dates, peanut butter, cocoa powder, chia seeds, oatmeal, and chocolate chips. 

But, don't let the healthy ingredients fool you--these bites are rich and packed with intense chocolate flavor.   

And, there's no baking involved. You'll combine all the ingredients in the food processor, make the balls, and then pop them in the fridge to set.

It's hard to believe that I've been blogging for three years. THREE YEARS.

I started this blog during my third year of teaching and I've continued blogging though almost three years of law school.  In a lot of ways, I think it's helped keep me same.

Throughout everything, this blog has been a space where I've come to play, experiment, and connect with you.

Thank you for reading, and thank you for loving chocolate and peanut butter as much as I do.

Brownie Batter Energy Bites

Ingredients:

10 dates, pitted and soaked in warm water for 10 minutes

3 tablespoons salted peanut butter or almond butter

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon chia seeds

2/3 cup old fashioned oats

Splash of milk (optional)

1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions: 

Add pitted dates to the food processor and pulse until they form a ball. (As in the photo above)

Add peanut butter, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, chia seeds, and oats. Pulse until combined. (You may need to stop and scrape down the sides of the food processor if you have a regular model like mine.) If the mixture is not coming together, add a splash of milk and pulse again. 

Add chocolate chips and pulse for another few seconds. 

Use your hands to roll the dough into 1 inch balls. (Should make between 12-13, depending on the size)

You can eat these immediately, but to firm them up a bit, stick them in the fridge for 15 minutes or so. These will stay fresh in an air-tight container or in the fridge for up to a week. They can also be frozen!

Adapted from Minimalist Baker

Gluten-Free Coconut Flour Snickerdoodles

If you've been reading the blog for a while, you may have noticed a pattern to my posts in mid-August, which usually feature nerves about the school year starting or dreading the busyness to come.

My feelings are much the same this year.

However, I'm working really hard to focus on some Oprah wisdom: "The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change her future by merely changing her attitude."

I'm also trying to follow my own tips for getting out of a funk/maintaining a positive attitude.

Finally, I'm giving myself some grace when I fail, or when things don't work out like I want, and I'm making cookies. Sometimes that helps, you know?

These cookies came about sort of by accident.

I made them for the first time when I was in D.C. this summer.  I didn't have my car in the city, so I always had to walk several blocks with my groceries.  One day, I needed flour for a recipe but didn't want to buy a big heavy bag of regular flour, so I bought a small bag of coconut flour instead.  A week or so later, I had a very intense weeknight cookie craving. I started researching coconut flour chocolate chip cookies and stumbled upon this recipe.

I didn't have any chocolate chips on hand, but the cookies still turned out really well.  I also realized that the flavor and texture would be perfect for coconut flour snickerdoodles.

And I was right!  These cookies have a soft chewy texture that is just meant to be covered in cinnamon sugar.

They're gluten free and naturally sweetened if you use coconut sugar.  What are you waiting for?

Gluten-Free Coconut Flour Snickerdoodles

Ingredients:
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup honey or pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 regular eggs (see notes below if using large or jumbo eggs)
1/3 cup coconut flour
2 tablespoons sugar (regular, coconut sugar, or any other kind you like)
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Directions: 
Preheat oven to 350.  Prepare cookie sheet by lining with parchment paper or spraying with non-stick spray.

Whisk together the coconut oil, honey, vanilla, salt, and eggs.  Add coconut flour and stir to combine. Set aside for a moment.*

In a shallow bowl, combine the cinnamon and sugar.  Form dough into tablespoon sized balls and roll in the cinnamon/sugar mixture.  Flatten cookies with your hands and place on cookie sheet. (The cookies will not spread out much when they bake, so you'll want to form them into their desired size now.)

Bake cookies at 350 for 12-14 minutes.  For best results, let cookies cool completely before eating.

*The first time I made these cookies, I used regular eggs, and the cookie dough texture was perfect. The second time I made them, I used large eggs, and the dough was a little too runny. I added an extra tablespoon of coconut flour to firm up the dough. You may need to experiment based on what kind of eggs you have. The dough to be firm enough to be able to shape into round balls to roll in the cinnamon/sugar.

Adapted from Detoxinista.

Yellow Texas Sheet Cake with Chocolate Frosting

I have been showing my love to Adam through desserts for as long as we've been together. (Which will be ten years later this month!)

The first summer after we started dating, he came to our family's 4th of July cookout.  Knowing his love for oreos and cheesecake, I decided to make him an oreo cheesecake. It was a mammoth thing, with an oreo cookie crust, dense cheesecake filling, and layer of sweetened sour cream, all covered in chocolate ganache. It weighed about seven pounds. My mother, also a devout lover of dessert, still talks about it. 

When we sat down to eat dessert, I excitedly cut Adam an ENORMOUS piece. He says it was a third of the cheesecake, but that's an exaggeration.  Poor Adam, who was nervous about making a good impression on my family, felt like he had to eat the whole slice.  He very nearly did, and felt sick for hours afterwards.  He's never let me cut his piece of cake since. 

I haven't, however, stopped making him elaborate desserts for his birthday.  A fews years after the oreo cheesecake, I made him a reese's cup cheesecake.  Over the years, I've also I made him a peanut butter layer cake with chocolate frosting,  a yellow layer cake with chocolate ganache, and naked chocolate layer cake with chocolate buttercream and peanut butter frosting.

This year, I obsessed about his birthday cake for weeks.  He gave up sweets for lent this year--for the first time ever--and though his birthday is 2 days before Easter, he wanted to wait until Easter to eat his birthday cake. I wanted to make one that would knock his socks off, but everything I suggested, he nixed.   German chocolate cake?  No.  Six-layer chocolate cake with salted caramel ? No.

Those are too complicated, he insisted.  "Just make me yellow cake from a box with canned chocolate  frosting."

"Are you kidding me?" I gasped, "Who do you think I am?"

(Nothing against boxed cake mix. I've eaten a lot of it in my day and probably will in the future.  But when you're a foodie and it's your person's birthday, a boxed cake just doesn't cut it.)

He eventually settled on a homemade yellow sheet cake, served with Texas sheet cake-style fudgy chocolate pean frosting.

It was simple, and delicious, and what he really wanted all along. The yellow sheet cake was moist and buttery, and a perfect accompaniment to the rich (no fuss!) chocolate frosting.

This is all a lesson for me I suppose.  First, I need to be a better listener, and second, love doesn't have to be shown through towering layer cakes or grandiose gestures.

A simple sheet cake, and everyday acts of love, are just as good.

Hope you have a blessed Easter, friends!

Yellow Texas Sheet Cake with Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients:
For the cake:
non-stick cooking spray or butter, for greasing the pan
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 8 ounce carton sour cream
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large eggs (or 2 jumbo eggs)
3/4 cup buttermilk

For the frosting:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
4 tablespoons unsweetend cocoa powder
6 tablespoons evaporated milk
4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans

Directions: 
For the cake:
Preheat oven to 350.  Grease a 13 by 9 inch pan with non-stick cooking spray or butter.  Line with wax paper. Grease again with non-stick cooking spray or butter.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

With an electric mixer, beat together butter and sour cream. Add sugar and vanilla extract and beat to combine, followed by the eggs.  With the beaters on medium speed, alternate adding the flour mixture and the buttermilk.  Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

For the frosting:
Add butter, cocoa powder, and evaporated milk to a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Stir until butter is melted, then remove from heat.  Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time, whisking continually.  Add vanilla extract and pecans and stir to combine.  Pour warm icing immediately over cake. Dig in!

Notes:

• This birthday cake easily serves 10 people.
• Skip the pecans if you'e not a fan of nuts.
• I've used the buttermilk substitute many times before, but this is a recipe where I really recommend using the real thing. It adds a wonderful flavor to the cake.
• Cake will be good covered and kept at room temperature for 4-5 days.  

Cake recipe adapted from Cooking Light
Frosting recipe from Joy the Baker's cookbook

Mini Raspberry White Chocolate Scones and a Valentine's Day Tea Party

Who says Valentine's Day has to be about the boys?

Let's have a girls-only tea party.

I'll bring the scones.

Boys are great and all, but sometimes you just need some girls-only time, right?

I read in The Happiness Project that both men and women report greater feelings of happiness and satisfaction after having a conversation with another woman.

Let's nourish the female relationships in our lives!

A tea-party with these scones is a good place to start.  There's a special story behind these teacups.

Late last summer I had high tea at the Carolina Inn with my friend Tori and her mom.   As we nibbled on tea sandwiches and sipped rose tea, I mentioned how much I loved the mismatching vintage teacups.

Then, this past December for my birthday, Tori surprised me with 4 vintage tea cups, including one from her grandmother's collection!!  I have the most thoughtful friends.

Until now, I thought my favorite scones were these whole wheat apple cinnamon ones, but these mini raspberry white chocolate scones are also pretty fantastic.

While most scones are made with buttermilk and butter, this recipe just uses heavy cream.  The raspberries and chocolate are a dream combination here, and the ginger and cinnamon add depth of flavor and transform these from ordinary--> extraordinary.

In addition to any date plans you have next Saturday, consider having some one-on-one time with your girlfriends.  Make them these scones or another treat to remind them how special they are to you.

Hope you have a love-filled week, friends!

Mini Raspberry White Chocolate Scones

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup sugar
pinch of ground ginger
pinch of cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup heavy cream (plus a couple extra tablespoons if needed)
1/3 cup white chocolate chips
3/4 cup chopped frozen raspberries


Directions: 
Preheat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray liberally with non-stick cooking spray.  Clean a space on your counter and lightly dust with flour.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.

Measure heavy cream into a large class measuring cup. Add vanilla extract and stir to combine.

Gradually add the cream & vanilla to the flour mixture, stirring as you pour it in. The dough will be craggy. Continue stirring until combined.  Add the white chocolate chips and frozen raspberries and stir to incorporate. Add another tablespoon or two of heavy cream if necessary.  The dough should just come together, but should not be sticky.

Roll dough out onto cleaned, floured surface. Use your hands to gently flatten dough out into a rectangle/oval of 3/4 thickness.

Use a biscuit or cookie cutter (or a cup or a jar) to cut out desired scone size. Place on baking sheet. The raspberries will melt a little as you work--that's ok!

Brush scones with heavy cream. If desired, sprinkle with coarse sugar.

Bake at 425 for 12-14 minutes or until tops are just staring to brown.


Adapted from Joy the Baker.

Four-ingredient Chocolate Pretzel Peanut Butter Cups

So I guess this is sort of becoming a tradition, me posting indulgent chocolate peanut butter recipes on my bloggiversary.

This also seems especially appropriate since January 24th is national peanut butter day. I do enjoy celebrating random food holidays.

I don't have as many inspiring words as last year, and I'm bringing you a much simpler recipe. These chocolate pretzel peanut butter cups have 4 ingredients, require minimal dishes, and are made using only your microwave and freezer.

These are super quick to put together, minus the hour that they need to solidify in the freezer.  Don't worry, you can do the dishes while you wait.

Maintaining the blog this past year has been harder than ever before. Life is just so dang busy, and many weekends I've found myself questioning why I spend so much time on something that (1) doesn't bring in any income and (2) isn't usually read by many people.

Other weeks, I get caught up in the blog comparison game. There are soooo many food blogs out there in the universe, many with stunning photographs and eloquent writing and unique recipes. And then I think, "what am I really adding to the already over-saturated world of online recipe content?"

Yet, whenever I voice these concerns aloud to friends or to Adam, they always respond, "Why did your start your blog in the first place? Was it to make money or have millions of people read it?"

The answer to that last question is always no.  Those would be lovely benefits, of course, but the real reason I started the blog was to have an outlet to write creatively, a space to connect with others, and a means to express my creativity by creating and photographing recipes.  This blog may not always provide those things for me, but for now it does, so I'll continue to post.

The older I get (and I guess the older this blog gets) the more I realize that comparing yourself (or your blog) to others is a lose-lose scenario. It really doesn't make sense to look to others to see who we should be.  Our internal feelings of inadequacy and deep-seated fear of being outcast or alone fuel these comparisons.   I think the impulse will always be there, but it will not always rule us.  The more we can let go of the us/them cycle, the more we can focus our energies on developing and achieving the things that deeply matter to us. Not because someone else has them, but because we truly desire them.

The tricky problem, of course, happens when our deeply held desires are being realized by someone else. I have found this is especially true along the continuum of serious relationship--engagement--marriage--professional success--house--baby. Jealousy and comparison can be particularly devastating in these areas, as noble and wonderful as all those desires are.

But the thing is, jealousy and comparison doesn't achieve anything, other than making us antsy and depressed and more likely to say un-kind things to people we care about.

So how do we stop the comparing?  We practice being present, being thankful, and letting go. We remind ourselves of our achievements, and our worth, and the many things that make us happy right this minute.  Yoga helps with this. So does chocolate, I think.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.  Thank you so much for reading and cooking along, friends. You're the best, for real.

Four-ingredient Chocolate Pretzel Peanut Butter Cups

Ingredients:
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (vegan if necessary)
2 tablespoons coconut oil
handful of pretzels
creamy peanut butter

Directions:
Place the chocolate chips and coconut oil in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 1 minute and 30 seconds, stopping every 30 seconds to stir. (Err on the side of less microwave time if possible. You don't want to burn the chocolate!)

Place 8-10 mini muffin liners on a flat plate.* Use a spoon to pour a small amount of chocolate into each muffin liner. You only want to cover the bottom. Place muffin liners in the freezer for about a minute or until chocolate hardens.

Place one pretzel into each chocolate-filled muffin-liner. Fill one spoon with about a teaspoon of peanut butter. Use the back of another spoon to gently drop the peanut butter on top of the pretzel. Repeat with remaining muffin liners.

Press a second pretzel gently into the peanut butter, so that the two pretzels are perpendicular to each other. The pretzels may tilt to the side. Just gently push them back up. Repeat with remaining muffin liners.

Using a spoon, gently pour the remaining chocolate around the pretzels until all the peanut butter is completely covered. You will probably drizzle some chocolate over the top pretzel. That's ok! I drizzled extra chocolate on at the end to make it look purposeful.

Freeze for a minimum of one hour before eating. Remove the peanut butter cups from the muffin-liners and store in a ziploc bag for weeks.

*If you have a mini-muffin tin, use that. It will help the peanut butter cups be more uniformly shaped.


Notes:

• to make vegan, use vegan chocolate chips
• to make gluten-free, use gluten-free pretzels
• to satisfy a sweeter sweet-tooth, add a tablespoon (or two) of powdered sugar to the chocolate/ coconut oil mixture

Whole Grain Apple Scones with Caramel Sauce

One of the most fun (and surprising) benefits of blogging has been being part of a virtual community of people that really love food.

I still remember the first time someone I didn't actually know commented on my blog, and the first time one of my favorite bloggers commented.   I was elated!

Now that I've been blogging for a while, I've gotten to witness the ways bloggers support and encourage each other, and it's AWESOME. One ways bloggers do this is by throwing a virtual baby-shower for expecting blogger friends. The first time I saw one of these I was confused. Does the person actually get the treats? Well, no. But they do get lots of support, and exposure, and delicious recipes tailored just for them. 

I was so excited to be asked to make a recipe for a virtual baby shower for Chelsea of This Grand Adventure.  

I've been following Chelsea for about a year now and totally admiring her gender neutral nursery inspiration and cute bumpdates. 

In her last bumpdate, Chelsea shared that she currently can't get enough breakfast food, so I thought these apple cinnamon scones would be perfect. 

I LOVE the fresh apple in these scones. At first I wondered if I should pre-cook the apple before adding it to the dough, but I'm so glad I didn't. The apple chunks reduce as you bake the scones, leaving these craggy air pockets that are soooo good…. 

especially when filled with a little homemade caramel sauce.

ok, fine, a LOT of homemade caramel sauce.

Caramel sauce was once my nemesis. My efforts always involved multiple attempts and lots of burnt sugar in the trash. I was convinced I would never master it.

But then last week I listed to the spilled milk podcast episode about caramel. I decided I would make one last attempt. 

On the podcast, Matthew and Molly share a recipe for dry caramel, which was something I had never tried before. Apparently most pastry chefs make dry caramel, but for some reason most at-home cooks are instructed to make wet caramel. Wet caramel is sugar and water, but dry caramel is just sugar. The wet caramel requires brushing the sides of the pan with water, and a little stirring until the caramel is just the right color. For dry caramel, you just dump the sugar in a pan over medium heat and don't stir it until about half of the sugar is melted.  This takes a little bit of time. (maybe 10 minutes?) Then you stir stir stir until it's dark amber in color and gradually add in the heavy cream. 

I can't make any promises about your efforts with this dry caramel either. It's still an art (or a science, depending on how you look at it) but it is SO worth it. We've loved drizzling this caramel sauce over scones and vanilla ice cream, or just eating it by spoon straight from the jar!

Chelsea, I hope someone makes these scones and this caramel sauce for you, and I wish the best for you and baby D!

Check out the other fun recipes and projects for Chelsea's virtual baby shower: 

Art of Natural living-Baby Shower Washcloth Bunny Favors

Order in the Kitchen-"Hello World" Airplane Sugar Cookies

The Sweetphi Blog-Hot Air Balloon Shaped Pizza {Whole Wheat Veggie Pizza}

The Speckled Palate-Indoor Smores

The Frosted Vegan-Maple Apple Cider Caramels

Karis' Kitchen-Thumbprint Cookies

Whole Grain Apple Scones:

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
dash of allspice
8 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
3/4 cup chopped fresh apple (about half a medium apple)
1/4 cup milk or cream (optional--for brushing the tops of the scones before baking)

Directions:

Whisk together flours, sugar, salt, baking powder, and spices in a large bowl. Add cold butter to the bowl.  Use a pastry blender or two knives to cut butter into flour mixture until butter is incorporated and in the shape of small peas.

In a small bowl, add eggs, vanilla, and applesauce. Beat with a fork to combine, then add to flour mixture. Add chopped apple. Stir until just combined and no flour remains in the bottom of the bowl.

Prepare a cookie sheet by lining with parchment paper or spraying with non-stick cooking spray. Grab about half of the dough and use your fingers to flatten out into a 5 inch circle. Once it's on the pan, use your hand to smooth the edges. There will be pieces of apple sticking out! Just push those in. The dough should be about 3/4 inch thick.

Repeat with the other half of the dough. Cut each disc in half down the middle. Then cut each half into thirds. (6 triangular slices total) Pull the slices away from each other, leaving about 1/2 inch in between.

Using a pastry brush, brush the top of each scone with milk or cream. (You could also sprinkle the scones with extra cinnamon or coarse sugar at this stage.  I decided not to since I was making caramel sauce.)

Highly recommended--Place the whole cookie sheet and scones in the freezer for 20-30 minutes. This chills the butter and ensures flakey, yummy scones.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425. Bake scones for 18-22 minutes or until tops are golden brown.

Scone recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour

Homemade Caramel Sauce: 

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 cup heavy cream

Optional:
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 tablespoon (or a sliver) of butter

Directions:
Place a small saucepan* over medium high heat. Add sugar.

Meanwhile, add the cream to another small saucepan and place over medium heat. Once cream begins to bubble, cover and remove from heat.

Now be patient and watch your sugar carefully. After about 5 minutes, it will start to melt around the edges. Keep watching. Depending on your pan/stove, the sugar may continue melting around the edges, or it may melt from underneath.  When it seems like about half the sugar has melted, begin stirring vigorously. (use a wooden spoon or a whisk)

(This is a tricky stage.  If you take the caramel off the heat too quickly, it won't have the luscious caramel flavor, but it you over cook it, it will taste burnt.) Continue stirring and watch as the sugar begins to change color.  You can use a spoon to remove a bit of the caramel and put it on a white plate to test the color. It will start out a pale yellow color and gradually get darker and darker. You're looking for a deep amber color. Once it has reached this color, it's time for the cream!

Gradually begin streaming in the cream. Stir stir stir! Once all the cream is incorporated and most of lumps are gone, turn off the heat. There may be little bits of hard sugar at the bottom--that's ok! Pour the caramel through a fine strainer if you have one. If desired, add pinch of salt, a dash of vanilla, and a sliver of butter.

Use immediately (would be ideal for ice cream!) or let cool and then refrigerate in a glass jar or container. For the scones, we preferred letting the caramel cool or refrigerating it overnight. It will be lovely and thick and drizzly the next day!

*The original recipe said not to use a non-stick pan, but that is all I have, and mine worked out ok!

Caramel Sauce adapted from Matthew Amster-Burton

No-bake Pumpkin Almond Bars (gluten-free, vegan & refined sugar free)

Well, since Halloween is over, stores have now taken to putting up Christmas displays.

This is a little mind-boggling to me, since I'm just now ready to think about Thanksgiving. In my view, this is still prime pumpkin time, so I'm sharing just one more pumpkin recipe.

These no-bake pumpkin almond bars are sweetened with dates and pure maple sugar. Initially I thought the crust was my favorite part--salty, nutty almond butter & sweet, chewy dates--but as soon as I tasted the filing it won me over. Totalllllly. It's creamy sweet, perfectly spiced pumpkin pie filling on steroids.

I'm already contemplating making it again just so I can eat it out of the bowl with a spoon.  Maybe pumpkin parfaits?

In addition to being naturally sweetened, these pumpkin bars are gluten free and vegan (if you use coconut oil).

Though food-processors are a pain to clean, it's the only piece of equipment that you'll need to make the recipe. (No mixing bowls or pots!) The hardest part will be waiting the requisite 6 hours that these need to solidify fully in the fridge. Even then, mine were still a little soft, but I stuck them in the freezer for about 10 minutes before cutting.

This next month and a half is going to be crazy for me. I'm not really sure how everything is going to get done, but I'm trying to trust that it will all be ok. It will be, right? I make Adam tell me so all the time.

Two things that helped me this week:

1. this article about the disease of being busy
2. this speech by Anna Quindlen about never confusing your life and your work

I love love love these, especially the speech.   There's no denying that I have a lot of work to do the next few weeks, but I don't want to miss the beauty and life still happening around me.

How do you stay grounded and avoid the work/busyness epidemic?

No-bake Pumpkin Almond Bars (gluten-free, vegan & refined sugar free)

Ingredients:
For the crust:
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup almond butter
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup pitted dates, chopped
1 tablespoon melted coconut oil or butter(optional*)

For the filling:
1 15oz can pumpkin puree
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup melted coconut oil or butter, slightly cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon cloves
2 tablespoons almond meal

Directions:

To make the crust: 
Line an 8 by 8 pan with parchment or wax paper.

Add the oats, almond butter, shredded coconut, cinnamon, salt and dates to a food processor. Pulse until mixture is combined. If your food processor is like mine, it might have trouble incorporating the sticky dates into the mixture. To remedy this, add 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil or butterPour the crust mixture into a square 8 by 8 pan. Use your fingers or a spatula to press the mixture evenly into the bottom of the pan. Place in the freezer while you prepare the filling.

To make the filling: 
Carefully wash the blade and container for the food processor. Then add pumpkin puree, maple syrup, melted butter/coconut oil, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and almond meal. Pulse until completely smooth.

Remove crust from the freezer. Spoon pumpkin mixture overtop. Cover and refrigerate overnight or at least 6 hours.

If desired, top with shredded coconut, chocolate chips, or sprinkles!


Adapted from The Kitchn.