Halloween Munch Dark Chocolate Bark

Halloween munch dark chocolate bark is a fun and creative way of using healthier Halloween candy products! 

For October’s virtual cooking class, I wanted to create a fun, festive and kid friendly dessert using healthier candy products. It’s so easy to switch out sugar and overly processed-filled Halloween candy products with healthier brands like Yum Earth, That’s It, Hu Kitchen and so much more (product recommendations for this recipe at the bottom!)

Halloween bark recipe is as simple as they come! Using only 3-ingredients to make the bark, and topped with your favorite go-to halloween candy products or venturing out into the healthier but still spookier side!

FAQs and tips on making dark chocolate bark: 

• After the chocolate has cooled, it is hard to spread or for toppings to stick so work quickly while your chocolate is still warm! 

• Storage? If the chocolate bark is set out at room temperature for too long, it will start to melt so best to store in the fridge for about a week or the freezer for 2 months. Don’t expect it to last that long in your house, though! 

• A spatula or back of a spoon are the best tools to spread the chocolate across a parchment paper lined baking sheet. 

• You can obviously use a double broiler to melt your chocolate but the fastest and easiest method is simply using a microwave! Microwave in 30 second increments while stirring until melted. 

Other great Halloween recipes: spookylicious green smoothie

If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo to #fromtherootsblog on Instagram. We love seeing what you come up with!

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Halloween munch dark chocolate bark is a fun and creative way of using healthier Halloween candy products! 

SERVINGS: 6-8 | PREP TIME: 5 MIN | COOK TIME: N/A

Ingredients

• 2 cups dark chocolate chips (about 12 oz)

• 1/3 cup white chocolate chips

• 1 Tbsp+ 1 tsp coconut oil

• 1/4 cup candy corn

• 1/4 cup gummy worms

• 1/4 cup popcorn

• Halloween sprinkles

Directions

• Line a medium/large baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil leaving overhang on at least two sides.

• Add the chocolate chips and 1 Tbsp coconut oil to a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 30 sec. Stir with a spoon and continue to warm in 30 sec increments until melted.

• Spread the melted chocolate across the prepared baking sheet and use a rubber or offset spatula to smooth into an even layer.

• Melt the white chocolate and 1 tsp oil in a separate bowl for 30 sec increments until smooth.

• Drizzle the white chocolate in a “spiderweb or mummy style” across the baking sheet of melted dark chocolate.

• Place candies, popcorn, and sprinkles on top of the bark while melted then place the baking sheet in the fridge or freezer for 1 hr to harden. Once hard, use a knife to cut into pieces of bark and enjoy!

Notes

• Keep bark in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer until ready to eat!

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Coconut Milk Panna Cotta

Coconut Milk Panna Cotta - A healthy spin on a classic Italian dessert that’s dairy-free, refined sugar-free and gluten-free. Accompanied by your choosing of honey citrus compote, strawberry sauce and dark chocolate sauce! 

When I was in Italy, panna cotta was one of my favorite desserts! And fortunately enough, my body was able to tolerate the luxurious mixture of whole milk and heavy cream. But when ordering panna cotta from an Italian restaurant in the states, it definitely hits me (and my gut!) differently. Lol 

So that is why I have created a healthy spin on the traditional panna cotta, using full fat canned coconut milk. Not only is this dessert dairy free, but it’s also free of refined sugar using pure maple syrup as the sweetener. 

Travel nostalgia birthed this recipe but also the idea of using bovine gelatin. Recently, I have switched over to using Perfect Supplements as my main supplement source - taking desiccated liver capsules as my “multi-vitamin” and switching over to their hydrolyzed collagen powder. And now, I have been wanting to experiment using their bovine gelatin. 

To give you the lowdown on this form of gelatin: 

• Made with 100% beef gelatin (collagen protein)

• Sourced exclusively from brazilian pasture raised (grass fed) cows

• The only gelatin to receive perfectly pure certification 

• And is great for recipes that call for gelatin or a gelling or thickening agent. (i.e. soups, fruit gelatin, gummy treats, custards, marshmallows and more!)

If you want to try it for yourself, here is CANDACE10 for 10% off your first order!

Now, back to Panna Cotta!

A couple tips when making this dish: 

• Make sure to not boil the coconut milk or the gelatin will lose its setting power

• The consistency of panna cotta should have a soft jiggly texture. 

• Panna cotta can be made ahead of time (up to 2 days) and stored in the fridge. 

• You can easily double the recipe when making for a crowd or dinner party!

• Instead of vanilla extract, you could use ½ vanilla bean. 

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Coconut Milk Panna Cotta - A healthy spin on a classic Italian dessert that’s dairy-free, refined sugar-free and gluten-free. Accompanied by your choosing of honey citrus compote, strawberry sauce and dark chocolate sauce! 

4 servings | Cook time 10 min | Prep Time 20 min

Ingredients

• 1 can full fat unsweetened coconut milk

• ⅓ cup pure maple syrup

• 1 scoop or ¼ oz gelatin

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Strawberry sauce

• 2 cups fresh or frozen strawberries, hulled and sliced

• 3 Tbsp water

• 1 Tbsp organic sugar or pure maple syrup

• Juice of half lemon

Honey citrus compote

• 1-3 citrus fruits (grapefruit, orange, blood orange)

• Honey

• Bee pollen

• Fresh mint leaves

Directions

1. Grease 4 small dishes (ie ramekins, bowls, pudding dishes) to pour the panna cotta into. 

2. In a small saucepan, whisk together half of the coconut milk and gelatin until combined. Set aside for about 5-10 min at room temperature to let the gelatin bloom. 

3. Place the saucepan over medium heat and add vanilla. Whisk thoroughly until gelatin dissolves. Continue to heat until steam rises (but do not bring to a boil). Turn off the heat. 

4. Remove from heat and whisk in maple syrup and remaining coconut milk. Pour the mixture equally into each dish, let sit at room temperature before placing them in the fridge for 2-3 hours. 

5. While the panna cotta is setting, prepare sauce mixture or citrus salad, or both! 

   1. For the strawberry sauce: add sliced strawberries, lemon juice, honey and water to a medium pot. Cook for 7-12 minutes and remove from heat. Blend using an immersion blender, food processor or blender. Strain the sauce into a sieve (to remove strawberry seeds) and transfer sauce to a bowl or jar until ready to use. 

   2. For the citrus salad: slice the citrus fruits, and remove any pith. Cut in smaller pieces if desired. Add a drizzle of honey, bee pollen and mint! 

6. To serve, you can either serve them directly in the dish or unmold them onto a plate. Top with strawberry sauce, citrus salad, or chocolate sauce and enjoy! 

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Salted Dark Chocolate Chip Cookie Nice Cream Sandwiches

Salted Dark Chocolate Chip Cookie Nice Cream Sandwiches - Made with an easy homemade banana ice cream, sandwiched between two soft chewy cookies and half drenched in a salted dark chocolate shell. 

(Dairy-free, gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and grain-free)

Hands. Down. My favorite dessert on this blog! 

I feel like I always say that but as the stakes get higher, so does the quality of desserts and I’m telling you, this one will be hard to beat! 

Honestly, if you just read the tag line and see notes of homemade, soft and chewy, drenched, salted on top of the best dessert words like ice cream, cookie, dark chocolate shell - it’s like my taste buds are crying for joy! 

And my taste buds continue to cry as I make this dessert time and time again! 

It’s honestly a flawed system because my intentions are to make a big batch, store them in the freezer, so that I can have them longer. But since I know that I have the best dessert ever in my freezer just seconds away from my room, I can’t help but to run straight to the freezer and possibly (cough* eat all of them within days…). Again, as my taste buds scream in delight - sorry, not sorry! 

I would like to mention before you dive right into the recipe that this dessert recipe can be taken apart if you find yourself short for time, don’t have the patience to make banana nice cream, or just simply want to make one recipe over the other - completely up to you! Personally, the cookie recipe is hands down my favorite of them all! They really should have their own blog post on their own (make mental note). 

But if you really want to make this recipe and don’t have time, just simply cut corners by purchasing a good quality ice cream vs making homemade nice cream. This is also the right decision if you are allergic to bananas. Enough said.

If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, pin it, and don’t forget to tag a photo to #fromtherootsblog on Instagram. We love seeing what you come up with!

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Salted Dark Chocolate Chip Cookie Nice Cream Sandwiches - Made with an easy homemade banana ice cream, sandwiched between two soft chewy cookies and half drenched in a salted dark chocolate shell. 

(Dairy-free, gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and grain-free)

PREP TIME: 45 MIN | COOK TIME: 15 MIN | SERVINGS: 12 COOKIES

Cookies 

• 1 egg

• 1/2 cup cashew or sunflower butter

• 1/2 cup coconut sugar

• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chunks

• 1/2 cup cassava flour

• 1/4 cup coconut oil

• 2 Tbsp plant based milk

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/2 tsp baking soda

• 1/4 tsp sea salt

Nice cream

• 2 cups frozen banana slices (1 large banana)

• 2-4 Tbsp milk of choice

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• pinch of sea salt

Salted Dark Chocolate Shell

• ½ cup dark chocolate chips

• 1 tbsp coconut oil

• Smoked (or regular) sea salt flakes

Directions

1. Prepare the cookie dough by combining the wet ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Mix in the dry ingredients minus chocolate chips until well combined. Fold in the chocolate chips and set cookie batter in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up. 

2. While the dough is chilling, prepare the banana nice cream by combining all ingredients into a blender or processor until smooth and creamy. May adjust the liquid portion as you want a "soft serve" texture. Transfer ice cream to a bread pan to freeze. 

3. Freeze banana nice cream for 1-2 hours so that it hardens enough to scoop like ice cream, but isn't too hard where you can't scoop it. 

4. When you are ready to make the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

5. Using a cookie scoop, scoop out 1-2 Tbsp of cookie dough and roll into a ball (if 2 Tbsp will make 6 large cookies | 1 Tbsp 12 cookies) 

6. Bake for 12-15 minutes and let rest for 10 minutes before transferring cookies to a cooling rack. 

7. Top with smoky flaky sea salt and eat as is or wait oh so patiently so that you can make either ice cream sandwiches or crumble the cookies into the ice cream and make cookie dough ice cream! 

8. If you want to dip the ice cream sandwiches into chocolate, simply melt 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips with 1 tbsp coconut oil and dip premade sandwiches into the melted chocolate. Set sandwiches on a freezer safe plate and freeze for 5-10 min or longer until ready to eat! Sprinkle additional sea salt flakes on chocolate just before you put them in the freezer!

9. Eat immediately or store in the freezer in a freezer safe container for up to a month...if you can wait that long! 

Notes

• If you need a great dark chocolate recommendation, I highly recommend Hu Kitchen! Use code FROMTHEROOTS for 15% your first order!

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Edible Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

Edible Pumpkin Chocolate Cookie Dough - Super delicious and packed with fiber and protein to keep you satisfied. Dairy, gluten, and grain-free.

Not only is this cookie dough safe to eat, it’s chock full of nutrients thanks to chickpeas' excellent source of soluble fiber and protein. When you combine it with nut butter and pumpkin puree, it’s a nutritional powerhouse! 

Professional Cycle Syncer? This is a luteal phase recipe as it contains ingredients like sunflower seeds, pumpkin, and chickpeas that are great sources of B vitamins, calcium, magnesium, and fiber. During this phase, your body needs more calories and slow-burning complex carbs and beans provide calories while stabilizing blood sugar.

Bonus! PMS symptoms? Chickpeas are a great source of magnesium. They also contain vitamin B6 so when taken together, help reduce PMS symptoms! 

You can eat this for dessert, bring to a family or sports event, or simply grab a spoon and eat it straight from the fridge! 

You can most definitely use regular dark chocolate chips for this recipe, but I love using Hu Kitchen chocolate! For this recipe, I used one bar of hazelnut butter dark chocolate and used their grain-free cookies (chocolate chip and ginger snap) as the “spoon”! 

They just came out with seasonal dark chocolate bars: gingerbread and pumpkin spice and I BET that would truly level up this cookie dough! 

I love using their products because of their simplistic ingredient list: 

Organic cacao

Unrefined organic coconut sugar

Organic fair-trade cocoa butter

That’s. It.

Again, you don’t have to use these products to make this recipe, but if you want to, here the website or my SHOP PAGE and code FROMTHEROOTS for 15% off your first order! 

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Edible Pumpkin Chocolate Cookie Dough - Super delicious and packed with fiber and protein to keep you satisfied. Dairy, gluten, and grain-free.

Ingredients

• 1 can chickpeas

• ½ tsp baking soda

• ½ cup sunflower or nut butter

• ¼ cup pure maple syrup

• ¼ cup pumpkin puree

• ¼ cup dark chocolate chips or dark chocolate bar (chopped)

• 1 tsp pumpkin pie seasoning

• ½ tsp vanilla extract

Flaky sea salt for garnish 

Directions 

1. Place drained chickpeas in a medium saucepan and add the baking soda. Cover the chickpeas with water and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat for 5-10 minutes or until the chickpeas look bloated. In a fine mesh strainer, drain the chickpeas and run cool water over them. No need to peel the chickpeas now that they are soft and should create a creamy texture!

2. Transfer cooked chickpeas and the rest of the ingredients except for chocolate in a food processor. Puree mixture until completely smooth and creamy in texture. May need to pause a couple of times to scrape down the side of the processor bowl. 

3. Transfer mixture into a bowl and fold in chocolate chips until evenly distributed.  Refrigerate until ready to serve and garnish with flaky sea salt. 

Healthy Strawberry Brown Rice Krispie Treats

Healthy Strawberry Brown Rice Krispie Treats - Healthy play on the traditional rice krispie treat! Gluten-free, dairy-free, and naturally lower in sugar!

After finding out that I was sensitive to gluten, my love for rice krispie treats grew. I know that sounds bad and unhealthy, but hey, at the time, there weren’t too many gluten-free options when it came to desserts!

But within a year of only eating rice krispie treats, I felt like I was done for life. 5 years later, that’s all I crave! So, without further ado, I have made for you a healthier rice krispie treat -- but with a spin.

Instead of using marshmallows, I used a mixture of peanut butter, coconut oil, pure maple syrup and strawberry preserves. I just love the addition of strawberry preserves, making these rice krispie treats taste more like a PB&J or a no bake cookie!

You can also play with the toppings if you would like. My favorite way to add color and to play off the strawberry preserves is to add freeze dried strawberries, goji berries, and melted peanut butter into the dark chocolate. You could keep it classy with melted dark chocolate and sea salt flakes, or create a superfood rice krispie treat with goji berries, bee pollen, nuts and seeds, cacao nibs, and coconut flakes. The possibilities are endless!

These are great as a healthy snack and dessert as each serving size is less than 200 calories with about 10 grams of sugar per serving. The ingredients I used in predicting these numbers are listed in the notes section below.

If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo to #fromtherootsblog on Instagram. We love seeing what you come up with!

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Healthy Strawberry Brown Rice Krispie Treats - Healthy play on the traditional rice krispie treat! Gluten-free, dairy-free, and naturally lower in sugar!

Makes 16 servings

Ingredients

• 3 cups brown rice cereal

• 1 cup dark chocolate

• ½ cup natural peanut butter

• ⅓ cup pure maple syrup

• 2 Tbsp coconut oil

• Pinch of salt

• 1 Tbsp strawberry preserves

Toppings

• Freeze dried strawberries

• Goji berries

Directions

1. Line 8x8 pan with parchment paper. Set aside

2. Place a small saucepan on the stove-top over low heat. Combine peanut butter, maple syrup, coconut oil, strawberry preserves, and a pinch of salt. Mix until smooth and well combined, about 1-2 minutes. Add brown rice cereal to a medium bowl and pour peanut butter mixture over the brown rice. Mix until combined and cereal is completely coated.

3. Transfer rice krispie mixture to the parchment paper lined pan and press mixture down flat using a spatula to create an even surface.

4. In a small microwave safe bowl, add dark chocolate and 1 tbsp coconut oil (optional) and heat in 30-second increments (stirring in between) until chocolate is fully melted and smooth.

5. Pour chocolate mixture over krispie mixture and add toppings. You can follow the strawberry trend and add freeze dried strawberries, goji berries, and melted peanut butter or you can keep it classic with sea salt or naked. Up to you!

6. Place pan in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes until bars are completely cooled and chocolate is set.

7. Place bars onto a cutting board and cut into 16 bars. Bars should be kept in the fridge covered for up to a week.

Notes

• Ingredients I used: Erewhon organic brown rice gluten free cereal, pure maple syrup, dark chocolate, strawberry preserves.

• If you would like to add more protein to these bars, add a scoop of collagen peptides to the peanut butter mixture when everything is in the saucepan heating.