Salty Crust Peanut Butter Fudge

October 11, 2020

“I am certain that everything will work out.”

— Rochelle Fox

I’ll come right out and say it: there’s nothing like a good seasonal nut butter to get me even MORE jazzed about the season that we are in! We all know how much I adore the fall season, and how much I am in love with Christmas and all of the magic that surrounds these upcoming months! When Wild Friends’ seasonal butters came out a few weeks ago, I was just filled with so much excitement!

This will be Oliver’s first Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas!! Sure, will an almost 1-year-old fully grasp what’s going on? Most likely not. Will his mom be over the moon excited about the decorating, the baking, the music, the entire vibe (yes, I said it) of the last 3 months of the year? DUH! For the past 8 months, Oliver’s entire life, the world has been weird. We haven’t seen family as much as we’d like, we haven’t been able to go to any of the places around Atlanta that we love to relax, no traveling, nothing that we had planned for Oliver’s first year, but we are rolling with it. With the holidays coming up, that’s one thing I will definitely make sure we do in full force!

That being said, I almost screamed when I saw that Wild Friends was having their seasonal nut butters come out. I am OBSESSED with these flavors—I never knew I needed their Gingerbread or Sugar Cookie peanut butter until a few years ago, and now I stock up! A spoonful of sugar cookie?! Yes, please! And adding it to both the crust AND the fudge was a no brainer. Sugar cookie for the crust, gingerbread for the fudge, damn. I don’t really know where or why or how this recipe came about, I was craving something salty and sweet, honestly!

A pretzel crust has got to be one of my new favorite things, blended with some dates, some honey, nut butter—you’ve got yourself the perfect salty, sweet, crunchy crust. Then a a3-ingredient fudge? YES PLS! I threw in my favorite jam of all time: fig jam that I discovered many years ago at Whole Foods and only purchase when I go there maybe once a year. A creamy, nutty, slightly sweet fudge on top of a crunchy, salty crust, all topped with large flakes of salt—honestly, leave THIS out for Santa this year, my friends!

crust ingredients

Pretzels—2 oz, or 1 C

Peanuts, dry roasted + unsalted—4.75 oz, or 1 C

Dates, pitted—3 oz, or 8

Nut Butter, seasonal Wild Friends—3.75 oz, or 5 TBL

Vanilla Extract—1 tsp

Honey—3 TBL

process

In a blender or food processor, pulse until all ingredients are crushed into pea-sized pieces

When you squeeze a handful of the crust, it should hold together

Press into the bottom of an 8” x 8” pan, freeze

fudge ingredients

Chocolate—12.5 oz, or 2 C

Nut Butter, seasonal Wild Friends—12 oz, or 1 C

Fig Jam—3 TBL

Salt—large pinch

process

In a heatproof bowl or over a double boiler, melt the chocolate

Stir in the peanut butter and jam until homogenous

Pour this mixture over the crust, and even out with an offset spatula

Sprinkle your salt over top—I love a chunky salt for this, but any will do!

Allow to set in freezer for 30 minutes-1 hour until the fudge has firmed

Remove from freezer, cut into squares and store in a sealed container in either the fridge or the freezer!

Bon Appétit!

Banana Pumpkin Oat Bars

October 1, 2020

“What did you do as a child that created timelessness that made you forget time? There lies the myth to live by.”

— Joseph Campbell

I figure one pumpkin recipe is a must for the start of each fall, so here you go! A [basically] raw dessert that’s packed full of spice, oats, pumpkin and chocolate—how can one go wrong here?! Ya can’t.

I have been seeing this meme a lot lately about how blogs go on and on in the intro about their personal life when all you want is the damn recipe…this hit hard for me because that’s exactly what I do! Anyways…I’ll try to make these intros short and sweet, but I mean, I also love to spill my thoughts here, so you get what you get!

Back to the excitement of these bars! If you haven’t caught on yet, my entire world changed 8 months ago when little O was born! Do I have less time to do things? Sure. Am I always running after him now and making sure he doesn’t eat the dog food? Of course. Do I love every dang second with this guy? Hell yes! Even though my life is quite different now that I have this wild boy, I didn’t want to just STOP baking. I want him to be that kid whose mom makes the best dessert that his friends get excited about coming over for! Duh. But now I need to do things at DOUBLE SPEED. His naps are becoming less and less as he gets older and his ability to just stay in one spot is nonexistent! Which is why I’m about #quickbaking for us parents!

These bars take 5-10 minutes to throw together, or if you have a baby who is trying to eat all of the dirt in your potted plants, it may take you about 20. From there, throw these babies into the oven for about 25 minutes and BAM! you’ve got the gooiest, perfectly sweet lovely little snacks.

Super allergen friendly if that’s something you’re worried about, too! Gluten free, vegan (if you think honey isn’t vegan, sub that for agave or maple syrup!), nut free! They aren’t over-the-top sweet which is my jam these days, they have the PERFECT flavor of pumpkin, of spices, of chocolate—honestly, they blow all other pumpkin desserts and snacks out of the water!

ingredients

Oats—12 oz, or 4 C

Baking Powder—1 tsp

Cinnamon—2 tsp (heaping)

Nutmeg—1 tsp

Ginger—1 tsp

Cloves—½ tsp

Salt—1 tsp

Pumpkin purée—8.5 oz, or 1 C

Banana, mashed—1 small, or ½ large, about 3.5 oz

Coconut Oil, melted—2.75 oz, or 1/3 C

Honey—4 oz, or 1/3 C

Chocolate Chips—8 oz, or 1 C

process

Preheat your oven to 350˚F

In a large bowl, combine your oats, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger and salt

Mix to combine

Mix in the pumpkin purée and mashed banana

Add the melted oil

Fold in the chocolate chips

Put into an 8” x 8” baking pan

Bake for 22-25 minutes, until the center looks set

Allow to cool either at room temperature or in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes

Cut into squares, I did 16 for this batch

Store in a sealed container in the fridge!

Bon Appétit!

Tahini Caramel Bars

August 2, 2020

“The universe is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to become sharper.”

— Eden Phillpotts

I am welcoming a new love into my life: tahini!

I believe that I only have ONE recipe on here with tahini in it?! How is that possible?! And it’s from almost 4 years ago!! What. The. Heck. Anyways! This tahini caramel is out of this world. Dare I say that I prefer this to just a regular old caramel? I just might…

This exciting mix of being dairy free, baking with whole ingredients that actually taste good, and doing it all with a 6-month-old while also having been unable to really go anywhere since he was born is truly quite an adventure! I can no longer gain inspiration for things by going places, so it’s been far too much screen time and imagination for me to really get ideas for baking, for life, etc., which I both love and then also sort of dislike. I am constantly making lists in my head about places I want our family to travel to once we actually can, telling Oliver how many incredible things we will do once it’s allowed and safe, how fun airplanes are (I also love airports…), all of the food he’s going to get to try! Even just making these lists and going over them with my baby, yes, I have full on adult conversations with him, excites me as I want to truly spoil him with travel and life experiences!

All of this being said, during one of my weekly as-fast-as-possible grocery trips, I picked up some tahini and welcomed it like a long-lost friend. Is it a super unique ingredient? Not so much. Is it an incredible flavor that Oliver will be trying on his foods soon? Absolutely!! He began to try foods with spices on them this week and, let me tell you, cinnamon roasted carrots were a (messy) hit! So, while I sit here every day, or while I’m chasing our quick little 6-month-old around the house, I think of all of the foods Oliver is going to try when we can get out of our few block radius, jump on a plane, get in the car and drive for a few hours, whatever we can do to up his culture. For now, it’s going to start at home, start with this simple jar of tahini!

Thank you for reading my daydream above while I completely just skip over the fact that there’s a recipe below! As we want Oliver to be as enthusiastic about life as possible, having it start with food should be no surprise! This little dude sat with me as I made these, which also means it is fast AF to throw this together!! The shortbread crust? Takes maybe 4 minutes. The caramel? 5 minutes. While that is all setting up and you melt the chocolate: 10-15 minutes. FAST. AF. Aside from the tahini, which is subtle but has a beautiful aftertaste I might add, the star of this is the chocolate. Heck yes, I am talking about the Almond Milk Taza Chocolate (heart eye emoji). IT’S DAIRY FREE YET TASTES LIKE FULL ON MILK CHOCOLATE. What?! How?! It’s incredible. Also with nothing but 6 common ingredients, so dang satisfactory!! I have no words except go get yourself some!

And there we have it. My daily thoughts for you with a quick recipe for some tahini caramel bars attached! Thank you for humoring me, now go scoop up your baby, your dog, yourself, and treat yo’self to some of these incredibly delicious and perfect and smooth bites of heaven!

shortbread ingredients

Almond Flour—9 oz, or 2 C

Salt—1 tsp

Honey—2 TBL

Coconut Oil—3.75 oz, or ½ C

process

In a large bowl, combine almond flour and salt

Melt the honey and coconut oil together

Add this melted mixture to the dry ingredients

Mix until combined, should hold together when pressed

Press into an 8x8” pan, freeze while making the caramel

tahini caramel ingredients

Tahini—3 oz, or ¼ C + 2 TBL

Coconut Sugar—3 oz, or ½ C

Vanilla Extract—2 tsp

Oat Milk—1 oz, or 2 TBL

Cinnamon—½ tsp

process

In a small saucepot, combine the tahini, coconut sugar, vanilla, milk and cinnamon

Allow to simmer for 2-3 minutes

Let cool slightly, and then pour on top of the shortbread

Put back in the freezer for the caramel to firm up

chocolate ingredients

Taza Almond Milk Chocolate—5 oz, or 2 bars

Coconut Oil—1 TBL

process

In a heatproof bowl, combine the chocolate and coconut oil

Melt and mix until homogenous

Pour over the caramel layer, put in the fridge to set

Once set, remove from the pan/dish and cut into desired size and enjoy!

Bon Appétit!

Granola Brownies

May 29, 2020

“Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

— Mahatma Gandhi

Did you know that brownies seem to be the most difficult thing for me to make? I have tried what seems like a million recipes and they’re either too dry, not enough flavor, too cakey, I can’t seem to get it right. Until now! I finally did it! Sure, it took me a couple of tries, but we now have the most perfect brownie. They’re moist and dense, which is, honestly, just what I wanted. I’m quite surprised that I continued to test out recipes for these babies, but as a brownie is basically a STAPLE baked good, how could I not?!

And so once I got these amazing single-nap brownies finished, I figured why not use up another of Oliver’s naps to take them to the next level?! Yep. I measure everything in naps. How many naps does it take for me to get in my workout? About half of one. How many to clean to house? A full nap. How many to make these granola stuffed brownies? Two whole naps! For a baby who naps 3-4 times per day, I’ve become a pro at using up every second of them - even if it means I’m napping during one of those, too!

If you haven’t had them already, these toasted oat raw granola bars are the best things on the PLANET. Like, I try to have our freezer full of them whenever possible! So, I decided to use the same idea but make a granola layer on top of these brownies, then just throw on some more chocolate after that! I will say these are probably some of the best things I’ve made. They’re so thiccc and decadent. Oh my. The brownies have coffee and orange zest in them (you’re welcome for this combo), then a nice peanut butter granola, all covered in chocolate. These are a TREAT for sure! Wholesome ingredients, rich flavor, I’ve outdone myself with these 2-nap brownies!

brownie ingredients

Butter—4 oz, or 1 stick

Coconut Oil—3.5 oz, or ½ C

Coconut Sugar—2.5 oz, or ½ C

Coffee, ground—1 TBL

Orange Zest—from 1 orange

Eggs—2

Coconut Sugar—5 oz, or 1 C

Flour—7.5 oz, or 1 ¼ C

Salt—1 tsp

Baking Powder—½ tsp

Cocoa Powder—2 oz, or 2/3 C

Chocolate Chips—5.5 oz, or ¾ C

process

Preheat your oven to 350˚F.

In a small saucepot, combine the butter, coconut oil, first amount of sugar (2.5 oz) and coffee. Melt on the stove until the oils are melted. Set aside

Whisk together the eggs, orange zest and second amount of sugar (5 oz) until just combined. Set aside.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking powder and cocoa powder.

Slow add the melted oil mixture and egg mixture into the dry. Fold together with a spatula until just combined—you do not want to over mix!

Fold in the chocolate chips.

Pour brownie batter into a 9”x9” baking pan.

Bake for 28-30 minutes.

Allow to cool completely before going to the next steps.

granola ingredients

Oats, toasted—5.25 oz, or 1 ½ C

Peanut Butter—6.5 oz, or ¾ C

Honey—3.5 oz, or 1/3 C

Salt—½ tsp

Vanilla Extract—½ tsp

process

In an oven preheated to 350˚F, toasted your oats for about 10 minutes.

Once out of the oven and cooled, mix your oats with the peanut butter, honey, salt and vanilla until all of the oats are covered and the mixture is homogenous.

Spread this over the top of your cooled brownies.

Put in the refrigerator to firm up while you do the next step.

chocolate topping ingredients

Chocolate Chips—6.25 oz, or 1 C

Coconut Oil—1 TBL

process

In a heat proof bowl, melt together the chocolate and oil in either the microwave or over a double boiler until smooth.

Pour over the top of the oat layer.

Chill in refrigerator until set, cut into squares.

Bon Appétit!

Sweet and Salty Snacking Bars

May 8, 2020

“Live the actual moment. Only this moment is life.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

Can I call it consistent if it’s just two posts? Yes? Okay, perfect! As I have always been a HUGE planner and list maker, having a baby has taken that to an entirely different level. At the start of each week I make a nice long list as to what I want to get done, from the bigger things to the basically insignificant things (yes, I wrote ‘weed garden’ down…) just so that I can visually see and tick off everything throughout the week. There’s nothing like the feeling of completing a to-do list! That being said, I’ve been adding in time for me to recipe test and blog each week. Finally! I am back to it. Big win for this mama!

This week on parent-friendly-recipes-that-won’t-eat-up-your-whole-day, we are going back to a childhood favorite of mine! Do y’all remember Sunbelt granola bars?! The chewy ones covered in chocolate?! Yeah, they were AMAZING. I’m not afraid to admit that I used to eat multiple at a time—who could resist? To this day, I’m still a big snacker. Sure, I try my best to be better at three meals, but lunch isn’t always for me! Maybe it’s because I’m constantly eating handfuls of nuts or fruit or chocolate…

Anyways! Back to these granola bars. I’ve been wanting to spice up my snack game with a little something something homemade. Probably one of my all-time favorite things I make are these raw granola bars. They’re SO simple and quick, which, as we know, is my go-to these days. With these bars, I wanted to go even more back to basics! I’m hoping that once Oliver is old enough to eat and then old enough to talk, he will be ALL about my homemade bars. Is it too much to want him to bake with me and love eating raw cookie dough as much as I do?! Ugh I can’t wait!! There are so few ingredients in these, and I was able to make them AND clean up before his nap was over, so a win all over!

The base is sweetened from dates and loaded with oats, which I think is what gives it the very authentic childhood granola bar taste. Cashews, coconut, a little bit of salt, nothing too overwhelming so that every flavor can be tasted. Plain and simple. Of course, we had to jazz it up somehow! And so I went for it and added a chocolate layer in the middle. Oohhhh la la. Yes, please! A little bit of cocoa powder, coconut sugar (the flavor of coconut sugar is out. of. this. world.), and coconut oil or butter, and that’s it! Again, a basic yet extremely satisfying layer! More of the base on top, freeze them and boom – you’ve got yourself a nice sweet and salty snacking bar! I also am so tempted to do a jam filling. A peanut butter filling. A coconut-based filling. The limit does not exist!

Could I eat the entire tray of them? Duh, don’t even tempt me! Will I? No, because I’m a sweet wife who will let their husband have a few. In true mom/baker/health obsessed gal fashion, these bars won’t take you an entire afternoon to make, have a flavor that is so satisfying and nostalgic, and the ingredients are simple and wholesome. I have somehow done it again!