So, I share this with you for those moments when you just need a little something for a pick-me-up.  Something to tide you over the mid afternoon slump.  Something to sooth you through the evening  grumpy hour (or hours) with your kids.  Something to relax with over a cup of coffee (or Friendly Hot Chocolate) when you need some me-time.   You can ditch the chocolate and just eat the date stuffed with the almond butter and it's really good.  But trust me, take the time to dip them in chocolate and keep a batch in the freezer for those emergency moments when you need a little something that says 'you can do this...keep going'.  I think you'll thank me for it.   

Ingredients:

• 16 Medjool Dates (the large, soft variety)
• 100g (3.5 oz) dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa)
• about 1/4 cup pure almond butter

Method:

• Line a small baking tray with baking paper.
• Cut dates long-ways down the middle until you hit the seed (do not cut all the way through).
• Remove the seed
• Fill the cavity with 1/2 teaspoon almond butter per date
• Eat them now or place them all on the baking tray in the freezer to firm up for at least half an hour and then coat with chocolate (the chocolate sticks to the date much better if it has been frozen first)
• Melt the chocolate in a double boiler  (place a glass or ceramic bowl over a saucepan with a little water in the bottom ; bring the water to the boil, then turn down to low temperature ; the steam from the water heats the bowl and melts the chocolate)
  
• Take stuffed dates out of freezer and one at a time roll them in the chocolate and remove with a fork.  Allow excess chocolate to drain off the date over the bowl before placing the choc covered dates on the baking tray.
• When all dates are coated, place the tray back in the freezer for an hour.
• Store them in the freezer in an airtight container.   Neither the date nor the almond butter actually freeze solid- they have a lovely chewy texture that is reminiscent of real caramel, and are surprisingly not super cold to eat.  You can also store them in the fridge if you prefer.
  
  If you want to be tempted by more Friendly treats, check out these recipes.
  

Gluten free - grain free - dairy free - refined sugar free - vegetarian - contains egg and nuts
    I'm excited about this one!  I'm rather partial to a nice sugary coated nut!  Here's a wonderfully Christmassy version of sugar coated nuts....made with Coconut Sugar rather than refined sugar.
   Coconut Sugar is made by tapping the stems of the coconut palm, extracting the sap, and then dehydrating it at very low temperatures.  This minimal amount of processing produces a nutrient and mineral-rich product with a great toffee-like taste.  It has a low GI (about 35, compared with refined sugar's 68), providing a slow energy release for your body.  It's also a very sustainable product- once a stem is tapped, it flows for the next 20 years.  You can use it measure-for-measure to replace sugar in baking.
    Coating the nuts with egg white produces a crispy-crunchy coating and the spices I've used just scream 'Christmas' to me...I hope you love them as much as I do! 

Ingredients:

• 500g (1 pound) mixed nuts.  Choose your favourite mix or just one type of nut- it's up to you!  I use 100g macadamias, 200g cashews, 200g almonds.  You can use raw, or activated, or roasted nuts...whatever you're into!
• 2 large egg whites
• 3 tablespoons coconut sugar (you could also use rapadura)
  
• 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves

Method:

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350F).
• Line a large baking tray/cookie sheet with baking paper.
• In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites with the cinnamon and cloves and coconut sugar until all are just incorporated and there are no lumps.  A hand whisk or fork is fine- no need to use electric beaters.
• Add the nuts and stir until the nuts are evenly coated.
• Spread evenly over the lined baking tray, making sure the nuts are in one layer.
• Place tray in the oven at a level as far away from the element or gas as possible (my oven has gas at the base so I place the tray on the top shelf).
• Back for 18-20 minutes, ensuring the nuts have a crisp coating but are not burning.
• Remove from oven and cool completely before storing in an airtight container. 
• Serve them for Christmas nibbles or pop them in little jars and give them gifts.
• For other Christmas food ideas, scroll through the list here.
  

Gluten free - dairy free - refined sugar free - additive free - vegetarian - grain free option available
     I can already here you asking... Why is an Aussie blogger writing a pumpkin pie recipe?  Settle in and let me tell you a little more about me.  This one's going to be from the heart.
    You may remember from my Kau Kau Bake Recipe that I grew up in Papua New Guinea.  For six of those years I lived in a little town called Ukarumpa.  It was basically a little American oasis in the middle of the Mountains of PNG!  There were people from all over the world who congregated there and made it their home, but US Citizens were definitely the majority.  My best friend was American.  I learnt much of the American way of life from her and her family.  I ate Pringles chips and Hershey's chocolate and Skittles lollies before it they had ever been heard of in Australia. I learnt how to roll my R's and elongate my vowel sounds (to this day I struggle to not break into my suedo-American accent when I run into an American).  And we celebrated Thanksgiving.     
    Now, to be honest, I don't know much about the history of Thanksgiving- I know it has something to do with the early Pilgrims and Native American Indians helping them survive. And the celebration of the first plentiful harvest. And pumpkin and corn.  (I apologise to my American readers for my simplification of the history!). 
    What I DO know is that giving thanks is life-changing.  Focusing on being thankful for what I have instead of what I don't have is part of the key to a contented life. 

     And because of this, Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of  November has become an important part of my own family's annual celebrations.  We make pumpkin pie and a big roast dinner.  We talk about all the good things in our life and we write a letter to God saying thank you for all the things we can possibly think of that we're grateful for.  It usually takes a long time. 
    My thankful list will always include that I got to grow up in such a rich cultural environment with such amazing people and experiences that money can't buy.  And that I've had the privilege of visiting my best friend and her family in America a number of times now.  Some of those trips have been timed to be there for Thanksgiving- to share in this special celebration with my 'second family'. 
    Here's the spread the last time we were there.....

     If you've never tried Pumpkin Pie before, you simply MUST!  It is a sweet, dessert-style pie and even my pumpkin-hating children love pumpkin pie! 
    For the pastry, you can use my Gluten Free Shortcrust Pastry recipe.  I use organic butter when I make this pastry, but if you're strictly dairy free, you can use Nuttelex or another dairy free spread (even though I don't really advocate using the stuff!).  When I need to make a completely gluten AND dairy free pie crust, that does not need a 'lid', I use Jude Blereau's Almond Pastry recipe from her book 'Wholefoods'.  This is the pasty in my pictures, and I will write it out here for you.  The only change I've made to her recipe is that I use coconut oil where she calls for almond oil. 
    Scroll down to the 'variation' right at the end of this post for the grain-free option.
Crust Ingredients:

• 100g (1 cup) almond meal
  
• 260g (1 1/2) cups brown rice flour
  
• 125mls (1/2 cup) pure maple syrup
  
• 60mls (1/4 cup) Coconut oil (or almond oil)
  
• 1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon ice cold water

Method:

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius (390F).
• Mix together in a bowl the almond meal and rice flour. 
• In a separate bowl or jug, whisk together the maple syrup, oil, vanilla and water. 
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix with a fork.  If it is dry and sandy rather than moist, add a little more ice cold water. 
• Cover and rest the pastry in the bowl in the fridge for 20 minutes. 
• Press the dough into desired tin or pie dish with your fingers, smoothing it out as much as possible. Don't leave an overhang of crust over the edge of the dish as it will burn badly due to the length of time the pumpkin filling requires to bake.
• I usually blind bake my shell for 5 minutes in the preheated oven, as the end product it turns out less 'soggy' if I do.  Cover the pie dish with foil while blind baking to stop the crust from starting to brown. There is no raising agent in this pastry, so no need for baking weights.
  

    And now for the pumpkin filling.  I had an old recipe given to me in handwritten form by a lady in PNG, that I've modified to make it dairy and refined sugar free....

Filling Ingredients:

• 1 & 3/4 cup cooked, mashed pumpkin /450g/1 American Can of pumpkin.  Start with about 1500g uncooked pumpkin with skin on- you probably won't need all of it but better to have more than less!  Any variety of pumpkin will do.
• 1 & 3/4 cups milk of choice (I use almond milk)
  
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar or rapadura sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground sea salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice

Method:

• To cook the pumpkin, you can steam it or roast it.  Don't boil it as it will add too much moisture to the end product.  I prefer the flavour of roast pumpkin- gives the pie a little bit of extra richness. To roast it, cut the peeled pumpkin to large cubes and place on a greased or lined baking tray in an oven preheated to 160 degrees Celsius (320F) until just soft and not overly browned.  You can cook the pumpkin a day or two ahead and use it in the filling cold if need be.
  

• Set the oven temperature to 200 degrees Celsius (390F).
  
• Once pumpkin is cooked and cooled a little, mix it with all the other ingredients until smooth and runny in a food processor or blender, or with an immersion 'stick' blender. 
• Pour the filling into the blind-baked pie crust.
• Bake for 40-50 mins, checking to make sure the filling is just set in the middle, but the crust is not over cooking.
• Remove from oven and cool completely before serving.  It is best served at room temperature or from the fridge.  Serve with whipped cream or yoghurt of choice, sprinkled with a little cinnamon or nutmeg.

Variation:  If you're short on time, or are avoiding grains, this pumpkin filling makes a wonderful little dish served in ramekin pots, without the crust.  Also pour any left over filling that doesn't fit into the pie crust into ramekins and bake.  They will take closer to 30 minutes rather than 40 minutes to bake.