Sweet Things & Desserts

Eating a wholesome, natural diet doesn’t preclude the occasional sweet or dessert.   Try these wholesome, healthy dessert recipes that make use of natural, nourishing ingredients like natural sweeteners, whole and sprouted grains.

	Sesame Honey Candy A traditional Greek confection, sesame seed and honey candy is just about as wholesome as candy can get with its inclusion of mineral-rich sesame seeds, unrefined sea salt and wildflower honey.
	Olive Oil Ice Cream with Blood Oranges Olive oil ice cream, enriched by pasture-raised egg yolk, fresh cream and whole milk, is dense in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.  The combination of unrefined extra virgin olive oil and blood oranges, with their fruity and floral perfumes, adds a beautiful flavor to a special and unique dessert
	Blackberry Sorbet A decidedly tart finish to supper, our family prefers to prepare this wholesome, antioxidant-rich dessert without additional sweetener, appreciating, instead, the full flavor of local blackberries frozen at their height of ripeness.
	Molasses Custard Molasses custard is well-suited to winter’s supper tables – it’s soft, sweet and satisfying. Dense in wholesome fats from pastured egg yolks and fresh cream, molasses custard is not a particularly light dessert, though it is dense in vitamin A, riboflavin, selenium, phosphorus and calcium.
	Cinnamon Molasses Cookies Pleasantly sweet and slightly salty, these cinnamon molasses cookies are perfect served alongside warm milk, hot cider or even mulled wine.
	Persimmon and Mandarin Ice Cream The ice cream is only mildly sweet and, thanks to the texture and softness of the persimmon pulp, is also fluffy and light in flavor. It is also a raw food as none of its ingredients are cooked or heated.  Persimmons are high in vitamin C, beta carotene, manganese and lycopene while cream from grass-fed cows is rich in conjugated linoleic acid and other nutrients.
	Cherry and Vanilla Bean Sorbet This cherry sorbet, is sweet, rich and potent with the deep flavor of cherries harvested and preserved at their peak ripeness.   It is also, like many good foods, elegantly simple.   When you’re ingredients are of good quality, you need very little to maximize their flavor and to present a pleasing and nourishing dish to your families, friends and guests
	Pumpkin and Molasses Custard Traditionally sweetened by molasses and baked in a pumpkin shell, this pumpkin custard offers a more traditional and authentic alternative to pumpkin pie.
	Strawberry Milk Shakes A make-it-better alternative to sugary sweet milk shakes, this recipe is good enough for breakfast: just combine strawberries, vanilla bean, raw milk and a touch of honey.
	Chilled Melon Soup Melon is packed with nutrients like beta carotene while fresh berries are rich in vitamin C and dietary fiber.   Both melon and berries are packed with antioxidants as well.   Indeed, melon boasts an ORAC value of 315 while the rankings for blackberries and raspberries are 5,347 and 4,882, respectively.   The nutrients of berries in combination with melon make for a nutrient-dense, anti-inflammatory food.
	Chocolate Mint Mousse Chocolate mint mousse- bittersweet and addictive – makes for a tasty summer treat.   The kind of treat that’ll make you forget your manners and start licking every last touch of the chocolate minty goodness from your fingertips
	Zaletti from In Late Winter We Ate Pears A crunchy, naturally sweetened cornmeal cookie traditionally served in Italy featured in the book In Late Winter We Ate Pears.
	Cinnamon Honey Ice Cream Fresh raw cream combines with honey and cinnamon for a simple, flavorful dessert.
	Blueberry Clafouti A nourishing clafouti (or skillet cake) filled with blueberries provides a pleasantly mellow dessert cake that can also double as a breakfast treat.
	Coconut Citrus Madeleines Gluten-free and grain-free,  Coconut Madeleines are one of our favorite treats: slightly sweet and flavored with lemon, orange and vanilla.   In keeping with my recent post on why you should go grain-free, I’m sharing a tried-and-true, never-fail and cherished recipe: citrus coconut madeleines.
	Blackberry Ice Cream with Wildflower Honey In the spring and summer months, when cows are grazing on fresh, green grass raw ice cream is a staple in our home.   Unlike conventional, cloyingly sweet ice creams, this ice cream is milder in is sweetness which allows you to more fully appreciate the flavor of fresh, raw cream and milk.
	Honey Custard Simply sweetened with honey, this custard combines humble ingredients for a charming dessert
	Quince Skillet Cake Quince, those odd lumpy fruits, are fried in butter before being topped by a yogurt-based batter for a wonderful autumn skillet cake.
	Sprouted Spelt and Maple Shortbread This shortbread is slightly sweet–and simple to make featuring only a handful of ingredients.   Incorporating sprouted, whole grain flour helps to increase the nutritive value and the digestibility of the sweet.   As with all sweets, it’s best eaten in moderation and for special occasions only.
	Maple Pecan Pie Soaked pecans, butter, pastured eggs and real maple syrup combine together of a sweet holiday pie.
	Soaked Flour Gingerbread Quickly becoming a staple on our wintertime table, this gingerbread is a nice treat especially served warm with a generous amount of butter.   It’s heavy on the spices, but that makes it all the better. The flour is soaked overnight to reduce antinutrients
	Election Cake Election cake, a historical recipe popular in New England, combines dried fruit, fresh eggs, flour, buttermilk and molasses for a very traditional dessert recipe.
	Coconut Kanten with Wild Plums Coconut kanten mixes coconut milk, agar agar and wild plus for a flavorful and colorful Asian-inspired dessert.
	Apples & Pears Sauteed in Butter A simple, nourishing dessert – autumn tree fruit is simply sauteed in butter and served with fresh cream and a sprinkling of cinnamon and walnuts – no sweetener needed.
	Honeyed Panna Cotta with Fresh Berries A combination of honey and cream combine with fresh berries make for a delicious summer dessert.
	Coconut-fried Bananas Coconut flour, coconut oil and bananas come together for a lovely dessert.

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