I finally made some yummy homemade candy today. I've been wanting to try this, but things have been crazy between making products for my "business," finding a house and then planning to move all in one week, and still keep up with the boys. However, I finally made it (with the help of the boys) today because I want something they can trade for the Halloween candy they receive. So, because I've been asked for the recipes, here's what I made today:
Peanut Butter Balls
To the best of my memory, here are the changes I made to the recipe (I doubled (ish) it):
3-4 T natural peanut butter
200 grams dates (make sure you take out the pits before you put them in the food processor- just a tip I discovered)
vanilla extract (not sure how much I used)
carob chips (that's what I have)
salt (I have unsalted p.b.)
Almond Joy Bars:
1) I used the recipe for chocolate butter
here with the following changes:
For the sweetener, I put in some stevia. First I put in liquid, but I didn't want to use too much since the alcohol gives it a strong flavor (like fake sweetener). So then I used some of the powdered herb. It still needed more sweetener, so I added some honey, but didn't have enough so threw in some maple syrup. It doesn't need to be that complicated, next time I'll just make sure I have enough honey!
2) Then, combining a few posts/ideas of this same blogger, I threw in some coconut flakes, almond extract, and chopped almonds and added it to the processor. Then I put it on parchment paper on a baking sheet, pressed the mixture down to make "bars" (or you can roll it between parchment paper) and froze it. Yummy and very rich!
Pumpkin Balls (Also called Raisin Butter Balls by Jeremiah):
Using the idea from a recipe here, I threw in a random amount of raisins (I didn't have any more dates), some pumpkin butter I'd made (or you can use pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice), and some almonds. I'm not sure on the amounts, but next time I'll use more raisins and less pumpkin to make it a less gooey consistency (though I could still roll them into a ball). Since I didn't, I put these in the freezer instead of the fridge (unlike the Peanut Butter balls).
I was able to make all three of these in a small amount of time with the boys "helping me" (i.e. stealing tastes) and still cooking dinner. Not because I have talent, just because they were that easy.
Some other "candies" I want to try:
Macaroons
Homemade Coconut Butter to make coconut candy (or the macaroons above)
Samosas
I'm enjoying the yummy recipes on this blog despite the fact that I am not vegan (I'm also enjoying my 1/2 pig share).
Enjoy!
