Candy corn seems to be one of those foods that divides families. People either love it or they hate it. Personally, I’m addicted to it. Sometimes it tastes good; other times it tastes like nail polish remover. But I will always eat it.

Still, candy corn on its own can be a bit much; I find it’s better with other things like Chex mix or Halloween crack corn that cut through the sweetness. White chocolate isn’t going to do much for that but peanuts and a little bit of dark chocolate definitely do. This bark is all around fun if you like candy corn and sweet treats.

White Chocolate Candy Corn Bark

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 16 pieces):

• 8oz(1 cup) white chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup candy corn
• 1/4 cup roasted peanuts
• 1/4 cup chocolate chip

Method:

1. Melt the white chocolate chips in a microwave or over a double boiler.
2. Pour the melted chocolate onto a non-stick surface and spread it into a layer about 3/8-inch thick.
3. Evenly drop the candy corn, peanuts, and chocolate chips onto the bark and press them in gently.
4. Move the chocolate to the refrigerator or freezer to harden for 15-20 minutes.
5. Cut the bark with a sharp knife into asymmetrical pieces. Store in the refrigerator when not eating.

If you serve this at a Halloween party you can make up fun stories like how the white chocolate is ectoplasm and the chocolate chips are ghost droppings. I don’t know what the candy corn and peanuts would be; any ideas?

The seasonal candies are always my favorite part of the holidays. I’ll usually wait until the day after each holiday to go to the store and buy it all half-off, but why wait when you can make your own? I’ve made my own peanut butter cups before and it’s never been a hassle. Pumpkins seemed like a bit more of a challenge but oh so worth it.

This recipe is also my entry in a Smart Balance recipe contest that starts today. They’ve asked 20 contestants to make a recipe using one or more of their products and put them on their Facebook page for fans to vote for. I love the Smart Balance peanut butter because of its rich, amber flavor. It has added plant-based omega-3s which are always good for a vegetarian diet.

Besides peanut butter, this recipe is super simple and uses only 4 other ingredients you probably already have: buttery spread(or butter), powdered sugar, and chocolate chips. The process doesn’t take much time at all even though there are quite a few steps. Just make sure to have room in your freezer to cool these quickly so you can move from one step to the next without waiting too long.

I found the pumpkin cookie cutter on Amazon and got it along with some other shapes; they also probably sell them in most craft stores around this time, too. You can use different cookie cutters for different holidays and keep the recipe year round. The basic steps will always be the same.

Homemade Peanut Butter Pumpkins

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 16 pumpkins*):

• 1 cup Smart Balance creamy peanut butter
• 1 Smart Balance buttery stick(1/2 cup), melted
• 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• Pumpkin shaped cookie cutter
• Wax paper

*The yield will vary based on the size of your cookie cutters. I used a pretty standard 3-inch cookie cutter and got 16 pumpkins.

Method:

1. In a large bowl, combine the peanut butter and melted buttery stick until it’s homogenous.
2. Sift in the powdered sugar stirring it in until it’s completely mixed in.
3. Get out 2 sheets of parchment paper and place the peanut butter dough between the two. Press down until the dough is about 3/8-inch thick.
4. Cut out as many pumpkins in the dough as you can. Put the dough into a freezer for 10-15 minutes until the dough is stiff.
5. While the dough is in the freezer, melt the chocolate in the microwave or over a double boiler until it’s smooth.
6. Take the dough out of the freezer and remove the pumpkins from the extra trim.
7. On a separate piece of parchment paper, spoon tablespoons of melted chocolate about 3 inches from one another.
8. Take each pumpkin and place them on top of the melted chocolate, pressing down and moving them around to cover the bottom. Repeat with all the pumpkins.
9. If you desire, decorate the pumpkins by making faces or lines with a toothpick.
10. Place the pumpkins back in the freezer until the chocolate is hardened. Take off the parchment paper and keep these in the refrigerator until ready to eat.
11. Keep repeating this process with the extra dough and melted chocolate until it’s entirely used up.

The peanut butter parts holds its shape but stays pretty soft so you can bite straight through it into the thin chocolate. I handed these out to friends last week and even though it was still September it definitely stirred some Halloween excitement. These would definitely be a hit at any party this time of year. If you like the recipe, too, don’t forget to vote!

I don’t think bark should be a holiday food. It’s chocolate, nuts, and dried fruit—what’s holiday-like about that?! That sounds like anytime food to me. So feel free to make this whenever you feel like.

This is an actually an old recipe from my archives. Last time I made it I wasn’t happy with the photos so I thought I’d give it another post, not that I need much convincing when chocolate’s involved. I love white chocolate but don’t buy it very often. It’s much better at pairing with other flavors than just on its own.

The tart cherries and unsweet almonds help to curb the sweetness of the white chocolate, and the dark chocolate on the bottom adds a bit of bitterness to the mix. Altogether it’s a winning combination.

You can use sliced, crushed, or slivered almonds—whatever you have. Also feel free to swap in cherry flavored craisins if you get to the store and realize you don’t feel like paying more for dried cherries; you’d be in good company.

White Chocolate Cherry Almond Bark

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound white chocolate
• 1/2 pound semi-sweet or bitter-sweet chocolate
• 1/2 cup sweetened or unsweetened dried cherries
• 1/2 cup shaved almonds

Method:

1. Start by melting either the white or dark chocolate—whichever you want to be the base of the bark(I started with the white)—in a microwave or over a double boiler. Melt until completely smooth.
2. Lay the chocolate out in a thin layer on a non-stick surface like wax paper.
3. Melt the other chocolate and carefully spread it on top of the first layer, gently swirling the two together with a utensil.
4. Sprinkle on the cherries and the almonds all over the chocolate and press them in lightly with your hand.
5. Freeze the chocolate for about 20 minutes until it has completely hardened.
6. With a sharp knife, cut the chocolate into unequal pieces. Store for up to 2 weeks.

The best recipes on food blogs are always the ones filled with comments from readers who loved it as well. I’m lucky to say this is one of those recipes.

A lot of readers have stumbled onto my almond flour brownie recipe through google or Pinterest or word of mouth and I get excited every time another person has said they tried them and loved them. I(and most of you) think they really are that good.

What makes this brownie recipe great is that it doesn’t taste “special”; you couldn’t eat these and tell that they’re made with almond flour or are gluten-free at all. They just taste like a really good, fudgy brownie recipe.

One of my secrets to good brownies is using melted baking chocolate instead of melted chocolate chips in the batter; it’s more reliable for even, smooth melting and has a more decadent chocolate flavor. Another is adding a little bit of coffee into batter just to perk up the flavor.

We had a party a couple weeks ago so I jumped at the chance to make these for the first time in ages, partly because I wanted to take new photos of them but partly because I was just craving brownies. There weren’t any leftovers and I was kicking myself for not making more.

My favorite brownies? They’re actually grasshopper brownies, but I will happily “settle” for these any day. Just be sure to double the batch, especially if you’re expecting company. Oh, and bring ice cream. And caramel sauce.

I can’t believe it took me almost a month and a half this Summer to break out my ice cream maker. Even though it doesn’t get as much use as most of my other kitchen appliances, it’s definitely my favorite. How can you not love anything that takes milk and spits out ice cream?

There’s a great ice cream parlor near the house I stay at in Maine that makes their own fun flavors. I made it there once this Summer before being reminded that full-fat dairy ice cream really doesn’t agree with me. Womp womp. I hear they have great ginger ice cream so I thought I’d make my own.

This ice cream has fresh and dried ginger for a strong punch of flavor. I always think of ginger and honey going together in recipes so it seemed like a good flavor to introduce here. If you’re vegan or don’t want to include it, you can easily swap it out for another 1/4 cup of sweetener.  

Honey Ginger Ice Cream

Prep time: 25 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 6-8 servings):

• 1/4 cup honey
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 15oz cans of coconut milk
• 2 Tablespoons shaved fresh ginger
• 1 Tablespoon ginger powder

Method:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients until the sugar has dissolved.
2. Pour the base into an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s directions.
3. Move the freshly frozen ice cream into an airtight container and let it harden in the freezer for a couple of hours to chill completely.
4. Before serving, let the ice cream sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes to soften.

For an extra touch of flavor you can add some lemon zest into the base; I was a little worried that the three together might be overwhelming and hard to distinguish but now I’m dying to try it.