This is a Valentine’s Day that I may never forget. After all, it is the first Valentine’s Day I get to celebrate with the new love of my life, Baby Yum, and the first and last love of my life, the DH. I thought that a day like this deserved a treat that was equally special. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are one of my favorite gluten-free candies, and I was recently inspired in a visit to Boulder, Colorado by a new company and their gluten-free (but not dairy-free) sunflower seed butter cups. So, this holiday I decided to make my own, completely free of soy, dairy, gluten, peanuts and of course eggs. (Luckily I’ve not yet seen peanut butter cups with eggs, but you never know what some maniac might decide to do..) I made the sunflower seed butter from scratch, combining about a cup of sunflower seeds (some raw, some roasted, all unsalted) with 3 tbsp. canola oil, a tablespoon of honey and a dash of salt in my mini food processor. It was a darned tasty treat already, but when I used it in my non-peanut butter cups, it was even better. Feel free to adjust sweetness and saltiness to taste- this recipe is all about pleasing your own palate while avoiding some not-so-pleasing allergens. I hope you enjoy and have a wonderful Valentine’s Day!
*This recipe is easily vegan if you substitute vegan sugar and use agave nectar instead of honey. Go for it!
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Homemade Dairy, Soy and Nut Free Sunflower Butter Chocolate Cup Recipe
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Ingredients
1 cup Enjoy Life DF SF chocolate chips
1 tablespoons palm oil shortening (Spectrum or Whole Foods) 1/3 cup Earth Balance No Soy margarine Shaped paper cups (for confectionery or mini muffin tin liners)
Directions
Melt chocolate and shortening in microwave on half power for 1 minute, stirring and then heating in 30 second intervals, stirring after each cycle. It only takes me one or two 30 second cycles. Baste your paper cups with a layer of melted chocolate on the bottom and sides. Put in refrigerator to cool and harden. Reserve enough chocolate to cover the top of your cups.
Meanwhile, combine margarine, sunflower seed butter, sweetener and salt in a pan and heat on medium-low, stirring frequently. When smooth and tasty, remove from burner and let cool. To assemble fill each cup with your cooled sunbutter filling and then drizzle chocolate on top, using a spoon to spread it and smooth around the edges. let cool and then enjoy as desired. Freezes well!
Notes
*I had 6 tini heart-tins and six about the size of a regular 12 count muffin liner, but had to be slightly skimpy with the chocolate. Recipe makes extra nut butter filling- try it in a “nut butter chocolate pie”
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This weekend I found myself extremely busy with a gluten-free tea planned with friends on Sunday. I had made arrangements with a local tea-shop that specialized in tea scones and sandwiches to cater a meal for myself and some friends. They were willing to work with me using gluten-free bread, but unfortunately all their sandwich toppings had some allergen. A friend of mine was coming to the party but would only have been able to have their salad (with her own dressing). I didn’t think that sounded like much fun, so I decided to whip up a little something that she could enjoy- a dessert that was dairy-free, soy-free, potato-free and of course, gluten-free. Ordinarily I might have made something from scratch, but I was a bit busy, so I was happy to find a package of Namaste Gluten-free Blondie Mix in my pantry. A plain blondie sounded a bit dull so I split the recipe in two and made two variations- one, a strong chocolate mocha brownie, and two, a coconut macadamia nut blondie using lots and lots of coconut and macadamia nuts. Both turned out really well, especially considering I made up the variations as I went along. The coconut-macadamia blondie was very rich, so was a good treat in small quantities. The mocha brownie was just plain addicting, and I could have eaten up the whole thing, except of course for the fact that I was making it for our gathering the next day. Either recipe would be great for an Easter treat or wrapped up in someone’s Easter basket- so I thought I’d post the recipe for you all. I especially enjoyed getting two such different treats out of one little mix-to spread out the yumminess. This kind of treat freezes well, so since I didn’t need more sweets, i decided to follow my standard operating procedure for Mariposa lemon bars or brownies- I wrapped them in individual packages and froze them for my next sweet craving. And my friend? She got to drink tea, have her salad, and then top it off with enough sweets to satisfy any sweet tooth… which made the outing that much better. The next time you need to bake for a friend with complex allergies (or yourself), why not try a Namaste mix? They’re slightly pricey but can’t be beat for their allergy-friendly ingredients.
