It’s that time again!! Guest post time!! So excited to have Alaena from Grazed and Enthused sharing her delicious recipe for Peppermint Fudge. Having guest posts is super helpful right now while I’m in the process of finishing up my next cookbook. I just haven’t had much time to cook or use my brain while I just constantly type up recipes so having creativity from other bloggers is inspiring! Now let’s get to it and get the holidays going with this fudge!
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Juli was my gateway drug into Paleo back in January 2012. I had been coming off a vegan bender, and I needed some TLC. After listening to Crazy, Sexy, Cool all the way through, I decided to make her Blueberry Chai Muffins. Her cooking talents reeled me in, but her wit made me stay. My morning Internet update sessions began to look like this: weather.com, paleomg.com, cnn.com, gmail.com. Top 4 status, people.
I survived that first year on Paleo because of Juli’s recipes, notably the Crockpot Ropa Vieja, Morning Glory Muffins, Chicken Tortilla Soup, and Magic Brownie Bars. My health on Paleo improved dramatically, but I still had lingering issues caused by leaky gut and autoimmune disease. After two years on Paleo, I jumped to the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) and started my blog Grazed and Enthused to keep me motivated. AIP is a healing, anti-inflammatory diet designed for people with autoimmune disease. It eliminates additional Paleo foods such as eggs, nightshades, nuts, seeds, alcohol, and chocolate for a period of time to let the gut mucosa heal and immune system regulate. I know that sounds incredibly restrictive, but I credit the AIP to giving me my life back and putting my Hashimoto’s and leaky gut into remission. AIP Represent.
Way to bring the party down, right? Well the good news is I have successfully reintroduced chocolate and that means two things: Whole Foods just gets that much more of my money and you get fudge. My husband promised this recipe is PaleOMG-worthy! This is measured by how many servings he eats once he knows he has already eaten too many. Seven. Of course I also included an AIP-version of this recipe because everyone deserves holiday fudge.
Guest Post: Peppermint Fudge
- Yield: 20 1x
Ingredients
Peppermint Fudge Layer
- 1 cup cooked and mashed Japanese yam*
- ½ cup palm shortening
- ½ cup melted coconut butter
- ½ tsp peppermint oil, 8-10 drops of peppermint essential oil, OR 1 tsp peppermint extract
- 2 T honey
- Small pinch sea salt
Peppermint Chocolate Layer
- ½ cup coconut butter
- 2 T palm shortening
- 1 T honey
- 1 T melted coconut oil
- 2 T cacao powder (or carob powder for AIP)
- ½ tsp peppermint oil, 8-10 drops of peppermint essential oil, OR 1 tsp peppermint extract
- Small pinch sea salt
Instructions
- Place all ingredients for Peppermint Fudge Layer in a high-powered blender or food processor. Blend until pureed and smooth. Taste and add 1-2 more drops of peppermint flavor, if an extra minty flavor is desired. Set aside.
- Place all ingredients for Peppermint Chocolate Layer (except peppermint flavor) together in a microwaveable bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds until the coconut butter and palm shortening are softened enough to easily stir and combine. Add peppermint flavor and stir to incorporate.
- Line a 9×5 inch bread loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving overhang on each of the lengthwise sides. Pour Peppermint Chocolate Layer into the pan first and smooth with a rubber spatula so the surface is evenly covered. Freeze for 10 minutes until hardened.
- Remove pan from freezer and spoon Peppermint Fudge Layer on top. Carefully smooth fudge over the bottom layer to evenly cover. Return to freezer for 30-40 minutes to harden. Slice into squares. Store in a sealed glass container in the fridge.
Notes
*Japanese yam has a white flesh. You can substitute a white California sweet potato, if you cannot find Japanese yams.
**You can use any of these 3 peppermint flavorings. For AIP, use 100% peppermint essential oil.
Grazed & Enthused is a recipe website by Alaena Haber, a self-taught cook, providing unique AIP, Paleo, and Low-Histamine recipes with a sprinkle of sarcasm. Okay, more like a hefty pinch.
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Wow those looks amazeballs! Must make them for Christmas!! Just that I can’t buy palm shortening in Sweden… :(( Do I have to use that or can I just go with regular butter to get the same affect? Or even coconut oil maybe? But maybe that will make them melt… Hmm any suggestions? 🙂
Yes ,you can by it on http://kosmetikkompaniet.se/product.html/palm-kallpressad-eko-rpso-certifierad?category_id=46
The recipe look very nice, I just wish I could find white sweet potato.
Emma, I wouldn’t suggest coconut oil because it will result in a very hard end product. Butter or coconut butter may work, but I have not tried that yet! Refrigerated palm shortening does not solidify as much as coconut butter does though, so a coconut butter version would likely have to come to room temperature to soften as desired!
Thank you so much for your quick reply Alaena! I will search a little more for palm shortening and if I can’t find it I’ll try with butter or coconut butter (maybe half of each will do the trick lol). Will let you know how it went
Yum! I love Japanese sweet potatoes but would never think to use for fudge. Those magic brownie bars were my first “paleo treat” over a year ago.
Never heard of a peppermint fudge that uses yams. Where can I find palm shortening? Can I sub lard or cococonut oil?
Linda – You can buy organic palm shortening on Amazon. Coconut oil would not work for this recipe. http://www.amazon.com/Spectrum-Organic-Shortening—-24/dp/B004WOMWWE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1418343130&sr=8-1&keywords=palm+shortening
I just have to ask because it is one of my top 5 favorite movies, were you thinking of Dazed and Confused when you came up with your blog name?! #bestmovieever
These look delicious 🙂
It certainly is! And one of my favorite movies as well!
Just made these! So delicious, I added enjoy life mini chocolate chips to the fudge layer and I think I’m in love. Great recipe !!
So glad you enjoyed, Cara!
I don’t buy shortening, but I do have both tallow and lard from when I bought half a cow / half a pig. Could I use one of those in place of the shortening?
I need ways to use up this good organic fat. 😛
Hmm… I’m not sure tallow and lard would be a neutral enough flavor for this recipe since the fudge is not baked. I bake with lard all the time, but the heating process neutralizes the flavor, in my opinion. You could always try though and add a bit more honey or peppermint if need be!
This was pretty good. I added probably 12 drops of peppermint essential oil to the white fudge layer plus an additional tsp of honey and, for me, it was pretty mild tasting. The chocolate layer was great and I even forgot to add the peppermint oil! I guess the biggest disappointment was how disproportionately thin the chocolate layer was compared to the huge white fudge layer. If I make again, I will make less of the white fudge layer.
Thanks for trying the recipe! I envisioned the layers to be different proportions so the chocolate is more of a base and the fudge is the main show. We love the light peppermint flavor in my household, and the beauty of individual tastes is you can always add or subtract to your liking, just like you said! Hope you have a joyous holiday!
Alaena! This looks crazy delicious. I love peppermint! Will definitely have to make this as soon as coconut does right by me again. 😉
This looks incredible! I can’t wait to make it. Thank you for sharing. 🙂
Mmm’! This was a huge hit in my house! It’s super creamy and lightly sweetened. I love that it’s a low sugar recipe too. Definitely making again for the holidays!