Written by contributor Britney Manuel of A Simply Raw Life & BtanJerine

I came from a heritage of great Martha Stewart-esque cooks that make their own peanut butter, jams, and the like. So it was no wonder when we made homemade caramel….that it was TO DIE FOR! Since I liked it (a little too much), I wanted to try to find a non dairy version that didn’t sacrifice flavor, (that was the challenge). I was inspired by the recipe found here for some salted caramel tartlets. Once I saw it, I knew a new go-to caramel was born!

Coconut Caramel Recipe

Ingredients

1 1/2 (15oz) cans coconut milk, unsweetened, full fat
1/2 cup + 2 TBSP dark brown sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a saucepan, add one can of coconut milk, and the fat off the top of the second can.
2. Add the brown sugar, and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.
3. Once the mixture begins to bubble, reduce the heat to low and cook for 40-50 minutes, stirring frequently (every thirty seconds to a minute) until the sauce is very thick and reduced by more than half. Be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the pan as you stir.
4. Remove from heat and add a pinch of salt and vanilla extract.
5. Store in a jar for up to a couple of weeks.

Makes about  1 1/2 cups

This caramel is so yum that it only needs a simple vehicle for the caramel. My preferred vehicle is a strawberry. Simple, so that you can really savor the coconut caramel!

Tiny hands love to dip, so this coconut caramel recipe is kid-approved. Bon Apeptit!

Join the discussion!

Do you have a favorite kid-friendly dessert recipe? We would love to hear what it is! Share it in the comments below. Links are welcome.

Written by contributor Britney Manuel of A Simply Raw Life and BtanJerine.

Whenever I am in the kitchen, my daughter in not too far behind. She loves to help when I am cooking. So I’m always looking for “jobs” she can do to contribute. I came across a wonderful recipe that is geared towards small hands: chocolate tortoises. Because what kid doesn’t love food that looks like animals? They can count and arrange the legs (or cashews), place the caramel on top, and add the pecan shell over the chocolate. And they are amazed to see the tortoises take shape with their pecan shell.

These little guys also make a great gift. Simply place the tortoises individually in a nice baking cup and place in a box.

Chocolate Tortoises Recipe

Ingredients

48 roasted cashews
12 roasted hazelnuts
12 roasted pecans
12 soft caramels
4 oz. semisweet chocolate

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. On a parchment lined rimmed baking sheet, make 12 clusters by arranging 4 cashews and 1 hazelnut (the cashews will be the tortoises’ legs, and the hazelnuts, the heads). With your fingers, gently flatten caramels and place one on top of each cluster.

Bake until caramels just begin to melt, 6-8 minutes. Meanwhile, melt chocolate on the stove until melted. Dollop 1 teaspoon chocolate onto each caramel and top with a pecan. Refrigerate until chocolate sets, about 30 minutes (or up to 2 days). Bring to room temperature before serving.

Makes 12

Join the discussion!

Do you have a favorite kid-friendly dessert recipe? We would love to hear what it is! Share it in the comments below. Links are welcome.

Written by contributor Felicia Clark of A Simply Raw Life.

Say what?  Homemade raw Nutella?  Why yes!  Who doesn’t like Nutella, right?  For those of you who are not familiar with Nutella it is a very delicious chocolate hazelnut spread that tastes great on just about anything.  I don’t know about you, but I grew up eating Nutella as a treat.  So, when I changed my diet to consiste of mostly plant based and unprocessed foods this was one of those things I had to figure out how to make.  Fortunately, there is such a great community of plant based, raw and vegan cooks out there, it wasn’t hard to come up with a recipe.  I got my inspiration from Fragrant Vanilla Cake.  I love how Amy can transform just about any of our old time favorite desserts into a delicious raw unprocessed treat.

Homemade Raw Nutella Recipe

Ingredients

For the cake:

1 cup hazelnuts

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/3 cup agave nectar   

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon

4 tablespoons raw cacao powder, or carob powder

1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted to liquid form

1/4 cup almond milk 

Directions

Blend the hazelnuts in a food processor until finely ground.  Add the sea salt, agave, cinnamon and vanilla and process until combined well.  While the motor is running, add the coconut oil slowly and then the almond milk to make it smooth. Blend until as smooth as possible.  This may take a while.  Store in an airtight jar in the refigerator and enjoy!  I hope you enjoy this treat as much as I do.

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Written by contributor Felicia Clark of A Simply Raw Life.

Dessert for breakfast?  Yes, please!  Who doesn’t like to eat dessert for breakfast, especially this time of year with all the delicious pumpkin goodies out there.  Love, love love pumpkin!  This pumpkin coffee cake, which is also dairy free, is the perfect breakfast treat to eat with your favorite tea or coffee.  So cozy!

One of my favorite ingredients for baking right now is coconut oil.  When a baking recipe calls for an oil to be used, I like to switch it out with coconut oil.  The recipe always come out light a fluffy and not weighed down.  Check out some the benefits of coconut oil by Dr. Oz and why we here at Family Sponge love to use it.  The other secret ingredient in this recipe is coconut yogurt. Many coffee cakes are baked with buttermilk, I switched out the buttermilk with cultured coconut yogurt and you would never know the difference.  This pumpkin coffee cake is the perfect treat for any breakfast guest.

Pumpkin Coffee Cake Recipe

Ingredients

For the cake:

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour or white whole wheat flour
1 tsp + 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon, divided use
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
pinch ground cloves
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup agave or pure maple syrup
2 Tbsp unrefined granulated sugar or brown sugar
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup cocnut oil warmed to liquid form, do not over heat
1 cup cultured coconut yogurt, vanilla

For the crumb topping:

1/2 cup whole wheat flour or white whole wheat flour
3 Tbsp packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup pecan halves finely chopped
3 Tbsp coconut oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8×8 inch square pan and line with parchment paper.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, 1 tsp cinnamon, all of the other spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a large bowl, whisk together agave or maple syrup, pumpkin puree and the coconut yogurt in a large bowl until well-mixed. Whisk in vanilla extract. Whisk in cocnut oil until well-combined.  Add dry ingredients to wet in in 3 parts; stir until dry ingredients are fully moistened.

Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Whisk the remaining 2 Tbsp sugar and remaining 1 Tbsp cinnamon in a small bowl; sprinkle evenly over the top of the batter. Spread remaining batter over top in an even layer.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, salt, and nuts for the crumb topping. Add in the oil, and stir with a fork until crumbly. Scatter crumb topping evenly over the batter in the pan.

Bake until top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs, 35-40 minutes.  Allow cake to cool in pan before cutting into pieces and serving.  Coffee cake is best served the same day it is baked.

For more delicious raw and vegan recipes, visit Felicia at A Simply Raw Life.

Join the discussion!

Do you have a favorite recipe with pumpkin? We would love to hear what it is! Share it in the comments below. Thanks to Method for sponsoring today’s discussion! Want helpful cleaning tips, coupons, and giveaways from Method? Join their community of 336,570+ adoring fans on their awesome Facebook Page.

Written by Contributor Britney Manuel of BtanJerine, and A Simply Raw Life. 

At about 3 o’clock PM everyday a little man inside of me says, “it’s time for chocolate!”, and when he talks…I listen! And sometimes much to my dismay, this little man has cheap taste. So in an effort to be proactive I knew I had to at least make a healthier version to tame this wild beast of a chocolate monster within me. So this is what I did!

Vegan: Cranberry Almond Energy Bars with Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients

4 cups raw almonds
2 lbs. dates
1 cup shredded coconut
2 tablespoons chia seeds
2 cups dried cranberries

Frosting

1/2 cup maple syrup or agave nectar
1/4 cup coconut oil, warmed to liquid
2/3 cup cacao or carob powder

Directions

1. Blend the dates in a food processor until it makes a thick paste, and place in a bowl.

2. Pulse the almonds in the processor until they are finely chopped and add to the bowl. (I left some bigger chunks so that the texture varied).

3. Pulse the shredded coconut for a few seconds and then add to bowl.

4. Add chia seeds and dried cranberries.

5. Work mixture together with your hands until it makes a sticky ball.

6. Line a 9×13 cookie sheet with parchment paper. Add mixture to parchment paper. Cover ball with another sheet of parchment paper and use a rolling pin to flatten the ball into about 1 1/2 inches.

7. Place bars in the freezer for 1 hour.

While the bars are freezing make the chocolate frosting.  Add maple syrup to the blender first followed by the coconut oil and cocoa powder. Blend well until smooth.

Take bars out of the freezer and cut them into bars. Pour frosting over the cut bars and return to the freezer. Bars won’t completely freeze (except the cranberries). Transfer to an airtight container and store bars in the freezer. I think that they taste better par frozen, so I just pop them out of the freezer and eat them straight away.

Store in the freezer for one month.

Makes approximately 15 bars

ARE YOU DROOLING YET?

For more sumptuous recipes visit Britney at A Simply Raw Life, or for off beat jewelry check out BtanJerine

There aren’t many things that make a home smell better than baking granola. Cinnamon, vanilla, maple syrup baking together into a heavenly bliss— oh it’s incredible. So good, I can never go back to the box now that I’ve made it from scratch.

SO.
MUCH.
BETTER.

And this recipe uses real maple syrup and unrefined coconut oil— which ups the healthiness and tastiness to a whole new level.

Are you a coconut addict yet? I’ve been using it for baking for a year now and love it. I also use it as moisturizer, in my toothpaste, for a deep treatment for my hair and all these other things you can read about here.

Coconut Granola

This simple, healthy coconut granola was inspired by Two Peas and their Pod. I tweaked it slightly for personal preference. I like my granola to have clusters in it, and to do so you need to use a flour to hold it together. I use almond flour from Trader Joe’s and it works great.

ingredients:

2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1/4 cup almond flour
3/4 cup sliced almonds
2 tbs brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 salt
5 tbs coconut oil
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract

raisins (optional)
3/4 c shredded sweetened coconut (optional)

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Note: Some people recommend using a Slipat, but it takes a lot longer to cook it and it’s never really crunchy. The best way for me is using a pizza pan with air holes in it. I put the parchment paper on that and it comes out nice and crisp.

2. In a large bowl combine oats, almond flour, sliced almonds, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. In a small bowl, warm coconut oil and maple syrup to room temp (I use the microwave on low power). This keeps the coconut oil from turning solid, which makes it harder to mix the ingredients evenly.

Then whisk together coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Pour liquid mixture over dry ingredients and stir until dry ingredients are well-coated.

3. Pour the granola mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. Spread granola into an even layer. Bake for 30 minutes or until granola is golden brown, stirring every 10 minutes. Let granola cool completely. If you want to add raisins, now is the time to do it.

Store in an air-tight container for up to 1 month.

Written by contributor Marieke Beeler of M for Mommy.

With the temperatures on the rise and summer vacation in full swing, it is time to bust out the molds and find a good popsicle recipe.  After all, there are few things more fun than making, enjoying…and possibly wearing popsicles with your little one on a hot sunny afternoon. 

Before you launch yourself into the kitchen, allow me to put out a word of caution:

“blackberries stain”

I made these popsicles in May and the wooden spoon is still stained pink.  So strip the kids down to their underwear or put on dark aprons if the kids are helping you in the kitchen. There will be some stirring and a lot of tasting happening before these beauties disappear into the freezer.

Oh, and have the garden hose (or shower) ready.  Think that the popsicle-making is messy?  Think again.  It’s the consumption that is truly MESSY!  Though I wouldn’t go as far as having my children eat their popsicles in the bathtub, fun didn’t stop when the popsicles were gone.  It simply continued in the grass with the garden hose on high.

Blackberry Lemonade Popsicle Recipe

These Blackberry Lemonade Popsicles are made with fresh ingredients and taste delicious! Makes: 8-10 popsicles

Ingredients

4-5 cups fresh blackberries
1 cup water
1 cup sugar (I used 1 cup and decided that I could use less.  I’m going to try 3/4 cup the next time and see how that works out.)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Directions:

Purée the blackberries in a blender.  Strain the purée through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing the solids to extract as much juice as possible to yield 1 1/2 cup purée.  Discard the solids.  Heat the water, sugar, and lemon juice in a small sauce pan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves.  Stir the lemon syrup into the purée.  Pour the purée into 3-ounce paper cups or molds.

If you’re using wooden sticks, freeze the purée for 30 minutes in cups or molds before inserting the sticks.  That way they will remain standing straight.

TIP: If you have left over purée, do NOT discard it.  Turn it into a blackberry cocktail when the clock hits 5pm.  For the Ultimate Smooth Blackbery Cocktail visit Marieke at M for Mommy.

Recipe originally from Cuisine Tonight, Fresh & Fabulous, adapted by Marieke.

Join the discussion!

Do you make your own popsicles? Have any tips, recipes or ideas to share?

Love the idea of homemade jam, but haven’t made the jump to actually doing it? Well, this super easy strawberry jam recipe is for you. It’s basic, really fast and tastes incredible. We picked 57 pounds of strawberries (yes, 57 pounds) and filled our freezer with pints of this jam. It tastes great on toast, pancakes, mixed into plain yogurt and even as a filling in cake.

I have always loved jam, but 95% of the ones in the grocery store have corn syrup in them. And those that don’t have it, are expensive! The only exception I have found to this is Trader Joe’s. They carry some great jams, especially the reduced-sugar apricot one. So I began making my own jam a few summers ago and keep it as simple as I can. I use Ball Real Fruit Instant pectin and am all about the freezer jam. It’s the easiest way to make jam (no need to do a hot water bath or boil the berries). Simple is the way to go in my book.

Easy Strawberry Jam Recipe

Making jam doesn’t get any easier than this recipe here.

Ingredients:

• 5 cups of crushed strawberries:  Wash, hull, then crush one layer at a time (or if you have an immersion blender, that works great)
• 6 Tbsp Ball Real Fruit Instant Pectin (Target sells it in a small plastic container)
• 2 cups granulated sugar (I prefer the super fine granuals for jam)
• 6 half-pint mason jars with straight sides

Directions:

1. STIR sugar and pectin in a bowl.
2. ADD crushed strawberries and stir 3 minutes.
3. LADLE jam into clean jars and let stand 30 minutes. Enjoy immediately, refrigerate up to 3 weeks or freeze up to 1 year. Yes, you can freeze mason jars (just leave 1/2 inch headspace to allow for expansion during freezing.)

Written by contributor Marieke Beeler of M for Mommy.

This lemon yogurt cake is so good, that it’s always devoured before the day is over. Loaded with vitamin C to boost your immune system and calcium to maintain strong bones. What more do you want? A moist cake? Check. Flavor? Check. Seconds? For sure. Thirds? Probably. Okay, so maybe it’s not quite that healthy, but it certainly is that good.

Lemon Yogurt Cake

*Recipe originally from Barefoot Contessa.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1 1/3 cups sugar, divided
3 extra-large eggs
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice


For the Glaze
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice


Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease and flour the pan. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into 1 bowl.

In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the vegetable oil into the batter, making sure it’s all incorporated.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Meanwhile, cook the 1/3 cup lemon juice and remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.

When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan. While the cake is still warm, pour the lemon-sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in. Cool.

For the glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice and pour over the cake.

For more delicious recipes, visit Marieke at M for Mommy.