The almost guilt-free Ramadan Treats

And yes, it is this time of the year again. Ramadan has been on for a week already, with its slow-paced days, gigantic Iftars and chilled Suhoor.

My newly-wed hubby being muslim, the all rythme of the house has changed : waking up later, eating at 7 pm and once again around midnight for Suhoor. This year, I decided to fast, however I keep drinking water, as we both commit on taking this month as a full detox, trying to keep it easy for Iftars and eat as much as we can home.

But as traditions are traditions, and as much as I won't be able to have a birthday without a birthday cake, we would not be able to do Ramadan without involving some sweet treats to go along with the after meal mint tea.

So in order to keep the tradition alive but stay committed to our detox plan, I made some almost guilt-free Ramadan treats, super easy to made and using only honey, dattes, dark chocolate and nuts. No refined sugar was involved so you can go ahead and enjoy a sweet treat after your dinner without feeling it too much on the scale or on your health.

Ramadan Kareem !

Crescent Moon Treats

For 10 pieces :

- 20 black dattes

- 2 tbsp ghee (kind of clarified butter available next to the oil display, very much used in indian and middle-eastern cuisine)

- 10-12 almonds chopped

- 10-12 pistachios chopped

- coconut powder

Instructions :

- Remove the seed of the dattes and choppe into small pieces (you can even use food processor)

- Heat the ghee in a non-stick pan, add the dattes and cook for 6-7 minutes until it turns into soft lump.

- Remove the pan from the heat, add the nuts and mix well.

- Divide the preparation into 10 portions and shape into crescent-shape.

- Coat with coconut powder and reserve in the fridge.

Chocolate Salami

For 1 piece :

- 150g of dark chocolate (65% minimum, the one use for Patisserie)

- 60g of butter

- 1/4 cup almonds chopped

- 1/4 cup pistachios chopped

- 1 Tbsp of candied ginger (optionnal)

- 1/2 cup crushed biscuits (short-bread type, ideally home-made, otherwise organic and not too sugary from Waitrose or Spinneys)

- 1/4 cup of orange rind

- 2 Tbsp of low-fat cream

- 1 egg

- 1 Tbsp of cocoa powder (without sugar)

- Coconut powder

Instructions :

- Melt the chocolate and the butter using "bain-marie" technique (1 metallic bowl in a saucepan filled with water over low heat) making sure it does not burn. Once melted, remove from the heat and add the cocoa powder. Mix well to remove lumps.

- In a small bowl, crack the egg into the cream and whisk until smooth. Add to the chocolate preparation.

- Once the chocolate mixture has cooled down a bit, add the chopped almonds, pistachios, candied ginger, crushed biscuits and orange rind and mix well until all elements are covered with chocolate. Place in the fridge for 30 to 60 minutes (check after 30 minutes, preparation should be hardened but still malleable to be shaped).

- Place the mixture on a piece of plastic wrap and mould into a log by using your hands. Wrap the plastic tightly around the log and twist the end. Roll the log back and forth to even it out and place in the fridge overnight (6 hours minimum).

- When ready to serve, remove the plastic wrap and roll into coconut powder to coat.

- Slice it to serve, like a real salami.

Nutty Apricots

For 15 pieces :

- 15 dried apricots

- 80g of of dark chocolate (65% minimum, the one use for Patisserie)

- Chopped pistachios

- Coconut powder

Instructions :

- Melt the chocolate with 1 Tbsp of water using "bain-marie" technique (1 metallic bowl in a saucepan filled with water over low heat) making sure it does not burn.

- Once melted dip half of the apricots to coat them with chocolate and immediately roll in chopped pistachios or coconut powder (or any other nut actually).

- Place on a baking ray and leave 1 hour in the fridge to dry. That's it !!!

Hazelnut cookies

For 24 pieces :

- 1cup of hazelnut powder

- 24 hazelnuts

- 2 Tbsp of coconut oil

- 1 organic banana

- 4 black dattes, seed removed

- 2 Tbsp of Chia seeds, mixed with 1/3 warm spring water

- 1 pinch of salt

Instructions :

- Pre-heat the oven at 180º

- Mix the Chia seeds in the warm water and reserve for 5 to 10 minutes

- In a food processor, blend the banana and the dattes until smooth and add the coconut oil, the salt and half of the hazelnut powder and blend again.

- Add the chia seeds and the water and the rest of the hazelnut powder and mix with a spoon.

- With your hand of a spoon, make so round-shaped cookies and place on a baking tray cover with parchment paper.

- Add 1 whole hazelnut on top of each cookie pressing down a bit.

- Cook for 25 minutes in the oven, until golden.

- Once cold, sprinkle organic icing sugar on top (oh my god, the only sugar used here !!!)

#recipe #dessert #ramadan #oriental #sugarfree