Useful handmade sweets are a hit of recent years. They are served in trendy cafes, given to each other for the holidays, and the advocates of the strictest diets eat them. Do-it-yourself candies made from dried fruits and nuts will perfectly fit into the PP system (proper nutrition), diversify the dietary or vegetarian menu.
A wide variety of ingredients are used to make healthy sweets: dried fruits, dried fruits, nuts, seeds, candied fruits, honey. The recipe provides tremendous scope for imagination.
Several variants:
- figs, dried apricots, peanuts;
- prunes, sunflower seeds, candied papaya and mango;
- raisins, dried apricots, almonds, vanilla extract;
- dried apricots, prunes, hazelnuts;
- dried orange, almond, dogwood.
- The ingredients are added in approximately equal amounts; variations are possible in accordance with taste preferences.
- For a harmonious taste, one of the ingredients should be slightly sour: dried apples, cherries or cranberries, etc. Citruses can be added dried or fresh, along with the peel.
- Nuts and seeds must be dried in the oven or in a pan. You don't need to fry, just warm up to the first smell and cool.
Walnuts are best bought in the shell and peeled before cooking, as they quickly oxidize under the influence of light and begin to taste bitter.
- Soak very hard or overdried dried fruits in warm water, drain it and dry the food on a towel.
- All components are ground in a meat grinder or blender into a dense, sticky mass.
- The workpiece should be tried to check how harmonious the mixture is. The taste can always be balanced by adding a pinch of salt to a fatty paste, lemon juice to a sugary paste, honey to a thick one, and so on.
- With slightly moistened hands, truffle or ball-shaped sweets are formed from the resulting paste.
- Sweets are rolled in poppy seeds, cocoa, sesame seeds, ground nuts or coconut so that they do not stick together and do not get your hands dirty. In addition, after decoration, the dessert takes on a more attractive look.
- You can decorate the top of the candy by pressing a nut into it. You can also make a surprise filling from whole nuts.
- Finished candies should be chilled until firm before serving. You can do this in the freezer if the recipe doesn't contain fresh fruit or cottage cheese. Dessert without liquid will not freeze.
- Shelf life at temperatures from 0 ºС to 4 ºС is usually no more than a week.https: //www.youtube.com/watch? V \u003d 5tOoKldusA0
With added dates
A special ingredient is dates. Their rich and slightly sugary gusto allows for the creation of exquisite flavor duos and does not require variety in the composition of the dessert.
Successful Companion Ingredients:
- banana (dried or fresh), added 1: 1;
- sunflower seed;
- peanut;
- orange and almonds.
Homemade date sweets are very sticky. It is better to roll them in chopped nuts, sesame or coconut. The cocoa powder will be absorbed very quickly and the dessert will lose its appearance. You can add a chocolatey touch by adding cocoa inside or rolling the candies in grated dark chocolate.
How to make a chocolate treat
Chocolate coated sweets have a completely professional look.
For cooking, you need high-quality chocolate, it does not matter whether it is white, dark or milk.
- Chop each candy on a toothpick.
- Chill for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
- Melt the chocolate in a water bath in a deep bowl. You can add some butter to soften the frosting.
- Dip each piece into chocolate.
- Wait for the excess to drain.
- Stick a toothpick into the foam base to set the frosting in the air.
- Chill the candies again in the refrigerator.
- Remove toothpicks before serving.https: //www.youtube.com/watch? V \u003d 0Z_NO8xDbQw
Cooking with honey
Honey not only adds sweetness and flavor to candy, but also serves as a binder in recipes with lots of nuts and seeds.
If you are allergic to honey, you can soften the consistency of the paste with maple or rosehip syrup instead of liquid honey.
A mixture that is too soft can be easily thickened by adding any dried fruit or nuts if the honey is not thick enough.
An example of a recipe with honey:
- walnuts - 150 g;
- coconut flakes - 50 g;
- dates - 50 g;
- thick honey - 100 g;
- cocoa powder - 50 g;
- salt - 5 g.
For decoration, it is better to use coconut flakes.
PP-candies from dried fruits and nuts
Nutritionists will prefer to make natural candy less sweet and less fatty. To do this, a binder with a neutral taste, rich in protein and amino acids - boiled chickpeas is added to the mixture. This is a variety of peas, popular in the East and already appreciated by our cuisine.
For 250 g of boiled chickpeas:
- peanuts - 50 g;
- hazelnuts - 100 g;
- bitter chocolate - 200 g;
- vanilla extract.
Powdered stevia is suggested as a sweetener in this recipe. This is another wholesome food, with almost zero calories and rich in phytochemicals.
With oat flakes
Oddly enough, one of the most delicate and delicious types of candy is obtained from plain oatmeal. It doesn't even need to be boiled.
For 200 g of dry "Hercules":
- 200 g of walnuts;
- 200 g of any sweet dried fruits: raisins, dates, dried apricots;
- 100 g of honey;
- 10 g cinnamon;
- 30 g odorless vegetable oil.
You can use a little more cinnamon for decoration.
- Grind the oatmeal into coarse flour.
- Kill the rest of the components with a blender and mix the workpiece thoroughly.
- Shape into candies and roll in cinnamon.
Alternatively, you can make rectangular sweets: smooth out the sweet mass at the bottom of the greased form, chill in the freezer and cut into portioned rhombuses.
Recipe for children
Sweets with cottage cheese are soft, not sugary at all, but inside there is a pleasant surprise - a whole nut or grape. This is the perfect treat for little ones with a sweet tooth.
You will need:
- 100 g of cottage cheese;
- 50 g of walnuts;
- 100 g of prunes;
- 100 g figs;
- 100 g raisins;
- half a lemon with peel.
In addition, you need to cook whole roasted nuts or seedless grapes according to the number of candies.
- All components, except for cottage cheese, are crushed and combined into a thick sticky mass. Wide cakes are fashioned from it, 1.5 times wider than candy in size.
- Cottage cheese should also be thick and sticky; in too dry, you can add a little yogurt or fresh banana.
- Use two teaspoons to form a ball of curd.
- Press the nut inside.
- Place the curd filling on the dried fruit cake, gently roll it up and form a ball.
- Dip in sesame seeds, ground cornflakes or cocoa.
- Refrigerate until solid and serve. It is not recommended to store sweets with cottage cheese.
Useful properties and contraindications of dessert
A lot of scientific and popular literature has been written about the benefits of dried fruits and nuts. It makes no sense to analyze in detail the content of vitamins, healthy fats and acids in a culinary article, especially since the content of one or another product in each candy is not large.
However, the vitamin paste of academician Amosov, developed by him for the recovery of patients in the postoperative period, comes to mind. It is still used in this capacity, and is also recommended for healthy people to maintain immunity.
Composition:
- black and white raisins;
- dried apricots;
- figs;
- prunes;
- walnuts;
- natural honey;
- lemon with peel.
All ingredients are taken in 1: 1 proportions (fresh lemon - one per three kilograms of paste), crushed and used daily, one spoonful three times a day before meals. By the way, you can also form round candies from it.
This nut-fruit mixture activates general and local immunity, has an antioxidant effect, restores the nervous and digestive systems, and has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the heart and other organs.
Despite the fact that fruits are used in dried and dried form, there are enough useful substances in them to create a therapeutic effect with regular use.
Another undoubted advantage of natural sweets is the absence of flavor enhancers and other food chemicals in them. There will never be a euphoric desire to eat a kilogram of such sweets at once, even the biggest sweet tooth will be able to control themselves.
With all the positive qualities, candies made from dried fruits and nuts have a number of contraindications for use:
- The calorie content of one candy, on average, is more than 30 kcal, so people suffering from excess weight should eat this dessert, like any other, in limited quantities.
- High glucose levels can be dangerous for people with diabetes.
- Nuts, dried fruits and honey can be strong allergens, so allergy sufferers, pregnant women, lactating women and children under three years old can eat these products at a reasonable daily rate.
- The most serious contraindication applies to various diseases of the digestive system: various ulcers, gastritis, gallstone and urolithiasis.
It remains to add that the process of making homemade sweets itself is a lot of pleasure. It can be a wonderful pre-holiday tradition or a fun attraction for a family, children's or adult party.
Now, when store shelves are littered with all sorts of sweets, people are beginning to wonder if industrial sweets and cookies are so useful and whether they can find a natural and tasty replacement. There is such a replacement - these are dried fruit sweets!
Delicious, healthy, natural ... they will become the # 1 dessert for families with vegetarians, small children or just fans of healthy eating.
About the benefits of dried fruits
The fact that dried apricots, prunes, figs and other dried southern fruits have tremendous benefits has long been known. It is not for nothing that kindergartens and sanatoriums invariably serve rich compote from dried fruits for lunch. It is believed that they are a storehouse of vitamins and minerals necessary not only for the child's body, but also for adults of all ages.
Dried fruits have a beneficial effect on all systems of the human body. They are good for the heart, stomach, skin, nervous system. Their regular use strengthens the immune system and helps fight viral diseases.
In addition, dried fruits have almost no contraindications and are recommended by dietitians for constant use.
What dried fruits can you take for making sweets
For homemade sweets, you can take any dried fruit of your choice. It is better to buy dried fruits in the market by weight. This is less likely to run into products treated with chemicals.
You can choose:
- Dried apricots. It is especially useful for vascular and heart diseases. During pregnancy, dried apricots prevent the development of anemia and a decrease in hemoglobin in the blood. In addition, this product is useful for the prevention of decreased immunity.
- Fig. This dried fruit is especially useful for diseases of the heart and stomach. It gives strength, improves well-being, and also removes harmful substances from the body.
- Raisins. It contains a large amount of iron and is useful for treating anemia, anemia, heart and kidney diseases. It is also useful to eat raisins for respiratory problems. This dried fruit is often used to enrich the body with antioxidants and maintain immunity in the autumn-winter period.
- Prunes. Everyone knows that prunes are recommended for problems with the gastrointestinal tract, but few people know that this fruit has a powerful antimicrobial agent. It also helps to lose weight and improve the whole body as a whole.
- Dates. This is a truly unique product. It is useful for almost everyone and has a beneficial effect on all body systems. The date is an excellent prophylactic against diseases of the stomach, heart, kidneys, as well as cancer. Pregnant and lactating women are advised to eat dates to increase lactation and facilitate childbirth, and for men this fruit gives strength and energy.
Homemade Dried Fruit Candy Recipe
Consider the simplest recipe for dried fruit sweets.
Remember that all the ingredients are interchangeable and the recipe itself involves creativity, so you can add whatever you want to it.
To make homemade sweets you will need:
- Dried fruits (for example, dried apricots, prunes, raisins) - 300 grams (total weight);
- Nuts (in this variant hazelnuts) -100 grams;
- Coconut flakes or cocoa powder for decoration.
Let's start cooking!
That's all. Homemade dried fruit sweets are ready!
From the proposed amount of ingredients, you will get about 15 balls with a diameter of 2 centimeters.
When making candies from dried fruits and nuts with your own hands, show your imagination. Replace hazelnuts with walnuts, cashews or pine nuts, or better, make a nut mix. You can also try to make candies from dried apples, pears, cherries.
If the mixture is too dry and does not roll into a ball, you can dilute it a little with liquid honey. If, on the contrary, the "dough" is too thin, add almond flour or chopped nuts "into dust" into it.
Sour lovers will like dried fruit sweets with lemon or orange zest.
And as sprinkling, you can use not only cocoa or coconut, but also sesame seeds, crushed sunflower seeds, poppy seeds, confectionery sprinkles or grated chocolate.
Dried fruits and nuts are very tasty on their own, and if you eat them together, you get a real healthy treat!
There are many options for making candies from dried fruits and nuts with your own hands, the proportions and composition can be very different, the only thing remains unchanged: anyone can make such candies, no matter what culinary skills you have, this delicacy will turn out delicious in any case!
Composition:
glass 250 ml
- 1 glass of raisins
- 1 cup dried apricots
- 1 cup pitted prunes
- 1 glass of dates
- 1 cup coconut flakes
- 1 cup walnuts
- 1/4 cup flaxseeds
For sprinkling:
- 1 cup walnuts
- 1 cup sesame seeds
How to make candies from dried fruits and nuts with your own hands:
- We prepare products.
Ingredients
- The first step is to wash the raisins, dried apricots, prunes and dates. It helps me a lot to wash their mustard powder. Just pour a small amount of dry mustard powder into a cup of dried dried fruits, mix thoroughly, and then cover them with hot water. Fold several times and refill with water until the mustard is washed off. As a result, pure dried fruits are completely fat-free from oil. If they are very dry and hard, soak them in water. When they become soft, drain the water.
My dried fruits
- Now you need to grind dried fruits in a way convenient for you. I used a hand blender.
Grind
- Grind the flax seeds in a coffee grinder, add them to the fruit mass.
Add flax
- Chop the walnuts into small pieces with a knife. And also add to the mixture.
Add nuts
- Grind the coconut shavings in a coffee grinder, add to ours.
Add coconut flakes
- Mix everything thoroughly together and begin to form the candies. With the help of two spoons we scoop up the required amount of the mixture, put it in sesame seeds (I have fried seeds, raw foodists take unroasted ones), roll them in grains, and then roll them into a ball with the help of palms. In the same way, roll sweets in walnuts crushed in a coffee grinder.
We shape and roll candies
We got such delicious and healthy sweets made from dried fruits and nuts, my daughter still blinded two cute hearts
Ready candy
I wish you love and bon appetit!
AshataN recipe author
