Pecan Butter Truffle Pumpkins

Lately I can't seem to get enough pecan butter, so these delectable chocolate confections were born. It is coated in white chocolate colored orange. Since pecan butter has a thinner consistency, it was necessary to freeze them to keep the filling from melting into the chocolate.

The recipe still requires a little tweaking, but they are definitely worth making. Once I get it perfected, I'll post the revisions. I wish these weren't still in my kitchen tempting me to snack way too late at night.

Pecan Butter Truffles "Pumpkins"

1 bag of vegan white chocolate chips
2 Tbsp. canola oil
orange food coloring

1 cup pecan butter
1 1/2 cups of graham cracker or cookie crumbs
1/4 cup softened Earth Balance Buttery Sticks
2-3 cups powdered sugar

In mix together the pecan butter, graham cracker/cookie crumbs, softened margarine (not melted), and powdered sugar. Start with 2 cups of powdered sugar and add more if it is hard to roll into balls. I made it in the food processor, but you don't need to. Roll into balls and store in freezer overnight.

Prepare coating by melting white chocolate chips in a double broiler. Add in the food coloring and oil to thin out the chocolate. You could try using margarine too. Once chocolate is melted, remove pecan balls from the freezer and roll in chocolate until coated well. Place them on wax paper to harden. Add a pretzel rod split into  thirds for the pumpkin stem.

Vegan White Chocolate Halloween Ghosts

Every year for Halloween I make some homemade vegan chocolates. A couple autumns ago, I posted about making pumpkin peanut butter cups, chocolate bats, white and dark chocolate acorns with maple filling, and white chocolate ghosts.

The past couple years I've always been involved in planning Halloween parties for the kids. Last fall was the first Vegkins Halloween party. It is a group of vegan/vegetarian families that meet monthly. My friend Al, over at These Little Piggies have Tofu also posted about last year's party.

We are keeping the tradition going with the second annual Vegkins Halloween party this coming weekend. It should be a hoot for the kids. They will be noshing on an all vegan potluck meal and treats, working on a Halloween craft, and playing a couple games.

In celebration of the upcoming holiday, most of this week's posts will be Halloween related.

In the meantime, don't forget to go enter the giveaway this week for a chance to win Go Max Go candy bars or a copy of Appetite for Reduction.

Vegan Peanut Butter Chip Recipe

These were so easy to make, I really wish I'd thought of trying it sooner. They taste like Reese's Pieces without the coating. Yum! 

Vegan Peanut Butter Chips

10 oz. White Chocolate

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

Put the white chocolate into a microwavable bowl and heat in for 30 seconds, stopping to stir, then repeating until it is fully melted. 

Next thoroughly mix in peanut butter, and spread on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper to 1/8' thickness. Place it into the freezer until solid.

To make the chips, slice with a sharp knife one direction.

Then slice the other direction. Voila, you've got vegan peanut butter chips!

Vegan White Chocolate Bunny and Lamb Pops

These were some Easter lamb and Bunny pops I made for Easter. They were made with a Wilton candy mold from vegan white chocolate. On the backside I added pastel colored sprinkles.

This is the backside of the lollipops. The kids really enjoy them and it is a fun and festive treat for the Easter hoilday. Happy Easter!

Tiger Chocolate Peanut Butter Brittle

Want a simple recipe that is sure to please? This was so easy it will become a staple dessert in our household. It has three ingredients, so you don't have to think too hard about whether or not you have everything to make it.

Vegan Tiger Peanut Butter Chocolate Brittle

8 oz. vegan white chocolate
2 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
1/4 cup peanut butter

Heat white chocolate in microwave in 30 second increments until it is completely melted. Mix in the peanut butter until fully combined. Repeat the same process for melting the semi-sweet chocolate without mixing it with anything. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Pour the white chocolate/peanut butter combination onto the parchment paper and spread it around. Next drizzle the chocolate in a stripes across in one direction. To create pattern, run toothpick across the stripes in the same direction, and then the opposite way. Put into freezer for 2-5 minutes to set.

Dairy Free Vegan Advent Calendar

Yesterday we got to start our vegan advent calendars we got from Vegan Essentials. The kids were so excited! Of course they were ready to eat the second day's chocolate as well. It will take a couple days for them to get the concept down.

In the meantime, I've had to put theirs into a locked cabinet, as Elliott already tried to burglarize his. I can't say I blame him, but it does take the fun out of it if you eat them all up right away.

If you missed the boat on getting one this year, order in early November next year as I've noticed they run out fast. Another option is to make your own or buy one you can put your own treats into each year.


There is a really cute log cabin one, which has a different forest animal behind each door at Gardener's, but the price has always been limiting to our purchasing it. This year I plan to see if it goes on sale after the holidays. It is always the best time to get any holidays decorations.

Pecan Pie Truffles

A couple years back, I made these for the first time to substitute for pecan pie at our annual vegan Thanksgiving we host. Now I am not sure if you are familiar with any southern folk, but if there is one thing they take seriously, it is their pecan pie. In Georgia, where I was born, there are many pecan tree groves, and you can buy fresh bags of them on the side of the road. Essentially pecan pie is a Thanksgiving staple down there.

As they were passed around the table, my family each took one with a reluctant look upon their faces. I had made a test batch prior to the meal, so I knew they were amazing. After taking one bite, they all exclaimed, "this tastes EXACTLY like pecan pie." The recipe was requested after a few more truffles were consumed, and no one ever eats only one.

The recipe originates from VegNews, but I've slightly altered the recipe to make it more kid-friendly (ie almond milk instead of bouborn). There are more note-worthy changes in the technique, which I'll share with you below. They sell a eCookbook Holiday Cookie Collection, which contains the original recipe. If you are looking for more ideas, you should check it out. I highly recommend it.



Pecan Pie Truffles

2 1/2 cups finely chopped pecans
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. maple syrup
1/4 cup almond milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 package of Baker's Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate


In a food processor, grind up graham crackers until they are fine crumbs. Note that 1 packages of Keebler Graham crackers equals about a cup graham cracker crumbs. After they have been ground up, add in the remaining ingredients, mix until well combined. Using a plastic sandwich bag, squeeze the filling into balls about an inch in diameter. Place onto a baking sheet lined with wax paper and put it into the freezer for a 2-4 hours.

Before removing them from the freezer, start melting three-quarters of the chocolate on the stove using a double broiler. I simply heat a small amount of water in a larger sauce pan on medium-low heat, and in a smaller pan nested in the larger one melt the chocolate. DO NOT let water get into your chocolate, as it will seize up. Once it is melted well, take it off of the burner and add the remaining chocolate. This tempers the chocolate so it dries with a nice shiny finish once it dries. Dip the balls into the chocolate to coat them well, then put them back onto the cookie sheet to harden.

Note: you can use chocolate chips, but it is more difficult to get them to temper properly. They will need to be put into the freezer to harden the chocolate or they will take a couple hours to dry.

Pumpkin Pie Truffles

I've been working on this recipe for awhile now. The first attempt at these was not so successful, because they were a challenge to roll into balls. They just didn't hold their shape, and quickly became soft when trying to coat them with chocolate. After a little tinkering I've finally created a recipe worth sharing with the world.

With no further adieu, my latest creation:

Pumpkin Pie Truffles

3/4 cup canned pumpkin pie mix
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 margarine (I recommend Earth Balance Buttery Sticks)
1 1/2 packages of Baker's Semi-sweet Baking Chocolate

In a food processor, grind up graham crackers until they are fine crumbs. Note that 1 1/2 packages of Keebler Graham crackers equals 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs. After they have been ground up, add in the pumpkin pie mix (Note: not just canned pumpkin, it should have spices added to it) and margarine. Mix until well combined. Then slowly add in the powdered sugar, making sure it is well incorporated into the filling. Scrape the sides of the processor at least once before removing the filling. Place the truffle filling into the refrigerator for at least four hours, it will work best overnight.

The next day roll into balls about an inch in diameter. Place into the freezer for a couple hours. Before removing them from the refrigerator, start melting three-quarters of the chocolate on the stove using a double broiler. I simply heat water a small amount of in a larger sauce pan, and melt the chocolate in a smaller pan nested in the larger one. DO NOT let water get into your chocolate, as it will seize up the chocolate. Once it is melted well, take it off of the burner and add the remaining chocolate. This tempers the chocolate, so it dries with a nice shiny finish. Dip the pumpkin pie filling in the chocolate, until coated well and place back on lined cookie sheet to dry.

World Wide Vegan Bake Sale

We participated in the World Wide Vegan Bake sale this year. I made truffles again. My son thinks that Ethique Nouveau is the bake sale store, since he has been to two bake sales there. It was a lot of fun trying out and making up some new recipes. I did coconut, cookies and cream, raspberry, almond, and pumpkin pie. These new additions were pretty good. After making them, I am toying with the idea of selling them on Vegan Etsy, but just haven't gotten around to researching all that entails. It would be great to help supplement out family's income a little bit.

If you are interested in making some of your own truffles here are some recipes.  

Homemade Vegan Halloween Candy

This year we had a Halloween Party for our kids. Last year we were too busy having just had Evelyn a little more than three weeks before Halloween. It was with great enthusiasm I started to plan the treats for the party. After my first try at making candy last Easter, I decided to make some again for the party.

First I ordered some molds and then made a peanut butter filling. Using a double boiler I melted the chocolate to start making the candy.

Next I coated the mold with a layer of chocolate. To speed things along, I put it in the freezer for a couple minutes. After it hardened, I added a layer of peanut butter filling. Lastly, I added the back layer of chocolate to the mold. Here is what they look like before the last step.

Once they were all done I wrapped them in foil, so they were ready for the party. Elliott loved them. I think they were his favorite Halloween candy.

Along with peanut butter filled pumpkins, I also made solid chocolate bats, solid white chocolate ghost suckers, and chocolate/white chocolate acorns with a maple filling. We will definitely do this again next year, but on a much smaller scale. If these are around they are eaten in unhealthy quantities. I guess that pretty much sums up Halloween though right?