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5-Minute Caramel Apple Butter

· Natalie 13 Comments

This 5-Minute Caramel Apple Butter is the quickest easiest apple butter made right in the blender, but still as smooth and sweet as the traditional kind. Perfect as a filling, topping, dip, or spread!

5-Minute Caramel Apple Butter | Naturally-Sweetened & No-Cook

And by apple butter I mean apple “butter” because this is like a lazy cheaters version of what is usually a slow-simmered sweet spread. But if you are like me and would rather sweeten with dates than sugar and turn on the blender than heat up the stove, then I think you will see the beauty in this no-cook apple butter/”butter” cheat too!

5-Minute Caramel Apple Butter | Naturally-Sweetened & No-Cook

Only one apple on hand but you want to make apple butter? Problem solved.

Only 5 minutes but you want to make apple butter? Problem solved.

Shiny green granny smith apple in the fridge that you don’t know what to do with because they are abysmally tart for straight snacking? Problem solved.

Slice of crusty toast or warm bowl of oatmeal just begging for an instantly fall-festive topping? Problem solved.

No pots, pans, or knives in your entire house but you are in dire need of a spoonful of something sweet? Problem solved.

Too many dates and don’t know what to…wait…that never happens.

So pretty much this 5-Minute Caramel Apple Butter is solving all the major pressing world problems. World, you are welcome.

I realize I just kinda snuck that C word in there, didn’t I? I should mention, it is not only easier and faster than any other apple butter, but it’s also CARAMEL apple butter!! Basically if you took an entire caramel apple, shoved it in a blender, and blended until smooth and creamy you would end up with this delicious stuff.

However, the reverse is not true. You can turn caramel apple into caramel apple butter, but not caramel apple butter into the on-a-stick snack. At least not with any kitchen gadget I know of. A reverse un-blending blender, how awesome would that be??

Don’t worry though, I have a not-on-a-stick caramel apple butter snack idea coming your way very very soon…!

5-Minute Caramel Apple Butter | Naturally-Sweetened & No-Cook

Anywho…enough about un-blenders, back to the butter!

So maybe I am a cheater, skipping the actual cooking part of the apple butter process, but when it comes to testing out and finding what type of apple works best in this blender butter I did not skimp. I tested 3 different apples and I can report that the type of apple actually makes quite a big difference…

Sweet red apple. I used a Fuji for the first batch, and the apple flavor was too overpowered by the dates. Delicious, yes! But not as apple-y as I would like.

Gritty apple. No, just no! Since the apple is not cooked in this apple butter, a gritty apple will ruin the smooth texture of the apple butter. For anything not cooked, just avoid these entirely. Why do they even exist again?

Tart green apple. Yes I’m looking at you Granny. Granny Smith that is. This is the perfect apple for this recipe, which makes sense since they are the classic caramel apple apple too. Lots of apple flavor and the perfect tart balance to the sweet dates. Even the aroma was twice as apple-y with this batch. We have a winner!

The dates are plenty sweet enough to mimic the sugar-y taste of a traditional cooked apple butter. But for texture, adding in a quarter cup of maple syrup is very helpful. Plus it certainly doesn’t hurt the fall flavor vibe. You can swap it out for water or nondairy milk instead, but the end product won’t be as smooth.

So are you ready to cheat your way to speedy scrumptious blender Caramel Apple Butter with me?!

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5-Minute Caramel Apple Butter

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  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Total Time: 5 minutes
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Description

This Caramel Apple Butter is the quickest easiest apple butter made right in the blender, but still as smooth and sweet as the traditional spread!

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 granny smith apple
  • 8 pitted Medjool dates
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup*

Instructions

  1. Core and roughly chop the apple.
  2. Add all the ingredients to a blender.
  3. Blend on high until very smooth. You may need to use the tamper to get it to blend, try to avoid adding more water if possible to keep the texture thick.
  4. Transfer to an airtight jar and keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
  5. It is wonderful as a dip or spread, stirred into oatmeal, baked into sweet treats, or by the spoonful!

Notes

*You can substitute the maple syrup with water or nondairy milk, but the texture of the apple butter will not be as smooth.

The only thing that could make this apple + caramel flavor party even better is some peanut butter! Oh look I found the perfect PB vehicle…Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars

Why yes, yes it could double as a frosting atop a Cinnamon Cupcake!

Three words: Caramel Apple Pop-Tart. Or is that four?

Did you say you wanted more caramel + apple goodness? Right this way…Caramel Apple Pie Bars

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5-Minute Caramel Apple Butter | Naturally-Sweetened & No-Cook

Chai Spiced Quick Bread

· Natalie 119 Comments

Your favorite spiced tea transformed into a soft, frosted, date-sweet slice–this healthy Chai Spiced Quick Bread is the perfect cozy sweet treat! Vegan, gluten-free, oil-free.

Chai Spiced Quick Bread {vegan, gluten-free, oil-free}

A quick bread without frosting I can handle. Some quick breads are possibly even better that way. But a frosting without a quick bread or a cake or some sort of soft, baked spot to call home…we can’t let that happen! So with all that creamy vanilla frosting from yesterday’s post on hand, I really had no choice but to do a bit of fall-flavored bread-baking.

Chai Spiced Quick Bread {vegan, gluten-free, oil-free}Chai Spiced Quick Bread {vegan, gluten-free, oil-free}

While I do like coffee, I don’t drink it regularly. It’s not a habit I want to start, so I only have it if I am at some sort of cute cozy cafe where someone much more skilled will make it for me. But if there is a chai latte on the menu I will pick that in an instant over any sort of coffee beverage. And while I’ve been known to drink a non-iced chai latte even in the middle of summer, it’s these chillier months when the flavors of warm chai tea are the most enticing.

The spices that make up chai seem to vary a bit depending on who you ask or what brand of tea you are using. Cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger are always in there, but the rest can vary to include allspice, cloves, anise, black pepper, or all of the above. To avoid complete spice jar overwhelm, I stuck with cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and cloves. I would’ve added in anise as well, since I love that licorice-y flavor, but I didn’t have any on hand–ground or flower-shaped form.

In addition to the ground spices, I also used actual chai tea in this recipe to bump up the spice and cover any I left out. Since date paste is the sweetener and base for this quick bread recipe, I just swapped out the usual water for blending with chai tea. Easy and extra flavorful!

Chai Spiced Quick Bread {vegan, gluten-free, oil-free}Chai Spiced Quick Bread {vegan, gluten-free, oil-free}Chai Spiced Quick Bread {vegan, gluten-free, oil-free}

And all those lovely spices mingling in every soft, crumbly, spiced slice makes this quick bread the perfect pair for a thick layer of frosting…

Chai Spiced Quick Bread {vegan, gluten-free, oil-free}

Now I certainly wouldn’t say no to a hot chai mug alongside my slice of chai bread either if anyone here is really good at latte making and just wants to send one my way! Nope, no takers? Okay fine, I’ll make it for myself. As long as you go make this quick bread for yourself. And be sure to tag me @feastingonfruit and #feastingonfruit if you do!

Chai Spiced Quick Bread {vegan, gluten-free, oil-free}Chai Spiced Quick Bread {vegan, gluten-free, oil-free}

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Chai Spiced Quick Bread

★★★★★ 4.9 from 12 reviews
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 35 minutes
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 8 slices 1x
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Description

A spiced tea favorite transformed into a soft, frosted, date-sweet slice–this healthy Chai Spiced Quick Bread is the perfect cozy sweet treat! Vegan, gluten-free, oil-free.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 12 pitted medjool dates
  • 1 cup prepared chai tea
  • 1 1/4 cup oat flour
  • ¼ cup tapioca starch
  • 1/4 cup nondairy milk
  • 2 tsps baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ginger
  • 1/2 tsp cardamom
  • 1/4 tsp cloves
  • Optional: Low-Fat Vegan Vanilla Frosting

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
  2. Pour the chai tea over the dates and soak for 10 minutes. Blend the chai tea, dates, lemon juice, non-dairy milk, and vanilla on high until smooth.
  3. In a large mixing bowl combine the dry ingredients and mix briefly.
  4. Add the date mixture. Stir to combine.
  5. Lightly oil or line a loaf pan and pour in your batter, smoothing out the top.
  6. Bake for 35 minutes at 350F.
  7. Cool completely before frosting and slicing. Keep in the fridge. It is best fresh and will dry out over time.

Notes

This bread is not very sweet. If you want a sweeter loaf, you can add 1/4 cup maple syrup and an extra 1/4 cup oat flour to make up for the extra moisture.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 slice
  • Calories: 179
  • Sugar: 24g
  • Fat: 2g
  • Saturated Fat: 0g
  • Carbohydrates: 41g
  • Fiber: 3g
  • Protein: 3g

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chai-spiced-quick-bread

Low-Fat Vegan Vanilla Frosting {with Japanese sweet potato!}

· Natalie 84 Comments

Vegan vanilla frosting with that wonderfully creamy thick texture, but without refined sugar, butter, or oil. This unconventionally delicious icing is made with just 4 healthy ingredients and perfect for topping cakes, cupcakes, cookies, and more!

Low-Fat Vegan Vanilla Frosting (made with Japanese sweet potato!)

I can’t even tell you how long I have wanted to type out that title. A low-fat vegan VANILLA frosting is something that has alluded me for some time now. Chocolate? Easy peasy. You can use dates or sweet potato or protein powder or any number of things as the base, the cacao color and flavor covers them all. But vanilla. Preserving the beautiful creamy color and delicate flavor of vanilla is much trickier when using unconventional frosting ingredients.

Vanilla sweet potato frosting looks like a pumpkin. Vanilla date frosting is caramel frosting. Vanilla protein powder frosting looks more like cement than a cupcake-topping. Finding a buttercream-colored base without butter, cream, or refined sugar is tricky business.

But after making this purple pipe-able frosting fun, I had an idea: Japanese sweet potato!

Low-Fat Vegan Vanilla Frosting (made with Japanese sweet potato!)

It’s thick and creamy. It’s light in color. And (most importantly) it’s delicious! It would be a lie to say the teaspoon of vanilla bean powder in this recipe completely masks all sweet potato flavor and it tastes identical to buttercream frosting. It doesn’t. But the natural sweetness and flavor of Japanese sweet potato compliments the vanilla wonderfully, and means you don’t have to use very much maple syrup to get it frosting-sweet.

Low-Fat Vegan Vanilla Frosting (made with Japanese sweet potato!)

You want to be sure to bake your Japanese sweet potato for this recipe as opposed to steaming or boiling. The added moisture of those cooking methods will make the frosting not as thick in the end. You can bake it in the microwave or oven, depending on how much time you have, and then remove the peel and mash it before measuring. Mashing it really well first helps it blend up creamier.

Vanilla bean powder is an essential ingredient of course. You can use vanilla extract instead, but I really love the stronger flavor of the powder in a recipe like this where vanilla is the main flavor. Anywhere from 1/2 to 1 tsp, depending on how much you like. And a couple of tablespoons of maple syrup is plenty of sweetness in my opinion, but you can add more to your tastes. Then just add nondairy milk 1 tablespoon at a time until it smooths out just enough to get rid of all those chunks. Letting it run in the food processor for a while helps with that too, I recommend at least a couple of minutes.

Low-Fat Vegan Vanilla Frosting (made with Japanese sweet potato!)

Pipe it on cupcakes into tall swirly-sweet peaks. Spread it between two layers of freshly baked chocolate cake. Dollop on a mug cake and dive in spoon first. Sandwich it between a couple of cookies. Or even decorate a gingerbread man. So many frosting-ibilities! Yes that is a word, just go with it.

Or wait until tomorrow when I’ll be sharing the recipe for that delicious loaf bread up above…!

Low-Fat Vegan Vanilla Frosting (made with Japanese sweet potato!)

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Low-Fat Vegan Vanilla Frosting (made with Japanese sweet potato!)

★★★★★ 5 from 7 reviews
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 10 minutes
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Description

Vegan vanilla frosting with that wonderfully creamy thick texture, but without refined sugar, butter, or oil. This unconventionally delicious icing is made with just 4 healthy ingredients and perfect for topping cakes, cupcakes, cookies, and more!

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 cup baked and mashed Japanese sweet potato*
  • 2–3 tbsp maple syrup
  • 4–5 tbsps nondairy milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean powder

Instructions

  1. Combine all the ingredients except for the nondairy milk in a food processor.
  2. Process, adding nondairy milk one tablespoon at a time until it is creamy and smooth. It may take a while to get rid of all the lumps (up to 2 or 3 minutes of processing time).
  3. Pipe or spread onto your cake/bread/cookie and enjoy. It is best used immediately after making as it will become much more firm and difficult to spread in the fridge.

Notes

As there seems to be some confusion, by Japanese sweet potato I am referring to the kind with the white flesh and purple skin. Like this.

Low-Fat Vegan Vanilla Frosting (made with Japanese sweet potato!)

No-Bake Gingerbread Bars

· Natalie 25 Comments

Sweet, spiced, and so easy, these No-Bake Gingerbread Bars are a perfect healthy vegan on-the-go snack. Dreamy coconut butter glaze optional, but makes them extra delicious!

No-Bake Gingerbread Bars

I just realized I am unconsciously falling into a gingerbread mondays pattern. Or I suppose since this is the internet I should say #gingerbreadmonday although that really is the opposite of catchy.

Last week there was nice cream. This week these delicious date bars. Next week I have something baked and deliciously ginger-spiced planned. I didn’t mean for it to happen, I just love gingerbread and can’t think of a better way to start off any winter-y week. And yes I do know that it’s technically still fall, but in my mind once I have to trade shorts for pants it’s basically winter.

No-Bake Gingerbread BarsNo-Bake Gingerbread Bars

These bars are inspired by Larabar’s seasonal gingerbread flavor, but much easier to find. They tend to frequent food processors, so look there first. Dark brown, sticky, cinnamon-fragrant, just sitting and waiting to be turned from dough ball to bar. My version is made with oats instead of almonds and cashews, so they are lower in fat and nut-free. Also, I added molasses because in my opinion that is gingerbread essential.

Now can we just take a moment to imagine how amazing one of these bars broken up into chewy ginger-spiced pieces and stirred into this would taste…(you better be doing it too, don’t make me do all the imagining by myself)…mmmm I will be testing that out that very soon!

No-Bake Gingerbread Bars

But now let’s address the creamy, white, drizzled-on elephant in the room post–the glaze! No it’s not low-fat. Yes it did take me 4 tries to get right. No it is not at all necessary to glaze a snack bar (but zero regrets). Yes it is as dreamy as can be…

No-Bake Gingerbread Bars

The glaze is made with 3 ingredients: coconut butter, maple syrup, and non-dairy milk. I have tried making low-fat glazes before but they always just soak in or melt off much to fast and end up everywhere except on top of the food. To avoid using coconut oil, I turned to it’s thicker, less-processed cousin: coconut butter. And what I’ve learned is that it is one tricky beast!

Too cold–it’s clumpy. Too hot–it’s clumpy. Stir it counter-clockwise instead of clockwise–it’s clumpy. Okay maybe not that last one, but it is very temperamental. Like the Goldilocks of food. But with some guidance from Arman (who I’m pretty sure is also the coconut butter whisperer) I finally managed to get a perfect pours-off-the-spoon-but-not-the-food glaze. And then, of course, tested it 2 more times just to make sure I had it figured out before sharing.

Once you get it right it has a marvelous texture for drizzling, I find myself wanting to put it on everything. And if you follow this glaze recipe then refrigerate it overnight, it turns into a wonderfully spreadable frosting.

If you want a lower-fat alternative for drizzling on top of these bars (and everything else), might I suggest this -> Silky Sweet Date Caramel Sauce

No-Bake Gingerbread Bars

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No-Bake Gingerbread Bars

★★★★★ 5 from 1 review
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 60 minutes
  • Total Time: 70 minutes
  • Yield: 4 bars 1x
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Description

Sweet, spiced, and so easy, these No-Bake Gingerbread Bars are a perfect healthy on-the-go snack. Dreamy coconut butter glaze optional, but extra delicious!

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 cup pitted Medjool dates
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ginger
  • 2 tbsp molasses

Glaze

  • 1/4 cup coconut butter
  • 1–2 tbsp maple syrup
  • 2–4 tbsp nondairy milk

Instructions

  1. Combine all the ingredients for the bars in a food processor. Process until it forms a sticky ball of dough.
  2. Press into a rectangle.
  3. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
  4. To make the glaze, microwave/warm the coconut butter slightly until it is soft and melty. Add the maple syrup and 1 tablespoon of nondairy milk. Stir vigorously. Keep adding nondairy milk 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach a drizzle-able consistency.
  5. Cut the rectangle into 4 bars. Top with glaze. Enjoy.
  6. The bars will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days, but it is best to glaze them just before eating.

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No-Bake Gingerbread Bars with Coconut Butter Glaze

Oil-Free Chocolate Coconut Granola

· Natalie 57 Comments

With 2 kinds of oats, rice crisps, and coconut flakes this Oil-Free Chocolate Coconut Granola is the ultimate crunchy, cluster-packed sweet snack or cereal!

Oil-Free Chocolate Coconut Granola

Oil-Free Chocolate Coconut Granola courtesy of yours truly. Falsely festive vibes courtesy of striped dishtowel. There is nothing holiday-flavored about this granola, but from the look of things you would think it was made of nothing but candy canes and fruitcake. In real life those stripes are actually much more magenta than Christmas red, so I wasn’t going for the candy striped look. But hey, we started the week with gingerbread, why not keep the premature holiday mood rolling.

Oil-Free Chocolate Coconut Granola

I suppose you could say homemade granola dressed up in a ribbon-wrapped mason jar would be a lovely holiday gift. Or you could say chocolate is always appropriate no matter the holiday. Or you could say that sprinkling on extra coconut after baking looks like snow flurries falling on granola ground.

But I really just whipped up this super easy snack/cereal because it is long past time I expanded on my original oil-free but oh so crunchy granola with some flavor fun! And chocolate seemed like the obvious place to start. And coconut seemed like the obvious mix-in match.

Oil-Free Chocolate Coconut Granola

I have also found a new favorite granola addition: steel cut oats! I stand by my original combination of rolled oats and crispy brown rice cereal, but add steel cut oats in too and the texture is even better. Light airy crunch of crispy rice, chewy granola-familiar flakes of rolled oats, and crunchy little nubs of steel cut oats–that’s a lot of textural diversity.

Take all that texture plus chocolate, coat it in my oil-free granola-crunchifying secret weapon, maple syrup, stir in the coconut flakes, and you have the perfect sweet snack-able cacao coconut clusters!

Oil-Free Chocolate Coconut Granola

Or cereal. I’m usually more of a granola by the handful or as a topping for creamy things kind of person. But chocolate granola is a different story because 3 words: chocolate cereal milk. 

Oil-Free Chocolate Coconut Granola

Speaking of breakfast foods that can also be snack foods that are really easy to make (okay that was a stretch)…did you see the English muffin recipe I shared on The Big Man’s World this week? Made with oats. Made without oil. Made in the microwave in 2 minutes (or there’s an oven option!) Made to be slathered with jam or nut butter or frosting!

2 Minute Oat English Muffin

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Oil-Free Chocolate Coconut Granola

★★★★★ 5 from 10 reviews
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 6 servings 1x
  • Category: snacks
  • Method: baking
  • Cuisine: american
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Description

With 2 kinds of oats, crispy rice, and coconut flakes this Oil-Free Chocolate Coconut Granola is the ultimate crunchy, cluster-packed sweet snack or cereal!

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 1 cup crispy brown rice cereal
  • ½ cup steel cut oats*
  • ¼ cup cacao or cocoa powder
  • Optional: pinch of salt
  • ½ cup maple syrup
  • ¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut or coconut flakes

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375F.
  2. Combine the rolled oats, steel cut oats, rice cereal, cacao/cocoa powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Stir briefly to combine.
  3. Add the maple syrup. Mix to evenly coat.
  4. Stir in the coconut.
  5. Spread onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Press into a solid rectangle.
  6. Bake for 10 minutes at 375F.
  7. Let it cool for at least 30 minutes before breaking apart for the most clusters.
  8. Transfer to an airtight jar. It will keep for 1-2 weeks.

Notes

You could alternatively use buckwheat, seeds, nuts, or just more rolled oats instead of the steel cut oats.

Keywords: gluten free, chocolate, snacks, healthy, easy, dairy free, oatmeal

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Oil-Free Chocolate Coconut Granola

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