Halloween Treats

SPIDER CRACKERS
Ritz Crackers with peanut butter inside to hold the 8 pretzel legs. Use a small dab of peanut butter to attach the raisin eyes.
Tailor these to your kids preferences. Another healthy variation is almond butter, cranberries, and Ritz whole wheat crackers.
My kids love making and eating these. A perfect October after school snack!




APPLE DUMPLINGS
1. Core and peel apples, leave an inch of the lower unpeeled.
2. Divide a pie crust for each apple and place the apple on top.
3. Fill the core with a small mixture of raisins, cranberries, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.





4. Press and seal the pastry around the apple. Put a dollop of coconut oil on the top.
5. Bake the dumplings @ 375* for about 15 minutes while making the basting sauce.
6. Bring 2 tablespoons Earth Balance, 3/4 C. apple juice, 3/4 C. water, 1/2 C. sugar, & 1/8 tsp. cinnamon to a boil in a small sauce pan. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.





7. Baste the dumplings with the sauce and pour the rest in the pan and continue to bake about 30 minutes until they are tender. Continue to baste the dumplings about every 15 minutes.

Roasted pumpkin seeds are always a treat this time of year! I hope you are enjoying a healthy Halloween season!!

Bear Sweets

We used to make something like this when I was a kid. We creatively called them Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats, and it's what we settled for when we were out of marshmallows.

Things have changed since then. I don't feel the same love for marshmallows, and thanks to my daughter, they now have a snappy new name.





Bear Sweets
1 1/3 c Rice Krispies
1/3 c confectioners' sugar
1/3 c smooth peanut butter
3 tbsp Earth Balance

Adorn with dried cranberries, blueberries, raisins, nuts, or piped icing. Olivia can't resist chocolate chips, and pictured are baby sized semi-sweet m&ms I found in bulk, and 'Lets Do Organic Coconut Flakes'. Use what you have.




Mix together the cereal and confectioners' sugar.












Melt the peanut butter and margarine in a pan over low heat.

Pour the mixture into the bowl and stir until everything is well mixed together.









Use an ice cream scoop to divide the mixture into 6 parts on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.

Squish them together to make patties. Use a plastic baggie as a glove to keep fingers clean if you must. Try to flatten and consolidate them as much as possible.

Decorate!




Chill in the fridge about 30 minutes or until they hold together nicely in your hand.


To say these were a hit with the younger generation would be a serious understatement!

Peanut Butter Banana Oat Bundles & Peanut Butter Dip

I still had some brown bananas around so I turned to Vive le Vegan! and found a recipe for Banana Oat Bundles on pg. 32, which was perfect because it calls for 2 large, over-ripe bananas. Dreena suggests adding some nuts or chocolate chips, but I happened to have peanut butter chips, so I tossed about half a bag in the mix. These are sort of a cross between a cookie, a mini-muffin, or scone, and the word "bundle" is a perfect description. We had ours for breakfast and found them quite delicious and satisfying. Dreena can get 12-15 from this recipe, so maybe mine are "too big" because I made 9. But they were cooked all the way through, so whatever. I gave one to my neighbor and we ate the rest over the next couple days. Everybody liked them, and this is my favorite "use up the ripe bananas" recipe.


The peanut butter chips made me think of a recipe I was going to test for Catherine, so I pulled out the food processor and made her Peanut Butter dip to go with the bundles and some apples slices. I like using same flavors to compliment different dishes, you may remember that I tested Catherine's pumpkin dip with pumpkin bread. Again, the the peanut butter flavor was really enhanced and it was a perfect union. We really liked this dip, Catherine! Liv kept saying, "More Peanut Butter. More Bah-beanna!"

Peanut "Better" Bars

We had a major sweet-tooth this weekend, so I found this recipe at Vegan Outreach, which was definitely a solution to our situation. These are delicious, easy to make, and you don't need a ton of ingredients on hand - but beware, they are nearly irresistible and it makes a large pan. Next time, I'll make these for a party or when there are more people on hand to help dispose of them!


Ingredients:
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup sliced almonds (toast them in the oven @ 325* for about 10 minutes -- next time, I'll tuck the almonds under the chocolate layer so they won't fall off)
6 cups corn flakes
1 8oz. bag dark chocolate chips

Process:
Lightly oil an 8x10 inch cake pan. Place the corn flakes in the pan.

Mix the corn syrup & sugar in a sauce pan, and bring to a light boil. Remove from the heat, add the peanut butter, and mix until smooth. Pour the mixture over the corn flakes, and combine.

In a saucepan, melt the chocolate chips and pour over the top of cereal mixture, press sliced almonds on top. Place in the refrigerator overnight and let harden. The next day, cut and serve.