orange pistachio chocolates

I am pretty excited about these chocolates.  Dark choclate, orange peel, and pistachios blend to create a unique, decadent candy. The salt cystrals balence the bitterness of the dark chocolate and the orange peel. It's the perfect, paleo salty-sweet treat. Yipeee!

I think the hardest thing about the paleo diet is that right after dinner I want something sweet.  So, rather than eating raw honey out of the jar, I made a batch of these and kept them in the fridge all week.  Just one hits the spot. 

Now, if you are insane, paleo nazi you'll have to abstain... I used 60% cacao dark chocolate chips, but there is some cane sugar in those chocolate chips. But, if you are an 80/20 person, these are a healthy, simple treat with a trace of sugar in them.

The best part... Well, the best part is eating them. The second best part is that these puppies only call for 4 ingredients and only take about 20 minutes (total) to make.  A easy, impressive treat to stash or share! Happy Friday! 

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salted caramel brownies

When you were a little kid did you ever go to the state fair? Ride the ferris wheel, eat funnel cake, peek at the carnies, walk through the petting zoo and eat a slice of some award winning pie?  I did.  It was a homeschool field trip, cause I was, in fact, homeschooled.

I did school in my pjs, yo.  

We went to the Virginia State Fair outside of Richmond and I spent the entire day dragging my slightly dizzy best friend, Katy, on every ride we could squeeze in before we buried our faces in caramel apples. And this gorgeous box of goodies brought me back to that day.  

I just got my first Knoshbox and I get to give YOU one.  Yes, YOU! Well, it could be you...

Knoshbox packs up a box of artisan food each month and ships it right to your doorstep.  They are a new startup subscription based in Connecticut. It's basically having this great foodie friend who travels around the country taste testing and working with local producers, and then bringing the best of their finds right to your little kitchen. Opening this box was literally like Christmas in August. A sampling of gorgeous, gourmet foods all from local US producers and the theme this month... Country Summer Carnival!  Just look at it! 

Mouthwatering, huh? Bing Cherry Preserves, a Pearl Sugar Belgian Waffle, Organic Cotton Candy, Kettle Corn, and Sea Salt and Bourbon Vanilla Farmstead Goat Milk Caramels. Glory!

To win your own September Wine Trails Knoshbox, just leave a comment telling me what you would make with this box of goodies pictured above and LIKE Knoshbox on facebook! A winner will be chosen Monday, August 27 at 11:00pm EST. :) 

The winner is... Comment #23, Barbara S!  Congrats, Barbara.  I hope you enjoy the September box as much as I enjoyed the August one.  She would have baked up some chocolate cherry caramel cookies.  (UM, YUM!  Can I come over?)  

Barbara, email your address to heathermish{at}gmail.com and we will get your box shipped out!  Special thanks to the Knoshbox team for sponsoring the giveaway and to all of you for participating in my first giveaway! I loved reading your ideas.   

As soon as I tasted those caramels, I knew what I would be baking.  (I am also planning on ordering a bag for a few fall recipes.) 

So, I scurried to my kitchen and made these gooey, gluten free, caramel laced brownies dusted with sea salt! Then, while they were baking, I may or may not have took that waffle, topped it with whipped cream and strawberries and pretended it was funnel cake while I gave Katy a ring. 

Also, you should know that these are egg free and gluten free. I was gluten free until I saw that waffle... 

 

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oreo ice cream cupcakes

Happy Friday!  Today, the love of my life turns 26.  Happy Birthday, Jason Kneisler!  I am so grateful to be with such an incredible, loving, godly man.  I love him, a lot.

Coming up with a dessert for this guy was a bit of a challenge.  He is a white cake with white icing, vanilla ice cream kind of a guy.  Which is fine, except I wanted his birthday to be perfect.  I researched for a few days, ran a few things by him... nothing. My sister, Emily, had this great idea.  Oreos. Jason loves oreoes.

Chocolate cupcakes stuffed with cookies and cream ice cream.  Topped with vanilla frosting and an Oreo of course. BAM!  Em is a genius and something of a cupcake specialist. She helped me whip these up for family night this week.  Jason loved them. 

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