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Healthy Chocolate Fudge

August 10, 2020 · Natalie 37 Comments

Rich, indulgent, and made with just 5 ingredients – this Healthy Chocolate Fudge is vegan, paleo, oil-free, and sweetened naturally!

When life hands you peanuts and you discover a bag of pretzels in the back of the top shelf of the pantry that you cannot remember when/why you bought…fudge. Fudge is the answer.

Maybe not the only answer, because peanuts + pretzel is a pretty bomb combo that has a lot of recipe potential (peanut pretzel streusel something was a close runner up), but it’s a really really good answer. Adding a deeply dark chocolate, date-sweetened, hunk of no-bake chocolate heaven underneath just makes sense.

I know “healthy” is a tricky adjective – this is not fudge made from kale, sorry to disappoint. But it is also not fudge made from butter or milk marshmallow fluff. This is fudge that falls gracefully somewhere in between leafy greens and candy shop. This is fudge that you can eat two pieces back to back without feeling like you have become sugar. This is fudge that makes me question why I waited so long to make homemade Healthy Chocolate Fudge?

Healthier Fudge Ingredients

I truly could not be happier with this easy lineup. We got:

Unsweetened chocolate. You can use dark or semi-sweet, but the dates are sweet enough so I recommend 100% cacao a.k.a. unsweetened.
Medjool dates. And yes you should soak them first unless they are already super squishy, date chunks = NOT dreamy fudge texture.
Coconut milk. I haven’t tested with other milks, almond might work, but I can tell you for sure that canned coconut milk will yield the best fudge texture.
Cocoa (or cacao) powder. It is healthy CHOCOLATE fudge after all.
Salt. Be generous with your pinching.
Toppings. I topped mine with crush pretzels and toasted peanuts, but I left you some other ideas in the notes section. Also no toppings, just unadulterated fudge flavor, would be delicious.

A Few Fudge Tips

Soak the dates for easier smoother blending.
Have all the ingredients at room temp so the melted chocolate doesn’t seize up when mixing.
Mix the date mixture and cocoa powder first, then add the chocolate. The mixture will thicken quite quickly once you add the melted chocolate.
Refrigerate at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight.
Line the pan with parchment (not wax) paper for easier removal.

One of these fudgy squares in the evening post-dinner/pre-bed for a sweet something…HITS THE SPOT. It’s something so much better experienced than written about, so happy fudge making to you!

P.S. If you are tiptoe-ing into the pumpkin mood already, I got fall fudge for you too.

Healthy Chocolate Fudge

★★★★★ 5 from 10 reviews

Author: Natalie
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 8 hours (chilling time)
Total Time: 8 hours 15 minutes
Yield: 12 squares 1x
Category: chocolate
Method: no bake
Cuisine: american

Print Recipe

Description

Rich, indulgent, and made with just 5 ingredients – this Healthy Chocolate Fudge is vegan, paleo, oil-free, and sweetened naturally!

Ingredients

Scale

8oz unsweetened chocolate
1 cup (200g) pitted medjool dates
2/3 cup (160g) coconut milk
1/2 cup (50g) cocoa powder
Pinch of salt
Crushed pretzels and chopped peanuts for topping*

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Instructions

Soak the dates in warm water for 10 minutes. Drain.
Blend the dates and coconut milk until very smooth.
Melt the chocolate.
In a bowl, combine the date paste, cocoa powder, and salt. Stir to combine.
Stir in the melted chocolate. It will get quite thick.
Press into a lined pan (mine was 8×5″), top with peanuts and pretzels, refrigerate overnight.
Slice and eat. Keep leftovers in the refrigerator.

Notes

*Optional. Leave them off or replace with cacao nibs, chopped hazelnuts, coconut flakes, etc.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 square
Calories: 223
Sugar: 11g
Sodium: 66mg
Fat: 14g
Saturated Fat: 9g
Carbohydrates: 21g
Fiber: 5g
Protein: 4g

Keywords: vegan, paleo, sugar free, dairy free, easy, peanut, pretzel, salted, dark chocolate, no bake, dessert, medjool dates

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Paleo “Oatmeal” Cookies

August 4, 2020 · Natalie 26 Comments

All the delicious chunky, crispy-edged, chocolate chip goodness of oatmeal cookies but paleo without any oats or grains. Easy, one bowl, less than 30 minutes!

I simply set out to make a yummy healthier cookie filled with hemp seeds and almond butter and cacao nibs and things, but they turned out JUST LIKE OATMEAL COOKIES. The texture is freakishly identical with no oats involved. And of course I love every inch of these cookies, but those edges. The gloriously crispy browned edges. The best part ♡

What’s in These Paleo “Oatmeal” Cookies?

Not an oat, not one single oat.
Almond flour. These cookies don’t require much flour, but almond keeps them super moist and grain-free.
Hemp seeds. These are what give them the chunky “oat” texture, plus a little healthy fat and protein and flavor.
Coconut sugar. For that caramelized “brown sugar” sweetness.
Flax eggs. Almond flour doesn’t bind much by itself, so this is key for holding the cookies together. I used a little less water than the typical flax egg ratio, so be sure to note that in the recipe. Real eggs will work too.
Almond butter. This helps bind, keeps them moist, makes them spread – its very essential. Other nut/seed butters will work as well, personally I just love the flavor of AB.
Coconut oil. I tested an oil-free version with non-dairy milk instead – delicious, but not as crispy and they don’t spread as well.
Cacao nibs. Instead of chocolate chips, they are crunchier and more bitter which I love since these cookies are quite sweet. Chocolate chips are fine too of course, but I used these sweet cacao nibs from Sunfood which are lightly sweetened with coconut sugar and a perfect in between.

Tips for perfect Cookies

Bake them the full 15 minutes. Don’t take these babies out early, you want them to be nice and golden on the edges and tops. They will have better taste and texture this way.
Don’t crowd the pan, these cookies do spread quite a bit.
Use a very drippy almond butter.
Measure by weight. I always recommend this, it will save you time in cleanup and be more precise too.
Eat minimum one spoonful of dough. This is more a happiness tip than a perfect cookie tip I suppose. But still important.
Freeze them! Not the dough, the finished cookies. If you’ve never had an oatmeal cookie straight from the freezer you’re missing out. This may or may not be the summer 90º+ weather talking too.

I realize these Paleo “Oatmeal” Cookies aren’t nearly as cost effective as a traditional oatmeal cookie, but trust me they are very tastebuds = HAPPY effective. If you are looking for OATmeal cookie options:

Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies (oat flour + oats)
Vegan Oatmeal Cream Pies
Almond Butter Oatmeal Bars (date-sweetened)