Chocolate Cashew Butter Cupcakes

Chocolate Cashew Butter Cupcakes

Halloween season is here, and since I never got around to posting this deliciously spooky dessert last year, I figured I might as well get it out there before the holiday passes me by. I actually cannot believe I haven't made them again since last year.  Too many new recipes to try and not enough people to eat everything, so I often don't make things twice. But after rereading the ingredients and jogging my memory with the photos, I think I'll have to make an exception.  These cupcakes are made without any flour, so they are gluten free, and because the base is cashew butter (you could definitely use any other nut butter you prefer) and eggs, they are high in protein. They are still a dessert, with a good amount of pure maple syrup, and some sugar. The Nutella frosting and skeleton decoration make them a extra sweet treat, but this is Halloween after all, and I did save some of the plain cupcakes for a semi-healthy, pre-workout, morning meal. The coolest part about this recipe was that I decorated the cupcakes at home and then transported them almost two hours to a party, and only one of the skeletons' arms fell off. They were a huge hit and so cute to look at.  And terrifyingly tasty to eat!

Dark Chocolate Pecan Bars

Dark Chocolate Pecan Bars

I came across this recipe as I was going through a bunch of the blog drafts that I have been saving for the past few months.  I knew I had made it back in the Spring, but I couldn't find any pictures saved. That's when I remembered that these were so delicious and I was so excited making them that I never took any photos before they were completely eaten (which didn't take very long at all, less than a day I believe).  So I figured I better make another batch, remember to take photos, and maybe savor them a little longer, if possible.  I do have to admit though, that the recipe shown uses cashew butter instead of pecan butter, because as I always say, you can often use whatever you have on hand at the time and substitute things in a recipe, especially nut butters, whenever needed. I didn't feel like going to the grocery store that I sometimes feel that I live at, this morning, and I had a jar of cashew butter with a "best before" date less than a month away, so I figured that would work.  And, as you can see by the photos, it certainly did.  As usual, anything made from scratch tastes better, so if I had raw nuts, like pecans, or cashews on hand, pureeing them in the food processor would have been a nice step, but jarred varieties, provided they have no, or very few other ingredients, work just as well.  I ate one large piece before going out for a walk today, and gave my kids each a piece when they got home from school.  The rest are being saved for snacks tomorrow or going into the freezer, so I can have a treat at a later date as well.  If you want to know exactly what they taste like, think of a super gooey, fudgy brownie, that melts in your mouth.  Ya, that good.

Cashew Butter Trail Mix Bars

Cashew Butter Trail Mix Bars

This recipe is a slight variation on the original Trail Mix Bars I made a few months back.  As promised, I added in some soy nuts to increase the protein and also switched up a few of the nuts and the nut butter to give it a slightly different taste.  I also left out the dark chocolate chips as I felt they overpowered the last batch and added more sugar than was necessary.  Once again, I made these as a nutritious snack for my husband and I to eat on the run since I too was getting sick of dropping seeds and nuts all over myself.  My husband texted me the other day from work actually requesting I make a batch of these because he said that eating seeds while trying to work on his computer was not fun. These bars do need to stay in the fridge in order to maintain their shape, but there is nothing about them that is perishable, so they can easily be taken with you wherever you go and are certain to keep your hunger healthfully at bay for hours.