Tag Archives: Dessert

Grain Free Peach Crisp Bars

Leave a reply

These peach crisp bars were created out of my desire to have a dessert/snack using end-of-summer peaches, and that were free of white sugar and flour. This recipe is for all of you like me, who want dessert, but also want to be healthy. These peach crisp bars:
-are grain free
-have no added sugar (they’re naturally sweetened with dates)
-utilize delicious end of summer peaches
-are tasty and filling
Let’s talk about what makes them so excellent.

The crisp
The crisp part of this dessert is made simply out of five main ingredients: whole pecans, almond flour, (unsweetened) coconut, coconut oil (you can use butter, too) and dates. There’s also a bit of salt and vanilla in there. It’s extremely easy to prepare – all of the ingredients are added to a food processor and mixed until crumbly.
A note on the dates – here are the dates that I use and highly recommend. These dates are perfectly textured and the pits are easy to remove. They blend up into a perfect date paste which is what I use in this dessert. To make the date paste, you simply place the dates in your food processor and process until they come together to form a ball of paste. That is the only sweetener used in this recipe.

The peaches
I kept the peaches super simple for this – they are diced and then mixed with just a bit of arrowroot starch, in order for the peach layer to thicken while baking. I use arrowroot starch but you could just as easily use another starch, like corn starch. You don’t have to do this, but I like smashing the peaches up a bit with the back of my spoon while mixing together the peaches and arrowroot. 

I love this dessert because it’s wholesome, it’s healthy and I can eat it without consuming lots of sugar. It’s a great dessert but would also make a wonderful snack, or even breakfast!










Print

Grain Free Peach Crisp Bars

Ingredients

Peaches

  • 4 cups peaches, diced
  • 2 tablespoons arrowroot starch

Crust/Crisp

  • 6-8 dates, depending on your preferred sweetness
  • 1 cup pecans
  • 1 cup almond flour
  • 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 6 tablespoons coconut oil, or butter

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare an 8x8 baking dish by lining with parchment paper or greasing well. Set aside.

  2. Add the diced peaches to a bowl and sprinkle the arrowroot starch on top. Mix well, even smashing some of the peaches with the back of your spoon. Set aside.

  3. Add dates to a food processor and process until they form a ball of paste. Remove and set aside.

  4. Add pecans, almond flour and coconut to the food processor. Pulse a few times. Add the salt, vanilla extract, coconut oil and date paste and process until mixture is well combined and crumbly.

  5. Add about 2/3 of the crisp mixture to the bottom of prepared baking dish. With a spoon, smooth out the crust evenly. Top the crust with the peaches. Crumble remaining crisp mixture over peaches.

  6. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until peach layer is bubbling and the top is slightly browned. I recommend letting it cool completely before serving.

Simple Homemade Almond Joys

1 Reply

I’m so excited about these!

words

Not that I’m keeping track or anything, but I think these are my second favorite recipe on The Dreaming Foodie. Falling right behind these potatoes.

coconut

And the idea for these came out of absolutely nowhere. They were inspired by nothing. I was just sitting there and then I was making homemade Almond Joys. I don’t know how it happened!

almonds

You see, like all food bloggers, I’m constantly having recipe ideas go through my head. If I’m home, I write them down and if I’m out, I be sure to put them into my phone. A lot of the recipes I think about and think about and develop them thoroughly in my head before I make them. It’s the worst when one of those recipes, that I had such high hopes for, doesn’t turn out.

coconut1

And then these almond joys. I didn’t think about them. I didn’t have a plan. I didn’t even have expectations. I just went with it. And, after my first taste, I was so excited. They are heavenly.

chocoalte

I wish that would happen more often. Amazing recipes happening without thought, without planning. Maybe if I send out the right thoughts/vibes, it will :).

chocolate1

These will bring joy. I don’t know how they couldn’t. The coconut filling is sweet and dreamy. The chocolate coating is, well, chocolate. Need  I say more about chocolate? And, the almonds give a great crunch and balance to the sweetness.

coconut2

So, coconut. I know it’s not a love for some. If you don’t love the flavor of coconut, well, then these probably aren’t for you. But, if you like the flavor and aren’t so sure of the texture, I think you could give these a try.

dipping

When Greg got home on the day that I made these, I was so excited. I was bursting at the seams (and hyped up on chocolate :)). It took all I could not to greet him at the door, Almond Joys in hand, saying “look what I made, try one of these, I made Almond Joys, do you want one, here try one!”

dipping1

Though he probably wouldn’t have been surprised to be greeted like that, I practiced some self-restraint and greeted him with an as-calm-as-can-be “Hey, how are you, how was your day?” And then, “look what I made, try one of these, I made Almond Joys!”

bars5

So, to get to the point of this story, Greg happily tried one, and waited until after to tell me that he didn’t think he’d like them. He doesn’t love the texture of coconut. But, he loved them! He said that sort of chewy, stringy texture of coconut wasn’t there. The center is more smooth. It definitely tastes like coconut, but doesn’t have that classic coconut texture.

bars3

For the coconut part of these bars, I processed together coconut + almonds + white chocolate chips. I feel like the combination of the three takes away from any undesirable coconut texture. Also, using the food processor breaks the coconut up a good bit.

bars1

They are super easy to make. The coconut part just takes some processing, some patting into a dish, some freezing and cutting. The dipping part is not hard, but it is a bit messy and takes a just a little bit of time. Maybe you have a good way of dipping things in chocolate that works well. I don’t, and sort of had to just find my chocolate-dipping rhythm as I went.

bars

If you want these to be dairy-free, you could use those dairy-free chocolate and white chocolate chips that I’ve seen around. The rest is all gluten and dairy-free. So, all in all, these aren’t too bad for being chocolate almond bars. Definitely better for you than the ones that come packaged next to grocery store check out lines.

bars4

Treat yourself this weekend. You deserve it. Enjoy some homemade Almond Joys!

bite

Ingredients
7 ounces shredded sweetened coconut
1/4 cup almonds, plus more for topping
1/4 cup white chocolate chips
5 tablespoons coconut oil
1/8 teaspoon salt, optional
4 ounces + 1/2 cup chocolate

Place the coconut, almonds, white chocolate chips, coconut oil and if desired, salt, in a food processor. Process for several minutes, until all almonds and chocolate is completely broken up and desired texture is reached.

Place a piece of parchment paper over an 8×8 baking dish. Pour the coconut mixture into the dish, and pat down, until packed tight and covering the entire bottom of the dish. Place in the freezer for about 15 minutes.

While the coconut mixture is in the freezer, melt the chocolate.

Take the coconut mixture out of the freezer and cut into little rectangles. Dip into the chocolate any way you like. I inserted a toothpick into each coconut rectangle, dipped it in the melted chocolate, then place it on a parchment lined baking sheet. Place two almonds on top of each bar.

Freeze them for a few minutes to harden the chocolate. Store in the refrigerator or freezer.

Enjoy!

Cherry Bars

2 Replies

Let’s talk about seasonal foods.

cherrie

I love eating seasonally. Like I said yesterday, I look forward to sweet corn in the summer all year long. Same with peaches. Brussels sprouts in the fall, oranges in the winter, beans in the spring.

cherries

But what happens when I just want corn in the winter and don’t want to settle for the canned/frozen variety. What happens when I just want a juicy ripe peach in the spring and the ones in the grocery store leave very little to be desired?

cherries1

That is the down part. Missing these wonderful fruits and veggies when they are not in season. But, it is the way of the world and I guess I can settle on enjoying each and every moment I do have with my beloved fruits and veggies each season, knowing that there will be a new one to enjoy soon. And the cycle will go on and on and on.

cherries2

These cherries. Two weeks ago at market, we’d thought it’d be the last for the red gems. Well, they were back this past Sunday. Those disappointed about the last cherries of the season got another week out of Three Springs Fruit Farm. Another week to enjoy this awesome little fruit.

wine

If you are someone who still has some cherries around, maybe try these bars.

cherries3

Yes, cherries are awesome as is. Pop one into your mouth, eat around the pit, spit it out and repeat. I really enjoy cherries like that. But they are also good in breakfast-y and dessert-y things.

flour

I have been on a roll with cherry recipes the last couple of weeks. A crumble version for two, here, and a breakfast version, here.

bars

Now this one, inspired by this recipe from White on Rice Couple. I wanted something that was portable and sweet. Could be counted as dessert, a snack or breakfast. The original apricot version looks delightful, but I thought it would be just as good with cherries subbed in, too.

bars4

I did love these. They are a great snack and just perfectly sweet. They are also a good breakfast. 🙂

bars3

If you’re looking for something to do with the last cherries of this season, click here for this wonderful recipe. I subbed cherries for the apricots and white wine for the Grand Marnier. Otherwise, I did everything the same.

bars1

And, if cherries are done where you are, I’m sure you are now enjoying the next best thing and already looking forward to the next cherry season. 🙂

bars2

Enjoy!

No Bake Peanut Butter Brownie Bars

2 Replies

This recipe is brought to you from one of my favorite blogs, The Minimalist Baker.

nuts

I find that I spend so much time trying to create my own recipes for this little site, that my list of things that  I want to make from other blogs just piles up. It’s time to start chipping away at that list. I’m going to try to make something from that list at least once a week. And if I’m in love, I’ll share it with you.

nuts1

nuts2

I’m in love with these no bake peanut butter brownie bars.

choc

pb

They are to-die-for.

making

And, healthy. Nuts, dark chocolate and dates are pretty much all you see here. Combined together in the most creative and delicious way. There is no chance of guilt after eating one (or three) of these.

done

These bars are decadent, filling (in such a good way) and easy to transport as snacks. I sent some in with Greg to his lab and he said his lab-mates loved them.

done1

Not only were these delicious, but fun to photograph. Not that they needed to be or could be photographed any better, but I did enjoy it. 🙂

cut

A couple of things:

1) I’m changing things up a bit this week and sharing these with you today and Week in Photos tomorrow.
2) I used a blender to make these bars. It kind of worked, but I thought my blender was going to die. A food processor would work much better (I’m getting one soon – thanks, mom! :)).

squares

Click on over to The Minimalist Baker to check out the amazing recipe and photography for these no bake peanut butter brownie bars!

squares1

Chocolate Cake + Raspberry Cream Frosting

6 Replies

I made you a cake.

flour

I know. It’s the least I could do after disappearing off of this little blog for an entire week.

batter

I feel bad, I feel terrible for leaving for a week without a word. But, I am now a college graduate and resident of Philadelphia!

paddle

My mom and I had a long week of moving out of a tiny apartment that seemed to accumulate a lot of stuff in just three years.

mixer

But, that work is now over and I am back to making things to show all of you. 🙂

cake9

This cake is special. It’s a celebration cake.

cake8

It was made in my new stand mixer that I showed you a couple of weeks ago.

cake5

It was such a wonderful surprise to get a mixer. I was with Greg, his mom and his stepdad. We walked into a store, and to my great surprise I went home with a brand new beautiful KitchenAid!

cake3

It was and is so wonderful, sweet, thoughtful, kind and exciting. I got to make this delicious cake in my tiny apartment. I have made cake there before, but this time was better, it was easier.

cake1

I love my mixer, and I know that I will put it to good use in my new tiny apartment. 🙂

cake10

I used this recipe for chocolate cake, from my trusted baking source Sally’s Baking Addiction. The frosting recipe is below. This cake is amazing. It’s the the perfect cake to satisfy a chocolate craving. And an excellent summer dessert. Chocolate + raspberry in every single bite is just too good.

cake11

Ingredients
1 stick of butter, softened
4 oz. cream cheese (1/2 of a block), softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1/8 cup raspberry schnapps

Using a stand or handheld mixer, beat together softened butter and cream cheese. Mix well, until they are completely combined and soft and whipped in texture. Slowly add powdered sugar and continue to mix until completely incorporated. Add in the raspberry schnapps and mix until just combined.

I used this recipe for chocolate cake. It made two 8-inch round cakes. I baked the cakes and let them cool completely. Once cool, I placed one cake on a dish, topped it with half of the frosting and then a layer of fresh raspberries. I placed the second cake on top of the first and then finished by spreading the rest of the frosting on top and adding more fresh raspberries.