Homemade Almond Joy Bars (Paleo and Vegan)

The Almond Joy is one of the most iconic American candies (together with the Tootsie Roll, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Milk Duds, Butterfinger, etc.)
It’s famous for its creamy coconut filling topped with almonds and covered in milk chocolate.
It also has a sibling, the Mounds bar, which is basically the same, minus the almonds.
And though the recipes for these two candy bars are top secret — just like Coca-Cola or Nutella — it’s possible to recreate these amazing coconutty candies in your own kitchen.
With only a few ingredients you can whip up your own Almond Joy Bars in no time.
Needless to say it, these are way healthier than store bought. As in, gluten-free + grain-free + refined sugar-free + vegan healthier + paleo healthier.

No-Bake 4-Ingredient Chocolate Almond Butter Bars

Almond butter, almond butter, almond butter! It’s the classic saying: “When life gives you almond butter…”
…Or something like that.
When you’ve got heaps of almond butter on your hands, you don’t take that stuff for granted. Instead, you turn it into something even more incredible. Such as double chocolate almond butter brownies, almond butter blondies, almond butter cookies OR almond butter bars.
Yeah, you heard that right, almond butter bars.

The Best (Paleo) Chocolate Chip Cookies

Would you believe me if I say that these cookies are the real deal? That despite being paleo and grain-free they don’t just look appetizing but they are actually delicious? And that you won’t be disappointed when you take the first bite?
You don't?
That's too bad, because these (Paleo) Chocolate Chip Cookies will exceed all your taste and texture expectations.
In fact, I genuinely believe that they are actually better than the original (you know, the cookies made with white flour and sugar).

Mom's Chocolate Pudding

In my forced departure from chewable-food, I dusted-off some old recipes that I haven’t made in years and asked friends and family for their own recipes that don’t require heavy use of your jaws. Needless to say it, a large number of pudding recipes showed up in my inbox.
It’s funny that when somebody is in no condition to flex those cheek muscles to smile, let alone to chew food, pudding is the first thing that comes to mind.
Which hardly ever happens, pudding is not that popular. Seriously, when was the last time you had pudding? Or thought about pudding?

(Gluten-Free) Lemon Polenta Cake

Now, I know what many of you are thinking.
Has he lost his mind? Polenta goes great with all kinds of meats and sauces what does it have to do in a cake?
Hold on a sec, and hear me out: Polenta makes for an excellent substitute for flour in cakes and in turn makes them naturally gluten-free.
Plus polenta gives an awesome yellow-sunshine color to cakes and also gives a wonderful texture.
Are you on board?
I thought so….

(Flourless) Chocolate Beet Cake with Chocolate Avocado Frosting

It was recently pointed out to me that this blog lacks cake recipes and the reason, I am sad to say, is that I don’t bake many cakes.
That is not to say that I don’t like baking cakes, I just don’t do it that often.
When a craving for cake strikes, usually mug cakes come to the rescue. Truth is, I surely don't need an entire cake laying around the house, with the risk of polishing the entire thing off.
If y’all know what I mean...

(Paleo) Banana Bread in a Mug with Lemon Glaze

There are many good reasons to make banana bread:
You have a pile of ripe, sad-looking bananas that have clearly reached their life’s expectancy. You are a fan of things that are incontrovertibly delicious and awesome.
It’s cold outside and you need something comforting to go with your hot beverage.
You’re into recipes you can make in one bowl.
You believe that banana bread could cure any woe.

Salted Double Chocolate Brownie Cookies

I have, for a very long time, looked for a chocolate cookie I could award with what I considered the highest honor in the baking world, declaring it the best brownie cookie (aka brookie) ever.
I just didn’t expect it would take me so long to find what I was looking for.
Along the way, I encountered cookies that promised fudgy but delivered cakey; those that were chocolatey in name only; and even versions that were a perfect chocolate cookie, but have little to do with brownies.

Lemon Almond Crinkle Cookies

February is always the time of the year when most of us get caught up in what I like to call the “winter produce stagnation”. The lack of flavorful fruit and the glut of starchy vegetable are enough to kill any enthusiasm.
Still, I find that if I set my mind on citrus I can sail through the winter months with relatively no problems.
Even when the deepest, darkest winter has set in and I’m all fogged in by the relentless grind of being indoors, a bright pink grapefruit, a sunny orange, even a gleaming lemon, reminds me of summer days, warm breezes, and skies as blue as the ocean.
I’ve got an archive full of lemon muffins, lemon chicken piccata, lemon pound cake in mug, raspberry-grapefruit smoothie, orange chicken, and orange glazed salmon that should be enough for me to feel I’m not missing out just because strawberries, peaches, and apricots are still in hibernation.

Maple Frosted Almond Butter Blondies

I don’t mean to sound overly dramatic, but this might be one of my favorite recipes on the TIY.
I'm aware that it’s not smart to say this — and likely in a couple of weeks I’m going to say the same thing about another recipe — but right now I feel like I need to declare it.
Truth is, these blondies deserve this kind of love and outright favoritism. They’re simple and just so delicious.
If I could think of the perfect treat, it would be one of these Maple Frosted Almond Butter Blondies with a cup of (green) tea or a tall glass of (almond) milk.

(5-Minute) Cinnamon Streusel Coffeecake in a Mug

There are many reasons to love coffeecake, but the fact that you can eat it for breakfast tops it on my list.
It’s like someone — just like myself — clearly wanted to eat cake at 7AM but was never allowed to because, say, their mother never let them.
But with coffeecake it’s different. So different that when your mom tells you that you can’t have cake for breakfast, you can answer:
“Hush Mom, this is not cake, this is Coffeecake. It’s completely different, you’re supposed to eat in the morning with coffee!”

Salted Double Chocolate Almond Butter Brownies

I understand that when a website almost 6 years old has not one, not two, not three but nine brownie recipes, it’s possible - or at least highly likely - that the brownie category has been exhausted.
The archives are full.
I get it. I do.
Probably we should discuss about sesame chicken, coconut curry lentils or Ethiopian chicken stew.
Probably.

Loaded Superfood Chocolate Bark

Are you in need of a last minute gift idea?
Don’t worry, I have the solution for you guys.
This Loaded Superfood Chocolate Bark is the perfect festive present.
A ridiculously easy no-bake treat with Medjool dates, almond, goji berries, hemp seeds, and sea salt flakes all embedded into dark chocolate.
It’s salty, sweet, and crunchy with so much texture and so much good-for-you stuff in every bite. The perfect healthy-delish present or for impromptu holiday parties.

(Paleo & Vegan) Chocolate Pistachio Mousse

All I wanted to give you for Christmas was some chocolate mousse.
My logic was simple: Christmas means decadent meals and rich desserts. But in reality, more often than not, after a feasting on baked ham, roasted turkey, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and gravy I find myself too full even for a cup of ginger tea, quite tired and, while we are being honest, like I need some Pepto and at least a solid 10k run.

(Gluten-Free) Almond Pecan Bars

 If you’re anything like me, then you don’t eat purely for sustenance.
Delicious food makes me happy and sometimes even changes my perspective on life.
Then there’s the social aspect of food: a rally point for being together, either in preparing and cooking, or in enjoying the meal.
Nothing brings family and friends together like great food, especially during the holidays.
It’s hard to remember a holiday that didn’t involve gathering around a table.
Holidays are about spending time with family, embracing a new year, exchanging thanks and gifts, but more importantly, it’s the time for yummy food.
That’s right you guys, if there’s any time to indulge, this is it.
Everyone’s baking and holiday sweets are practically thrown in your face.
So why fight it, when you can enjoy it.

(Paleo and Vegan) Edible Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

When I was a kid I always ate raw dough when my mother was making cookies (just as I ate raw cake batter). I used to beg my mother to let me have a whole bowl of cookie dough when she was making cookies — just for the record, my mother made the Toll House cookie recipe on the back of the chocolate morsels bag.
She never let me. I had to be content with spatula, the beaters, the bowl, and whatever I could spoon off with my finger when her back was turned.

(Paleo) Cinnamon Sugar Donut Muffins

 If you know anything about me, I guess you know that my love for cinnamon runs deep as my love for soup.
I actually keep two different kinds of cinnamon in my pantry.
Yup, that’s right. I have two kinds of cinnamon — please, don’t act like you’re surprised.
It’s no mystery that I'm a spice freak. I have more than a hundred spices in my pantry and like to grind my own spice mixes using whole spices. I even broke two coffee grinders trying to grind spices in them before buying myself an (almost) professional Electric Spice-and-Nut Grinder, that grounds hard and soft spices and breaks them all down in a few pulses.

(Paleo) Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins

You guys, guess what?
As a thank you for being a TIY reader I made you a batch of warm, fresh, Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins.
I know, how kind of me.
Did I mention they’re paleo, grain-free, gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and dairy-free?
Meaning you can definitely eat more than one. Two, three, four, maybe even five.
Yes, plan to eat muffinS, plural.
They’re tiny and oh-so delicious, you won’t be able to stop just at one.
Trust me, they’re that good!

(Paleo) Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

This time of the year, I’m thankful for memories of family and food that I loved as a kid.
For me, Mom’s Caramel Apple Blondies and cookies like these chocolate crinkles are a trip down memory lane.
Chocolate crinkle cookies were, and definitely still are, one of my favorites, especially during this time of the year.
There’s something about the dense, chewy, chocolate loaded goodness that I just can’t resist.
And the powdered sugar on my fingers and face reminds me of good ‘ol times.

Mom's Caramel Apple Blondies

Okay, maybe I’m jumping the gun, but the store across the street from where I live has had Christmas decorations in their windows since October 23, so I think it’s perfectly fine to officially declare November the beginning of the holiday season.
I love the fall/winter holidays more than anytime of the year.
I know it’s a busy time of year — between decorating, cooking shopping, and celebrations — and it’s definitely easy to get overwhelmed. But nonetheless it's an awesome time, except of course my birthday.