Sweets & Treats

Super fudge-y plant-based brownies made minty with Hu Kitchen Mint Snacking Gems and crushed candy canes. Perfect for a decadent winter dessert!

Are you a peppermint fan?

Growing up, we always had candy canes around the house for Christmas time. 

The ones we didn’t unwrap and eat we hung on the Christmas tree for a simple elegant ornament. 

So I like to carry on the candy cane tradition, keeping a box of them in my Christmas box for…just about anything!

So, this year, why don’t we bake with them? 

While I’m not the biggest solo peppermint fan, there’s something about the combination of dark chocolate and peppermint that’s both refreshing and addicting. 

These Dark Chocolate Peppermint Brownies are super fudge-y and super minty, made with mint dark chocolate chips and crushed candy canes.

They’re the festive dessert you need to make for your holiday get togethers this year! 

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Flourless cookies with hazelnut butter, fresh squeezed orange, and a whole hazelnut center. Oil-free, grain-free, and naturally sweet with coconut sugar!

The holidays are upon us, friends! 

It’s been back to back Christmas parties, shopping, and gift wrapping around here. 

How about you?

Since I don’t have a Christmas tree yet, I have a Christmas corner piled high with half-wrapped gifts, runaway bows, and inked gift tags.

And of course, lots of holiday baking. 

Is there anything better than sharing something homemade and sweet with friends and family?

M and I aren’t the biggest dessert people, so I’m always trying out new cookie recipes that are anything but typical. 

These cookies are fun and seasonal without being so obvious about it; unlike a sugar cookie or a gingerbread man.

This is a cool Christmas cookie that doesn’t know quite how cool it is, friends. 

These Orange Hazelnut Cookies are made with just seven ingredients, including hazelnut butter, raw hazelnuts, and fresh squeezed orange! 

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Vegan and gluten-free pecan pie bars with an almond flour crust, naturally sweetened with dates and packed with pecans. The perfect vegan pie alternative! 

For Thanksgiving last week, we had *three* kinds of pies.

Pumpkin, apple, and pecan.

I had the corner on Pecan,  because I decided Thanksgiving was the perfect day to test Pecan Pie Bars on my family!

(I usually try to recipe test on days I see a lot of people to get rid of leftovers in exchange for honest reviews.)

The feedback was a resounding thumbs up! 

Don’t worry, I perfected the recipe since then so you don’t have to test on yours. 

These Pecan Pie Bars are made with just seven ingredients in under an hour for a sweet, nutty treat. 

It’s kind of a pie, and kind of a bar, built in three layers of deliciousness.

They start with an almond flour crust, followed by a date-nut based filling, and finally, topped with crunchy whole pecans. 

They’re totally vegan, gluten-free, and naturally sweetened with only dates!

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Easy 4-ingredient dark chocolate cups stuffed with a SunButter and date-based caramel center. Make them for a quick dessert to enjoy and share!

Are you still working your way through Halloween candy? 

When I was a kid I used to have a gallon ziplock bag of my Halloween candy stashed on top of the freezer for *months*. 

Even as a child I was comically self-restrained and preferred to dose out sugary gratification in tiny bite-sized doses. 

I think I doled myself out a single candy bar a day to make the pre-packaged sweet stuff last longer. 

This way I could make the treasure last until Christmas, right? 

Wrong. 

Well, sort of. 

Because I’ve got something better. 

I need you to stash the store-bought stuff and make these Chocolate Caramel SunButter Cups.

These easy dark chocolate cups are made with just 4-ingredients and stuffed with a SunButter and date-based caramel.

They’re vegan, gluten-free, and refined-sugar-free, making them suitable for everyone to sink their teeth into this holiday season. 

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Chocolate thumbprint cookies made grain-free, gluten-free, and naturally sweetened with coconut sugar. Finish them with a melty dark chocolate center!

Welp, the time changed this past weekend. 

The extra hour of sleep felt nice initially, but by the evening I was tired and slightly confused when the neighborhood was dark before 5 PM. 

I’m always a bit miffed to have less daylight; truncating outdoor activities and natural light photoshoots and time to soak in Vitamin D. 

But there is something about the darkening days that makes home feel, really, well, home-y.

Where else do you want to go when the sky is already dusky and dark after work?

Home.

Yeah, falling forward makes me crave fuzzy blankets, binge-worthy shows, and cuddles on the couch. 

And maybe…just maybe…cookies!

These Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies are definitely on my Christmas baking list.

They’re made with just 7 vegan, gluten-free, and refined-sugar-free ingredients, complete with a salty dark chocolate center. 

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Pumpkin fudge layer bars made in two layers; a pumpkin-cashew-coconut based fudge on a layer of dark chocolate. Perfect for a fun fall dessert!

The Fall foliage is in full swing here on the East Coast. 

I hiked White Oak Canyon Trail with my friends in the Shenandoah this past weekend. 

Colorful leaves fell around us like snowflakes as we ascended the trail past *three* stunning waterfalls. 

When we got to the final and largest falls we sat down and devoured lunch. 

I had dark chocolate to share at the top, amongst other goodies. 

“This is what you get when you take a food blogger hiking,” I joked, tossing my favorite snacks at my friends to share (but also to lighten my pack, HA!). 

Afterthought: I wish I’d had these Pumpkin Fudge Layer Bars at the top. 

They’re made vegan, gluten-free, and refined-sugar-free in two delicious layers.

We start with a dark chocolate base topped off with a dairy-free pumpkin fudge! 

They taste as good as the fall foliage looks right about now.

Ready to fall in love? 

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