Category: Sweet Recipe

Halloween Bites while we stay inside!

Halloween looks very different in the Howard household this year. I have always enjoyed Halloween and trick or treating and candy and costumes! This time of year always gets me super pumped because I do believe this is a special night for the dead. Yes, I’m the weird one who enjoys ghost tours and visiting cemeteries in New Orleans ( I have twice lol!)

Since I have a little one, I can experience my love for Halloween with her. Before the increase in covid cases, my plans were to put Gabs in a wagon and trick or treat through our neighborhood so we..i mean..she could enjoy her candy 🙂

Yet, Covid numbers have increased rapidly in Texas and so we figured it was best to stay inside and stay safe. L I couldn’t leave yall hanging though! Below is a tasty Halloween Margarita Recipe and Vegan Peanut Butter Cup Recipes that I fell in love with. If you follow me on Instagram at naturally cocoa, you can see my bartending/cooking skills come to life hahaha!

If you are bored tonight and staying in, I suggest giving these spooky treats a try. Very few ingredients on both recipes and it’s easy to make. Entertain yourself and as always, be safe!

yield: serves 2

HALLOW-RITA: HALLOWEEN MARGARITA

PREP TIME: 5 MINUTES

COOK TIME: 5 MINUTES

INGREDIENTS:

  • 4 oz tequila
  • 2 oz triple sec
  • 1/2 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
  • 2 cups crushed ice
  • lime wedge
  • lime slices, for garnish
  • 1/2 cup black salt
  • blue food coloring
  • red food coloring
  • green food coloring

DIRECTIONS:

  1. In a tumbler combine tequila, triple sec and lime juice. Pour the mixture into a large measuring cup or a bowl that you can easily pour from. Next, add the food coloring (about a drop of each at first). Continue to stir and add colorings until desired mixture is achieved. It took me about three rounds.
  2. Pour the black salt onto a plate. Take the lime wedge and rub it around each glass. Dip the glass into the black salt.
  3. Fill each glass with ice. Pour the margarita mixture into the glass and garnish with fresh lime slices!

adapted from delishAll images and text ©Lauren Grier for Climbing Grier Mountain

Vegan Peanut Butter Cups

Vegan Peanut Butter Cups- by Nora Taylor

Ingredients

  • ▢2 cups (12 oz) vegan chocolate chips, divided
  • ▢2 tablespoons refined coconut oil
  • ▢1/2 cup creamy peanut butter, *not the natural kind if you can help it.
  • ▢4 tablespoons powdered sugar
  • ▢coarse sea salt, optional for sprinkling on top

US CUSTOMARY – METRIC

Instructions

  • Line a 12 cup standard size muffin tin with paper liners.
  • Place half of the chocolate chips (1 cup) and half of the coconut oil (1 tablespoon) in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 1 minute, stir, then another minute and stir until melted and smooth. If you do not have a microwave, you can use the double broiler method to melt.
  • Scoop about half of a tablespoon melted chocolate, and place it in each liner. Use a small spoon to spread it around and up the sides just a little bit. Place the pan in the freezer for 10 minutes.
  • While the chocolate hardens in the freezer, add the peanut butter and powdered sugar to a bowl and mix with a spoon or fork until well combined and a sort of dough is formed. Taste for sweetness, and add more sugar if desired. If using unsalted peanut butter, add a tiny pinch of salt.
  • Remove the pan from the freezer. The chocolate should be quite firm and not melty anymore. Place a tablespoon of the peanut butter mixture on top of the chocolate in each cup, and press down a bit with your hands. It does not need to be flattened completely. Place the pan in the freezer for 10 minutes.
  • Melt the other cup of chocolate chips and the last tablespoon of coconut oil, as you did before. Scoop 1/2 tablespoon on top of the peanut butter and spread immediately with a small spoon if needed and sprinkle with coarse sea salt, if desired. Because the peanut butter was in the freezer, the chocolate will harden quickly. Place in the freezer for 10 minutes to set.
  • Storage: Store the peanut butter cups in the refrigerator or freezer, as they will melt rather quickly at room temperature because of the coconut oil. If you want them to be more shelf stable, substitute melted vegan butter for the coconut oil, or leave it out completely.

Video

Notes

  1. Many brands of chocolate chips are vegan, simply check the ingredients list for milk fat, butter oil or any other animal based ingredients.
  2. Instead of chocolate chips, you can also use vegan chocolate bars, which may be easier to find depending on where you live. 
  3. Calories estimate is for 1 peanut butter cup if you make 12.
  4. These can be made into mini peanut butter cups! Use a mini muffin pan and mini liners for smaller treats.
  5. I have found that when making candy, it’s best to use regular peanut butter, not the natural kind. Natural can be so runny or very thick, and is not as consistent. For the best filling, use regular creamy peanut butter.

Vegan Lemon Cheesecake

Happy Saturday! Today in my very BLACK household, we are treating today as a day of rest. This country has so much to work on in terms of injustice, police brutality, homophobia, racism and sexism that the Howard household felt like today was not a day to celebrate this country..it would be hypocritical. However, we are going to enjoy some vegan treats with our family and play some Marvin Gaye and Frankie Beverly outside..why? because we can 🙂 and we don’t take being alive for granted!

This morning I whipped up a very quick vegan dessert for our afternoon festivities. I got a chance to relax from work for a few days prior and found this recipe from pinterest. Now that my little one is a toddler and gets into EVERYTHING, I am more aware of how I spend my time. Literally, this recipe took 5 minutes to make. I did use a pre made crust and the vegan whip cream is not homemade ( I used Trader Joe’s coconut whip cream- AMAZING), so that cut the time in half. I did not use fresh lemon juice either but its your choice. Like I said, I love to cook but I also love my child, and I need to keep my eye on her at all times 🙂

Recipe is below pic. Put whatever fruit you like. I choose the colors of the PAN African Flag, red, black and green. Red for the blood we shed, black for black people and green for growth.

Vegan Lemon Cheesecake

No Bake, Dairy Free Vegan Lemon Cake by Sarah Jane Parker of “The Fit Cookie”

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, beat the non-dairy cream cheese with a hand blender to soften it and make it smooth. Then add the powdered sugar, natural yellow food color, and the lemon zest. 
  2. Then beat in the lemon juice and vanilla, mixing well so the cheesecake mixture is smooth.
  3. Add 1/2 of the container of CocoWhip to the bowl and beat together with the cream cheese mixture until it’s smooth and mixed thoroughly, then fold in the remaining CocoWhip by hand with a spatula.
  4. Spread the cheesecake mixture into the pre-made or homemade cookie crust, spreading out to make it smooth on top. 
  5. Chill for 4 or more hours, until it is chilled and has firmed up. 
  6. Serve topped with raspberries or strawberries and mint leaves for garnish. Enjoy!

Halloween Caramel Candy Apples

Halloween is one of my fave times of the year! Between the costumes and scary treats, its a great time to let your creativity rise. Even though this year Tony and I did not dress up ( we were a pb and j sandwich last year…which is around the same time we created baby girl lol), I still wanted to have some fun with the treats. This is a great recipe to use in the kitchen with children. It’s also pretty healthy since we created the caramel sauce with medjool dates. Try it and let your taste buds soar!

Medjool Date Caramel Apples

Prep Time15 mins

Total Time15 mins

The easiest way to make caramel apples ever! No candy thermometers, no working with hot liquid sugar. This is a safe, easy, and HEALTHY way to make a caramel apple. Vegan, dairy free, no bake. Course: DessertCuisine: American, Canadian

Servings:  large caramel applesCalories: 386 kcal

Author: Sam Turnbull • It Doesn’t Taste Like ChickenIngredients

  • 16 Natural Delights Medjool Dates, pits removed
  • 1/4 cup non-dairy milk, (such as soy or almond)
  • 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons peanut butter (or other nut butter)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 6 granny smith apples

Additional toppings (optional):

  • Chopped peanuts
  • Coconut flakes
  • Mini vegan chocolate chips
  • Sprinkles
  • Melted vegan chocolate
  • Vegan candies
  • Melted vegan chocolate

US Customary – MetricInstructions

  1. Add the pitted dates to a food processor or blender along with the non-dairy milk, melted coconut oil, peanut butter, and vanilla extract. Blend well, stopping to scrape down the sides often until you reach a smooth caramel. It will be thick and sticky, so it might take awhile and lots of stopping to scrape the sides before everything is blended well.
  2. Push a stick into the center of each apples to create a handle. Use a spatula to evenly spread a thick layer of caramel over the apples. If you don’t want any toppings, you can smooth the caramel down by wetting your fingers and lightly rubbing away any bumps. This is just for look and is optional. If you want to use toppings, you can skip that step and just roll the caramel apples into toppings of choice. Drizzle melted chocolate on top for extra glam.
  3. Put the apples on a tray and chill them in the fridge for an hour. The caramel will firm up, and if you used melted chocolate, it will set. Store in the fridge until ready to serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 386kcal For decoration I added candy eyes, which took this treat right to the Halloween Level.