Sweet Potato Fudge

Pumpkin Pie Fudge is very popular with my husband and kids. The other day I was going to make some pumpkin fudge but then I decided to get a little creative with the recipe and try replacing the pumpkin with sweet potato puree, because I love changing things up.  I was a little short on white chocolate chips, so I decided to replace most of the white chocolate and spices with Cinnamon Chips. The result was absolutely delicious!
You can find sweet potato puree in a can, but it is very easy to make at home. If you buy it in a can, make sure it only contains sweet potatoes – no other ingredients! To make sweet potato puree at home, bake or steam a sweet potato and then puree it in a blender or food processor.One sweet potato will make more than enough puree for this recipe, you can use the leftover puree to make muffins or pancakes.
You can find cinnamon chips in the grocery section of Walmart for less than $2.00 a bag.
Like all of my fudge recipes, this is easy to make. The trick to perfect, melt-in-your-mouth fudge is allowing it to reach 234 degrees. You can pick up a Candy Thermometer for several dollars at your local store.

Sweet Potato Fudge

Author: Alea

Recipe type: Dessert

Prep time:  5 mins

Cook time:  15 mins

Total time:  20 mins

Serves: 24

Ingredients

• ¾ cup butter
  Shop
• ⅔ cup evaporated milk
• 3 cups sugar
• ¾ cups sweet potato puree
  
• 10 oz. bag cinnamon chips
• 2 oz (1/4 cup) white chocolate chips
  Recipes
• 1 – 7 oz. jar of marshmallow cream
• 1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Directions

1. In a large pot, combine butter, evaporated milk, sugar, and sweet potato puree.
2. Cook over high heat, stirring continuously until the mixture reaches 234 degrees (use a candy thermometer to keep track of the temperature). Remove from heat.
3. Stir in the cinnamon chips and white chocolate chips until they are completely melted.
4. Stir in marshmallow cream until it is completely mixed in.
5. Fold in nuts.
6. Pour into a greased pan and cool in the refrigerator for 2 hours or until firm.

This Mission is Not Impossible!

We had a great meeting last Saturday with Dr. Shneidman,
unfortunately it was the last one! I know we all hate to see the
end of GIGSWWA, so let's do something about it now!
Knowledge is power and the more we all know the healthier
we all become. GIG does great things and helps a lot of people,
making a huge difference in the quality of their lives. Let's keep
it going as long as we can. We still need volunteers to continue
our mission of helping others so they can help themselves.
Wouldn't you love to be a part of it? Every little bit helps, and if
we all contribute a small part, we can make it a whole again.
Please contact Kristi Curtis ASAP: justus323@yahoo.com or
360-518-0464 with your thoughts, ideas, suggestions, and time.
Keep in mind that a little goes a long way, even if it's just a few minutes.
Thank you for your support!!

Pumpkin Bars

Happy cooking Pumpkin!

Paleo Pumpkin Pie Bars Recipe from Just Eat Real Food

Ingredients

Pumpkin Pie Filling
• (1) 15 oz can of pure pumpkin (not pie filling) –or– 1 3/4 cups of pumpkin purée
• 1/3 cup of Medjool dates (pulsed in a food processor or puréed)
• 1/3 cup of raw honey
• 1/2 cup of coconut milk, full fat
• 2 eggs, whisked
• 2 tbs coconut oil
• 1 tsp of pure vanilla
• 2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp of nutmeg
Pumpkin Pie Crust
• 1 1/2 cups of almond flour
• 1/2 cup of pecans, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup of coconut oil, melted
• 3 tbs raw honey
• 1/2 tsp of pure vanilla
• pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350-degrees F
2. Grease bottom of an 8 x 8 inch pan
3. Combine all of the crust ingredients into a bowl and mix well by hand
4. Take crust dough and press into the bottom of the 8 x 8 pan to form a tight layer
5. Bake the crust 15-20 minutes, or until it’s lightly browned
6. Start pie filling: In a medium saucepan, whisk all the filling ingredients together
7. Cook over medium heat, until filling starts to bubble – then cook for 1 minute more
8. Remove from heat, and pour over cooled pie crust layer
9. Refrigerate 2 hours before serving
10. Keep refrigerated except to serve
11. Note: To set up the pie bars faster, place in freezer after combining  

Pumpkin Pie

Despite the fact that it was 90-something degrees yesterday, and will be again today, I am in the mood for fall and pumpkin pie : ) I already have an egg-free pumpkin pie made with gelatin, but I wanted a vegan version too, like my vegan pumpkin chai bars. So after reading this comment on my vegan pumpkin chai bars I decided to try turning it into a pie myself:

"Thanks SO much for this yumminess!! I made this last night for my family and followed your recipe exactly... except I put it in a pie pan and made it a pumpkin pie. I had to double the filling, and I also baked the crust for about 10 minutes to give it a drier, toastier flavor. But it was a hit (even with my son who claims to not like pumpkin pie!) I loved the cardamom-chai-spiciness of it."

I left out the cardamom in this pumpkin pie, but I'm sure it would be really good with it too. Whether you make yours pumpkin chai or just pumpkin, I hope you love this recipe, and thank you Dottie for inspiring it! xoxo


Vegan Pumpkin Pie, no-bake
gluten-free, grain-free, egg-free, dairy-free

Crust:

Add to food processor:

2 cups almond meal flour (I use Bob's) or ground walnuts*

8 soft pitted dates (soak first if they are dry)

1 tsp cinnamon

Puree until it begins sticking together. 

Press into a deep ceramic pie dish.

Note: You don't need to grease or line the dish first. The raw crust won't stick.

Filling:

Add to a small pot:

1.5 cups coconut milk

1.5 cups pumpkin puree

1/2 cup coconut sugar (which is low glycemic index)

20 drops vanilla liquid stevia

1/2 tsp sea salt

2 to 3 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 1/8 tsp ground cloves

Optional (for chai flavor): 1/2 tsp cardamom

Simmer till coconut sugar is just dissolved.

Add:

4 tsp agar powder (Not flakes! You would need far more if you use flakes!)

Whisk agar powder  vigorously while simmering for about one minute.

Pour over crust.

Refrigerate to set.

I prefer to eat it room temperature.

*Ground walnuts are my favorite. I think they create a crust that tastes similar to a graham cracker crust.  But I used almond flour in the photo above.

-The Spunky Coconut

Chocolate Nutella Fudge

(gluten-free and no-bake!)

• 1/4 cup coconut butter, melted
• 1/4 cup choc-hazelnut spread or Healthy Nutella
• 1-2 tsp cocoa powder or cacao powder
• 65g very-ripe banana (about 1/4 a large banana)
• 1/8 tsp salt
• sweetener if desired (Some people want it, others don’t.)

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender. (It’s best if the coconut butter is not solid, and if you use a frozen banana be sure to thaw so it doesn’t harden the coconut butter.) After blending, taste to see if you’d like to add any sweetener. Scoop into a container or even a little pie pan, and put in the fridge or freezer so it will firm up. (Alternatively, you can eat it soft, like frosting!) If desired, top with chocolate chips and extra Healthier Nutella (recipe linked above) like I did in the top two photos. This is freezer fudge, so it needs to be kept cold. It makes a small serving, but feel free to double or triple the recipe!
-Gluten-Free Recipes 24/7

One Minute Gingerbread Muffin

WHAT YOU NEED

1/4 cup flaxseed meal ( I use Bob's Red Mill Golden Flax Seed Meal)

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 - 2 packets Splenda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 egg

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

MAKE IT

SPRAY a small ramekin with cooking spray

IN MEDIUM BOWL, whisk together first 6 ingredients

IN SEPARATE BOWL,  whisk together butter and egg ensuring they are completely combined

STIR wet ingredients into dry ingredients blending well

SPOON batter into ramekin

MICROWAVE for 1 minute, HIGH power

REMOVE from ramekin and enjoy !

You can also change up the recipe even more for a different consistency by replacing the 1/4 cup flax seed meal with 1/4 cup of almond flour.  Then add 2 tablespoons flax seed meal along with the other dry ingredients.
-Gluten-Free Recipes 24/7

November 16 GIG Meeting

Dr. Shneidman will be our guest speaker tomorrow,
Saturday, November 16, 2013, 11am-2pm.

We are meeting at the:

Vancouver Library-Cascade Park

600 NE 136th Ave. Vancouver, WA

Enter library-door on left marked Community Room

Please come join us as this is our LAST GIG MEETING for
GIGSWWA!