Gluten and Nut Free Vegan Magic Cookie Bars

Disclaimer: I call these nut free but they do contain coconut. The FDA requires food that contain coconut to be labeled as containing tree nuts, however coconut is not a botanical nut. Click here for more information about tree nut allergies.

I love the Magic Bars at Snowbasin. I figured it wouldn't be too hard to make a version Tommy can eat. The recipes I found online all used graham crackers for the crust, but since I haven't made a Tommy safe graham cracker yet, I went with quick oats. The crust doesn't look like it will stick together, but if you press it firmly into the pan and then carefully pour the caramel on top it will work. Refrigerate the bars overnight before you try to cut them. They are a little crumbly but they are so rich and so delicious. I intentionally didn't calculate the nutritional info for these. 

Gluten and Nut Free Vegan Magic Cookie Bars

1 can coconut milk
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt, divided
1/2 cup Earth's Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks
2 cups gluten free quick oats
2 Tbsp soynut butter
2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 cups Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups finely shredded coconut

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9 x 13" baking dish with parchment paper.
2. In a small saucepan, combine the coconut milk, brown sugar and 1/4 tsp salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Melt the Earth's Balance and soynut butter in a large microwave safe bowl.
4. Stir in the oats, cinnamon, sugar and remaining 1/4 tsp salt.
5. Press the oat mixture into the baking dish using the back of a cup measure. Carefully pour the caramel on top.
6. Layer the chocolate chips and then the shredded coconut. Gently press the coconut and chocolate chips into the caramel.
7. Bake for 25 minutes until the coconut is toasted and the caramel bubbles up around the edges.
8. Cool and then refrigerate overnight. Then cut into squares.

Jello Salad - I'm Becoming a Real Utahn...

Tommy's doing pretty well on his recovery from his tonsillectomy. The first couple days Tommy LOVED jello, but not he's not very interested in it. I'm trying to get creative on soft cold things for him to eat other than applesauce. So I'm going to try my hand at making my very first jello salad. I usually try to avoid things like this, but when your little one isn't feeling well you'll try just about anything. Maybe this is a sign that I'm becoming a real Utahn...

I saw a recipe on Pinterest for a Raspberry Vanilla Jello Salad that you make with cool whip, vanilla yogurt, instant vanilla pudding and frozen raspberries. Since Tommy can't eat any of those things except for the raspberries, I had to do some experimenting. Since I don't know that I've actually eaten a jello salad since I was a kid, this may not be a classic jello salad. But I think it tastes pretty good and Tommy ate it!

Vanilla Berry Tapioca Jello Salad

1 cup refrigerated Coconut Tapioca Pudding (see below)
1 cup refrigerated Berry Fruit Juice Jello (see below)
2 cups frozen mixed berries, thawed

1. Combine the jello and berries in a blender. Puree until smooth.
2. Stir in the tapioca pudding. Serve cold.

Coconut Tapioca Pudding

2 cans full fat coconut milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup Minute Tapioca
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Let sit for 5 minutes.
2. Heat mixture over medium heat stirring constantly until it reaches a full boil.
3. Remove from the heat and let sit for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve warm or refrigerate.

Berry Fruit Juice Jello

2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
1 cup cold berry fruit juice
2 cups berry fruit juice, heated to boiling.

1. Sprinkle gelatin over cold juice in a medium bowl. 
2. Add hot fruit juice. Stir until gelatin completely dissolves.
3. Pour into containers of your choice. Refrigerate until firm, about 3 hours.

Pumpkin Carving and Dessert

Tommy is in a phase where he really likes order. If he sees a door open that's normally closed he'll walk over and close it. So I guess it's not too surprising that he was the same way with pumpkin carving. Every time Ben would pull a handful of seeds out, Tommy would wait for his turn and put a handful of seeds in. Cutest little pumpkin carver.

I started the first round of trying recipes in preparation for Tommy's tonsillectomy next week. Thank you Pinterest for some awesome recipes. I made this Dark Chocolate Coconut Pudding from An Edible Mosaic and it is soooooo good. I followed the recipe except I didn't use the coffee or vanilla. It's a great combination of coconut and chocolate and it was really easy to make.

I'm finally getting around to using the ice cream maker for my stand mixer. I've had it a while, but until we bought a chest freezer I never had room in the freezer for the ice cream maker. I'm so excited to start making tons of coconut and soy milk ice cream!  Up first is Date-Sweetened Vanilla Ice Cream from Wing It Vegan. I'm still waiting on the ice cream maker to freeze, so I'll have to finish that tomorrow.