- Page 46 of 75 - Wholesome Recipes Made for Sharing

February 14, 2015

Raspberry Hand Pies

Isn’t everything more fun to eat when it’s shaped in a heart? I just couldn’t resist sharing these little raspberry hand pies with you today. I used the same dough as I did this these chocolate hazelnut toaster pastries and filled each with a couple teaspoons of jam. Surprisely simple, yet still special.

Wishing you all a beautiful day filled with love.

Raspberry Hand Pies

Yield: 10-12 hearts, depending on size

Ingredients

2 cups spelt flour
¼ cup raw unsalted pumpkin seeds
¼ cup raw unsalted sunflower seeds
1/4 cup coconut sugar
½ teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
about 1/2 cup good quality raspberry jam
coarse finishing salt and turbinado sugar for sprinkling on top

Instructions

In the bowl of a food processor, add the pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds. Process until seeds are finely ground. Add the flour, sugar, and salt and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse again until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
In a small bowl, combine vinegar and 6 tablespoons of ice water. With the food processor running, gradually add the vinegar and water. Process just until mixture begins to clump together. Transfer mixture to a lightly floured surface and finish kneading together by hand. Form dough into a disk and wrap with plastic wrap. Chill about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to approximately 1/8″ thick. Use a shaped cutter to cut into hearts.
Take one heart and spread 2 teaspoons raspberry jam in the middle, leaving a border around the edges. Top with another heart and use a fork to crimp the edges together. Repeat with the remaining hearts.
Sprinkle tops with a generous pinch coarse salt and turbinado sugar.
Bake for 11-13 minutes, until edges start to turn light golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes on tray and then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

February 12, 2015

Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Butter Cups

I would consider myself fairly low-maintenance when it comes to Valentine’s Day. For the past few years, Ryan and I have decided it wasn’t worth fighting the restaurant crowds so we’ve just been enjoying quiet evenings at home. I have also embraced my limits and decided that store-bought valentines will be just fine for my kids to give out this year (and probably every year from now on). The first year my kids brought home valentines from their classmates, I was amazed at how creative some parents were in creating homemade valentine’s with their kids. I attempted homemade valentines the following year, but it was stressful and it’s just not me. More and more I’m realizing that it’s just not possible to be the super-fun-cool-hip-creative-mom in every single area of motherhood. Of course we all hear things like this all of the time, but sometimes it’s hard for me to truly believe this in my heart. I find myself needing to pray often that I would not compare myself with others because it never does any good. This year we went to Target and the kids loved picking out their Valentine’s. They are completely happy and I have no guilt for not taking the time to make them ultra-cute.

I do enjoy making cute Valentine’s Day treats however. I’ve had these mini-wrappers in the bottom of my drawer for a few years now and I finally decided to use them on these Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Butter Cups. I think when most people hear ‘chocolate hazelnut’, Nutella probably comes to mind, but these dark chocolate cups actually feature vanilla hazelnut butter. Smooth dark chocolate wrapped around pure vanilla hazelnut butter with a sprinkle of sea salt on top- *happy sigh*, it doesn’t get much better than this for me. I wish I could send these in for the kids’ school parties, but the no-nut policy is understandably strict. Too bad, I guess that means more for us!

Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Butter Cups

Yield: makes 15-16 mini-cups

Ingredients

2 3.5 ounce dark chocolate bars, broken in pieces (I used 72%)
1/3 cup vanilla hazelnut butter (see recipe here)
coarse salt for sprinkling

Instructions

Line 15-16 mini-muffin tins with paper liners.
Set a small glass mixing bowl over a small saucepan of simmering water and place the chocolate in the mixing bowl. Stir until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth.
Taking one muffin liner at a time, place 1 teaspoon of melted chocolate into each cup and tilt slightly so the chocolate coats partway up the sides. Place muffin liner back into tin and repeat with the remaining cups.
Using the palms of your hands, roll 1 teaspoon vanilla hazelnut butter into a slightly flattened ball and place in the center of each cup. Repeat with the remaining hazelnut butter until all cups are filled.
Pour enough melted chocolate over the hazelnut butter to cover completely and form a smooth top, about 1 heaping teaspoon.
Sprinkle coarse salt on top and chill in the refrigerator to set. Store in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

Notes

adapted from The Sprouted Kitchen

February 9, 2015

Vanilla Hazelnut Butter

A super simple post for today, but it’s something the whole family has enjoyed so much that I wanted to share it. Chocolate hazelnut butter is of course a well-loved favorite, but recently we’ve discovered how pleasant this vanilla hazelnut butter can be. It’s pure hazelnut flavor, enhanced by vanilla and lightly sweetened by medjool dates. While the consistency is not as creamy as some nut butters, it’s still very spreadable and is lovely on toast or crackers. Up later this week- a special Valentine’s Day treat using this vanilla hazelnut butter!

Vanilla Hazelnut Butter

Ingredients

2 cups raw hazelnuts
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3-4 medjool dates, soaked in warm water for 20 minutes

Instructions

To remove the bitter skins off the hazelnuts, roast the hazelnuts in a single layer for 10-12 minutes in a 350 oven. Transfer the hazelnuts to a kitchen towel, and use the towel to rub the skins loose. (Removing the hazelnut skins always seems a bit tedious to me so this time I did not stress about getting every skin peeled and the results were just fine.)
Drain dates, but do not squeeze water from dates. In the bowl of a food processor or high speed blender, place the toasted hazelnuts, vanilla, and dates. Process or blend until hazelnuts become smooth and have a spreadable consistency, scraping down sides when necessary. Length of time needed to process depends on the strength of the appliance, ranging between 5-10 minutes.

Notes

*If medjool dates are extra soft, soaking may be unnecessary.
*Updated 10/21/2015: After some more experimenting, I’ve found the best results are achieved when hazelnuts are ground FIRST into a creamy nut butter to which the dates and the seeds from one vanilla bean are then added and blended into the nut butter. I’ve found this method to yield the creamiest consistency.