Homemade "Candy" Bars

These wonderful bars come together in less than 5 minutes.  Please store them in the refrigerator until it is time to serve them.  Enjoy!

You will need the following:

1 cup walnuts
10 dates (get UNpitted dates and pit them.  They are more moist.)
2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
1/4 cup extra-virgin coconut oil (You could use other coconut oil, but the coconut flavor of this kind really sings!)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Put the walnuts in your food processor:

 
 Turn it on and make them crumbly looking.

Here are the dates, all 10 of them!

 Take out the pits and remove any little stem ends.

 Grease or spray a bread pan and line it with plastic wrap.  The grease makes it much easier to get the plastic wrap in place.

 Put all of the rest of the ingredients in the food processor and process until it all starts to hold together.
Then, spread it evenly in the bottom of the bread pan and press down evenly.

 Refrigerate until firm and eat one serve!

 Delicious, AND nutritious!

Candy ~ Really.

Have you ever been to a "taffy pull?"  When I was a youngster, this was a beloved party activity, and let me tell you, now I know WHY we did it at parties.  Today I did it ALONE.  Not the most intelligent choice I ever made, but it worked out in the end.




According to what I have read, just 2 teaspoons of blackstrap molasses has:

18% of your daily requirement for manganese
14% of your daily requirement for copper
13.2% of your daily requirement for iron
11.7% of your daily requirement for calcium
9.7% of your daily requirement for potassium
7.3% of your daily requirement for magnesium
3.4% of your daily requirement for selenium
AND only 1% of your daily requirement for calories!

That is a pretty impressive list.  Here is my recipe for:

 Blackstrap Molasses Taffy

1.5 cups Organic Blackstrap molasses
3/4 cup Organic Sucanat
2 Tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon black walnut extract

Butter a Pyrex 9 x 13 inch pan.

In a heavy-bottomed, 3 quart stainless saucepan, combine the molasses, Sucanat, butter and vinegar.

Stir constantly and over medium heat, bring to a boil.

Attach a candy thermometer to the pan, and stirring, continue to cook until the temperature reaches 260 degrees F.

Remove from heat and stir in the black walnut extract.

Pour the mass into the buttered pan.

Stir around gently with a fork as it cools to bring the outer parts to the center.

When the taffy is cool enough to handle, generously butter your hands and then begin "pulling" the taffy.  This just means you stretch it, and fold it back on itself over and over.  I could not take a picture of it stretched out, because I only have 2 hands.

Continue pulling the taffy until it has lightened somewhat in color and it becomes almost firm enough that you cannot pull it any longer.

Pull it into a long rope and lay it out on waxed paper to cool.

Cut into small pieces with some sturdy scissors and wrap each one in a small piece of waxed paper.

This will make about 1 pound of candy.

Are you old enough to remember the "Pay Day" candy?  It was an "all-day" sucker on a stick that we would lick and suck on for hours.  This taffy is a Lot Like That and so so yummy!

You can feel good about feeding this to your children!  :)

This post is being shared at Simple Lives Thursday #92!  AND Real Food Wednesday