This “candy” is a healthy holiday snack or dessert. Made with a coconut oil base, dark chocolate, dried cranberries, and a dash of stevia, these truffles are a lovely little pick-me-up in a sea of holiday junk food.

I based this recipe on one from Diane Sanfilippo’s New York Times bestseller Practical Paleo. As I’ve mentioned previously, I can highly recommend this book. I will be giving Practical Paleo, Eat Like a Dinosaur by the Paleo Parents and Dairy-Free Ice Cream by Kelly Broznya to friends and family this year as Christmas and Hanukkah gifts.

This gluten-free truffle has a deliciously healthy coconut oil base. It is also a wonderful holiday treat if you or your loved ones have a nut allergy.

I’ve been continuing to focus on eating a tablespoon of coconut oil each day due to its purportedly healthy properties. Apparently coconut oil is anti-viral, anti-fungal and neuro-protective. According to certain cardiologists I’ve spoken with, its medium chain fatty acids actually reduce cholesterol. Coconut oil has become the go to fat in my house for everything from stir fries to baking. Frankly, best of all, it just tastes good.

Here are some other healthy Paleo “candy” recipes for you and yours during the holidays:

• Chocolate Chili Truffles
• Chocolate Raspberry Bonbons
• Cinnamon Pecan Brittle

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Practical Paleo. You may have gotten your hands on a copy of this recently released book which looks bound for the New York Times Bestseller List. I did last week and was mighty pleased. Not only is it a wonderful Paleo cookbook, it is a practical guide to dealing with various health conditions, and more.

Admittedly, I have not read the book cover to cover, I have merely perused. However, I liked what I saw and want to share my version of one recipe that caught my eye, Chocolate Mint Truffles. They’re easy to make and full of something I’m trying to eat more of everyday: coconut oil.

Here’s my version of Diane Sanfilippo’s Paleo dessert.

When I scooped the mixture into the muffin cups I used a 1 tablespoon ice cream scoop which came in very handy. If you want to make a solid truffle (that is flat and not domed on top) then don’t refrigerate the mixture, simply transfer the liquified concoction into the paper lined mini muffin cups and chill to harden.

In addition to lots of yummy recipes, I wanted to let you all know that Practical Paleo has 30 day meal plans which I know a lot of you are interested in given your responses to this post.

Below you will find additional chocolate mint recipes:

• Peppermint Patties
• Mint Chip Protein Shake
• Vegan Mint Chip Ice Cream

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If you’re in a pinch for time, I have something just for you. Here’s a quick and easy gluten free cookie recipe that requires no baking. I really like making no bake (think no hassle) cookies during the hectic holidays. This one works equally well for Christmas and Hanukkah parties –and is a wonderfully healthy snack throughout the year.

For those of you who aren’t entirely in the mood for Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls and are looking for a chocolate covered peanut butter ball, be sure to see Nut Butter Cups recipe –it’s a delicious no bake, healthier candy recipe that is quite the crowd-pleaser. My husband and children devour them.

This little dessert is my peanut-y version of the raw foods classic Fudge Babies, a recipe created by the wonderful Katie over at Chocolate Covered Katie.

If you like these peanut butter balls you will love my recent list of 10 Healthy Christmas Cookie Recipes!

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These super duper healthy, yet easy to make Fudge Babies have recently been the source of much contention.  You see, it all started when I did the giveaway for a Cuisinart Food Processor a couple of weeks ago.  In that post, I asked readers to let me know of their favorite recipes using a Cuisinart.  There were 2,204 comments on that post.  Guess what? I read each and every one of them.  No joke.

The comments were fascinating.  First, I love hearing from you.  Second, I learned so many things.  One of those things was Fudge Babies.  At least 5 readers mentioned Fudge Babies as their fave recipe.  I then did my own version of Fudge Babies and called them Chocolate Power Bar Balls, of course mentioning that the idea was derived from your comments.

Subsequently, I received several emails and tweets. In my original post I linked back to a site that had not credited the creator of the original Fudge Baby recipe, a woman named Katie.  Thanks for the corrections, everyone, and for introducing me to her website Chocolate Covered Katie.

In any event, all this talk of Fudge Babies prompted me to make my own.  And I knew they were a success because when my husband walked in the door he ate one.  Then another.  And another.  And so on.  You get the idea.  I had to cut him off from the Fudge Babies.  I had to take a picture for you all.

The recipe below is basically Katie’s recipe for Fudge Babies, with a couple of slight adaptations on my part.

I hope you all love these Fudge Babies as much as my husband and I do!

For other yummy, raw, vegan recipes go to these bloggers:
-Raw Nut Butter Bars from Nancy of The Sensitive Pantry
-Raw Pecan Pie from Shirley of Gluten Free Easily
-Fudgy Chocolate Tarts from Carrie of Deliciously Organic

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This scrumptious, dairy free, gluten free, vegan, super transportable snack is a power bar in the form of balls.  What I love most about it though is the flavor –they taste like raw cookie dough!

This recipe came from a comment on my Cuisinart Giveaway post, left by Karen; it is also similar to another recipe that many people mentioned on that post as their fave recipe, called Fudge Babies. Since these have just a tad sweeter than Fudge Babies, we were joking around, calling them Fudge Children, and Fudge Adolescents.

I don’t often discuss nutrition, however, a bunch of readers have pointed out recently that just about all of the recipes on this site are not only gluten free, they are dairy free as well –like these yummy power bar balls.

If you are looking for more delicious gluten free, dairy free snacks and desserts that are quick and easy to make, check out my new book Gluten-Free Cupcakes.  I am obsessed with the ease of the dairy free recipe for Flourless Chocolate Coconut Cupcakes as it has only 5 ingredients; topped with my dairy free Vegan Chocolate Frosting and you’re off to the races! The book is coming out today, so those of you that pre-ordered will find it at your doorstep.  Happy baking!

Here are more yummy recipes for gluten free bites, bars and balls you might enjoy:
-Raw Chocolate Brownie Bites from Carrie at Ginger Lemon Girl
-Granola Oatmeal Cookie Bars from Kim at Cook It Allergy Free
-Power Balls by AndreAnna at Life as a Plate

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I love fudge, I do.  The only trouble with it is that most fudge is so sweet I usually feel sick to my stomach after eating it.  Needless to say, it’s been years, maybe even decades, since I’ve had fudge.

However, when I stumbled across this recipe for Peanut Butter Fudge by Laura Dolson, I knew I could have my fudge and eat it too!  Her recipe uses peanut butter (instead of the usual butter), and alternative sweeteners, rather than sugar.  I changed her recipe a bit, she had close to 2 cups of sugar alternatives, and in my version I have used a mere 2 tablespoons of xylitol, though I think this recipe could work also with agave, honey or any other number of sweeteners, if you are willing to take the time and risk of experimenting.

I am contributing this recipe to Kelly’s Spunky Holiday post, where she is doing a round up of her friends and readers favorite Easter recipes.

I used to make fudge every Thanksgiving and Christmas, back when I was in grade school.  During the holidays, I would pack it up in cute little boxes, tie them with ribbons and give them out to all of our family friends.  I loved experimenting with different types of fudge.  What all is in your favorite fudge recipe?  Leave a comment and let us know.

More yummy fudge recipes from gluten free food bloggers:
-Frozen Sunbutter Fudge from Kelly of The Spunky Coconut
-Dairy Free Fudge from Alta of Tasty Eats at Home
-Black Bean Fudge from Kim of Affairs of Living

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All of you regular readers know that I have an obsession with making healthy (ok, “healthier”) gluten free cake pops.  Well, this obsession continues for Valentine’s Day.

I spent an afternoon in my kitchen last week in total chocolate chaos.  I even tweeted about it (if you’re not involved in the party that’s over on twitter you may want to join, I’m there several times daily, tweeting away).  On twitter I stated, or shall I say, tweeted,  “my kitchen is covered in chocolate and I can’t say why.”

Well, now I’m saying why.  My kitchen was covered in chocolate because I was making gluten free Valentine’s Day cake pops two ways.  First, pictured above, they are coated in white chocolate.  Next, below, the cake pops are coated in dark chocolate.  While they have very different flavor profiles, they’re equally tasty and decadent in their own ways.  Of course, the dark chocolate covered cake pops are far healthier, so if that’s a consideration, I would recommend going with them.

For these cake pops, I’ve omitted the jam or frosting on the inside, in order to create a more simply flavored confection.  The cake I use below is moist enough to hold together without any jam or frosting to “bind” it, so frankly it’s not necessary for construction, it would just add another yummy flavor.

I hope you enjoy these Valentine’s cake pops as much as we do, they are a huge hit in my household, and I feel happy just looking at them (though trust me, I ate my share as well!)

Valentine’s Day Cake PopsNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.

1 Chocolate Cake, from The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook, page 84 (view PDF)
2 cups chocolate drops or white chocolate chips
1 package gluten free organic sprinkles

Special Equipment:
1 heart muffin pan
22 paper lollipop sticks
2-4 styrofoam blocks

1. Bake Chocolate Cake as directed on page 84 of The Gluten Free Almond Flour Cookbook
2. Cool cake completely
3. Once cooled, crumble cake into a big bowl, making sure there are no large pieces
4. Cake mixture will be very moist, no need to add frosting or jam
5. Massage cake mixture with hands
6. Press mixture into heart shaped mold, then remove immediately and transfer to a parchment lined plate
7. Place plate of hearts in freezer for 1-2 hours until very solid
8. Remove one heart at a time from freezer
9. Dip about ½ inch of the tip of a lollipop stick into melted chocolate
10. Insert the lollipop stick straight into the bottom of the heart, pushing about ⅓ of an inch deep
11. Holding stick with heart attached, dip entirely into melted chocolate, until covered
12. Make sure chocolate coating meets at base of lollipop stick; this helps secure heart to stick
13. Twirl any excess chocolate coating off the cake pop so it is evenly coated
14. Apply sprinkles (if desired)
15. Place stick of cake pop into styrofoam block
16. Complete with remaining hearts and allow to set completely
17. Serve your gluten free Valentine’s Day Cake Pops!

(You can store these gluten free cake pops in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days)

Makes about 22 Gluten Free Valentine’s Day Cake Pops

If you haven’t already seen Bakerella’s amazing cake pop video, I highly recommend it.  Her book is fantastic as well, with amazing ideas for cake pop creations.

What is your favorite “special treat” to make for yourself and your family.  Obviously, my favorite at present is cake pops, though I’d love to get a glimpse of things outside of the “cake pops box” and broaden my horizons, so please leave a comment below and let us know.

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My favorite part of Super Bowl Sunday is the food.  I love preparing healthy gluten free Super Bowl snacks for my boys and all of their friends.

I would love to say that the cute little gluten free cake pops above were assembled by my children.  However, I made them, and as you can see my cake and candy decorating skills are on par with those of a 10 year old.  Or maybe a 6 year old.  In any event, when I was a child I loved crafty little projects like candy making and such.  Obviously, I haven’t had much practice since back then.

I hope you all enjoy these gluten free Super Bowl Cake pops!  If you make them, please take a photo, as I would like to do a post sometime soon with all of your beautiful gluten free football cake pops.

Super Bowl Cake PopsNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
½ Chocolate Cake, from The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook, page 84 (view PDF)
2 tablespoons raspberry jam
1 ½ cups chocolate drops
¼ cup white chocolate, melted

Special Equipment:
22 paper lollipop sticks
2-4 Styrofoam blocks

1. Bake Chocolate Cake as directed on page 84 of The Gluten Free Almond Flour Cookbook
2. Cool cake completely
3. Once cooled, crumble ½ of cake into a big bowl, making sure there are no large pieces
4. Mix raspberry fruit spread into crumbled cake, use back of a large metal spoon to combine
5. Mixture will be moist enough to roll into 1-inch balls and still hold a round shape
6. After making balls, squish into an oval shape and pinch each end to make footballs
7. Place footballs on a parchment paper lined plate and place in freezer for at least an hour
8. Melt dark chocolate in a very small pot, over very low heat
9. One at a time, dip about ½ inch of the tip of a lollipop stick into melted chocolate
10. Insert the lollipop stick straight into a (football) cake ball, no more than halfway through
11. Holding stick with (football) cake ball attached, dip entire cake ball into melted chocolate, until covered
12. Make sure chocolate coating meets at base of lollipop stick; this helps secure cake ball to stick
13. Twirl any excess chocolate coating off the cake pop so it is evenly coated
14. Place lollipop stick into the Styrofoam block; allow chocolate coating to dry
15. Pipe white chocolate stitches onto football cake pops
16. Serve your healthier gluten free Super Bowl Cake Pops and wow your guests!

(store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days)

Makes 22 Super Bowl Cake Pops

Here is a fabulous post by Bakerella with her football cake pops versus football cakeblobs.  And don’t forget to take a look at Bakerella’s how to make cake pops video. It is indispensable when it comes to tips for how to make great cake pops.

Happy Super Bowl snacking everyone!

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This recipe for cake pops is one of my favorite gluten free desserts and can also be considered a gluten free candy.

I bought Bakerella’s fabulous book Cake Pops: Tips, Tricks, and Recipes for More Than 40 Irresistible Mini Treats just after Thanksgiving. 

Our chavurah came over for Shabbos dinner one night in early December and my friend Paige brought over a bunch of leftover cake balls that she had made from Bakerella’s book for a school bake sale.  As soon as I saw those cake balls I was hooked!  I began my own gluten free cake pop project a couple of days later.

What is a cake pop you ask?  Well, to totally understand the concept, you’ll need to purchase Bakerella’s book, it’s well worth the price with excellent instructions and wonderful tips and tricks.  If you’re not up for that, at least go to her fantastic website for a thorough understanding of this phenomenon she has created.  Or, check out Bakerella’s excellent video on how to make cake pops:

Although the above video is great, I will also do my best here to briefly explain the concept of cake balls and cake pops.  A cake ball is a bite size piece of cake dipped in candy coating; a cake pop is a bite size cake ball (again, dipped in candy coating) on a stick (a lollipop stick to be exact).  My husband says that everyone loves cake pops because they have a high ratio of frosting (or candy coating) to cake –so all of you frosting-a-holics out there take note.  He also states that my cake pops do not taste gluten free –high compliments from a worldly eater such as my gluten eating husband.

Over the past month or so, I’ve worked on adapting several types of cake pops from Bakerella’s book, making them gluten free.  The recipe below is based on Bakerella’s “Basic Cake Pop” recipe on page 15 of her book.  While she uses frosting to hold together her cake balls, I use fruit spread to make them a little less heavy –you might consider them a healthier cake pop, though I’m not entirely sure about that.  So, this is a gluten free chocolate raspberry cake pop.  They’re a lot of work, though I think (as my family would heartily concur) that they’re well worth the effort.

In anticipation of your questions, you can try to experiment with other cake recipes than the one I used above, I do not however, know if they will work as this is the only one I have tested.  I wish I could look into a crystal ball and answer all of your substitution questions.  If I was able to do that, I can assure you, I wouldn’t need to test every recipe I make a dozen times.  All of this is just grunt work, I can assure you.

So if you don’t wish to use the recommended cake recipe, feel free to try something else, call it an experiment, and please, be sure to let us know when you find success.

For other groovy gluten free cake pop recipes check out the links below:
-How To Make Gluten Free Birthday Cake Pops from Gluten Free Diva
-Gluten Free and Dairy Free Cake Pops from And Love It Too
-Dairy Free Cheesecake Pops from Book of Yum

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I came up with the recipe for this Cinnamon Pecan Brittle when I messed up a recipe from Dorie Greenspan’s lovely cookbook, Around My French Table.

I had thought I was making Spiced Nuts, though when I pulled these out of the oven, I realized that I had actually made a scrumptious nut brittle. So, I made the recipe several additional times, tweaking each version along the way until I was pleased with this new permutation.

Cinnamon Pecan BrittleNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
1 egg white
¼ cup agave nectar or honey
1 teaspoon celtic sea salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups pecans

1. In a large bowl, whisk together egg white, agave, salt and cinnamon
2. Toss nuts in the egg white mixture to coat
3. Pour nut mixture onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet
4. Bake at 300° for 30 minutes, until nuts are browned
5. Allow nuts to cool for 5 minutes, then break apart and serve

This brittle is great for a party or nice to keep around as a snack.  It also makes a lovely hostess gift when placed in a little tin or box, that is then tied with a pretty ribbon.  By the way, this gluten free nut snack is one of my favorites. You can experiment with other nuts in this recipe instead of the pecans (though I haven’t tried this myself); if you do please let us know how it turns out.

You may also want to try some brittle type recipes from these bloggers:
-Cinnamon Pumpkin Seed Brittle from Stephanie of Wasabimon
-CrockPot Peanut (Not Brittle) Candy from Stephanie of A Year of Slow Cooking
-Spiced Almond Brittle from Kelly of The Spunky Coconut

Stay tuned! I’ll be holding a giveaway for a copy of Around My French Table this Thursday.

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