Originally posted on my blog: Gianelloni Family: Life As We Know It
Our Top 5 Go-To Sweet Tooth Desserts.
When we first gave up refined white sugar and candy and candy bars and boxed cake mixes and cupcakes and pre-made icing and all those other “treats”, my husband went through serious withdrawals. I remember one night he stood in the refrigerator and pounded orange juice. I asked what he was doing. He said “I need something sweet so bad”. Haha!
That’s when my sister gave us our 1st Go-To Sweet Tooth Fixing Dessert: Peppermint Patties. They were delicious. And we had our first light bulb moment: You can actually enjoy the heck out of sweets and they can even be good for you 
. My husband has a major sweet tooth. It has been fun learning new recipes that satisfy a sweet tooth. And of course having healthy dessert alternatives for our children.
Here are our top 5 (current) go-to desserts. Mostly because they are super duper easy, fast, kid-approved, and beyond delicious.
#1: Peppermint Patties
The recipe originally came from Elena’s Pantry, but my sister traded out the agave nectar for maple syrup. This recipe only has 5 ingredients, and they are amazingly heavenly. Crunchy on the outside, smooth and creamy on the inside. The perfect mixture of peppermint and chocolate. You can find the full recipe and cooking directions (HERE)
INGREDIENTS:
- ½ cup coconut oil
- ¼ cup (1/2 maple syrup & 1/2 honey)
- ½ teaspoon peppermint oil (I used organic)
- ½ to 1 cup chocolate chips (or a bar of organic dark chocolate)
We were seriously stuck on these Peppermint Patties for months. Maybe even a year.
Then (like with most things) we got sick of peppermint patties and needed something new. We found that a nice high quality bar of 60% or higher organic dark chocolate helped hit the sweet tooth spot, so we kept many bars of organic dark chocolate in our pantry. That was our “go-to” sweet tooth fix. Then we stopped being boring. Here are our next favorites after our beloved Peppermint Patties.
#2: Raw Fudge
There are many variations to raw fudge. I personally like the recipe from Organic Authority, because it contains only 5 ingredients, and then you can add any additional ingredients: nuts, peanut butter, bananas, etc….
We have never used candy or ice trays as molds. Just put on parchment paper in the freezer. You can cut into squares or before you put in freezer, you can roll the parchment paper into a log, then put in freezer and then cut into circle size pieces.
INGREDIENTS:
- 3/4 cup extra virgin organic coconut oil
- 3/4 cup raw organic honey
- 1/2 cup organic raw cocoa powder
- -dash of sea salt
- 1/2 of vanilla bean or 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
#3: Macadamia Caramel Clusters
Another Elena’s Pantry Recipe. *We substitute agave nectar with honey for this recipe. Perfected by my sister’s 10 year old, haha. These were the biggest hit at Thanksgiving. We made them last weekend. They lasted about 1/2 a day. Another super duper easy recipe, consisting of 6 ingredients. And yes, they taste just like caramel. Recipe can be found (HERE).
INGREDIENTS:
- ½ cup creamy roasted almond butter
- ½ cup honey
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ tsp celtic sea salt
- 1 cup macadamia nuts, toasted
- 1 cup chocolate drops (or dark chocolate chips or a bar of dark chocolate)
#4: Triple Chocolate Brownies (Muffins)
Recipe comes from the Dashing Dish. Seriously delicious and made for chocolate lovers. Moist and melts in your mouth, with a nice crunchy topping. Our kids devour these. So do I, and I don’t really have a sweet tooth. A bit more ingredients, but makes a lot (perfect to bring to a class party or b-day party). You can find original recipe and cooking instructions (HERE)
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 3/4 cup Oats
- 3 Egg whites
- 3/4 cup Unsweetened cocoa
- 1/2 cup Unsweetened applesauce
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup Plain Greek yogurt (or regular plain yogurt)
- 1/2 tsp Cream of tartar (or 2 tsp. vinegar)
- 1 1/2 tsp Baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp Baking soda
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1 cup Hot water
- 1/2 cup Baking stevia OR 1 cup sweetener of choice that measures like sugar (try sucanat)
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
#5: Vanilla Bavarian Cream with Blackberry Sauce (this is more of a gourmet dessert, but it’s amazing) The first time we made this, we could not believe how amazing it tasted. My sister requested it to be catered at her wedding, haha. And friends started requesting it for b-day presents. That’s how ridiculously good it is.
Recipe comes from the cookbook Nourishing Traditions. Here is an online link.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 TBS Gelatin
- 1/2 cup Water
- 4 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1 TBS vanilla extract
- 4 egg whites
- pinch of sea salt
- 2 cups heavy cream (preferably unpasteurized)
SAUCE:
- 1 12-ounce package frozen blueberries
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1-2 cups water
- Fresh blackberries for garnish
I highly recommend the cookbook/book Nourishing Traditions.
Those are just our (current) top 5, of literally thousands of healthy alternative options for those nights when you have a sweet tooth (or if you are my husband, every night).
It has been so much fun learning that it is possible to enjoy sweets and not compromise your health or immune system. Eating healthy is not only beneficial, but it is also delicious!
Anyone have a favorite sweet tooth recipe they want to share? (It has to meet these requirements: super duper easy, fast, kid-approved, and beyond delicious) 
Happy Sweet Tooth!