It’s time to start getting into the holiday food vibes, my friends. These little bites are Christmas in edible form — sweet pumpkin, sage, pecan, warming spices, chocolate… what more can you ask for?
Pumpkin Fudge Squares
These will surely blow people away at your next gathering. Try to use a rich pumpkin, like Red Kuri Squash/Pumpkin or Turks Turbin.
Ingredients
Pecan Sage Crumble
(these need to be made first)
- 125g (1 cup) pecans, soaked 8 hours, rinsed and strained
- 5g (1/2 tbsp) ½  tbsp chia seed powder
- 8g drops vanilla Medicine Flower Extract or ½ tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch sea salt
- 12g (1 tbsp) coconut flour
- 50g (¼ cup) maple syrup
- 25g (2 tbsp) coconut sugar, powdered
- 2 drops drops sage essential oil
- 1 tbsp fresh sage julienne
Candied Pumpkin
- 150g (1 1/4 cups) sweet delica, red kuri or turks turban pumpkins all work well
- Pinch sea salt
- 50g (1/4 cup) coconut sugar
- 25g (1 1/4 tbsp) maple syrup
Candied Pumpkin Caramel
- 75g (1/3 cup) coconut oil, melted
- 75g (1/3 cup + 1 tbsp) cacao butter, melted
- 80-100g ( 3/4 - 1 cup) candied pumpkin
- 30g (1/4 cup) lucuma powder
- 75g (1/2 cup) xylitol
- 75g (1/3 cup) coconut sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp cardamom powder
- â…› tsp nutmeg freshly grated
- ½ tsp ginger powder
- â…› tsp clove powder
- 2 tbsp rum
- 75g (1/2 cup) warm, non dairy milk of your choice
Cardamom Ganache
- 100g (3.5 oz) cacao paste
- 40g (2 tbsp) coconut oil
- 40g (2 tbsp) maple syrup
- 2 drops cardamom essential oil
Chocolate Coating
make this once the squares are set and ready to dip
- 200g (7 oz) cacao paste
- 80g (1/2 cup) coconut oil
- 80g (1/3 cup) maple or honey
- 80g (1/3 cup) pecan crumble ( from above )
- Pinch salt
Instructions
Pecan Sage Crumble
- Pulse the pecans in a food processor to break down to a granola like consistency. We want it textured like granola.
- Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl.
- Transfer the mix to a teflex sheet by spreading the mix out roughly. Dry for 10 hours at 115f, flip off teflex to mesh and dry additional 10 hours or until crisp.
- Allow to cool and then store in an airtight container for several months.
- When using in this recipe, bash in a mortar and pestle a little bit to break down to an even texture.
Candied Pumpkin
- Peel the pumpkin and cut into long thin strips.
- In a bowl, mix all ingredients together.
- Transfer to a teflex lined dehydrator tray and dry for 8-10 hours at 115f.
- Mix the pumpkin around as it dehydrates, every 2 hours or so, to be sure none dry out too much and stay in the sugar syrup.
- Once they are soft and a little candied looking, remove from dehydrator and use in the caramel.
Candied Pumpkin Caramel
- In high speed blender combine all ingredients, except milk, and blend on low speed just to combine.
- With the blender running on low/medium, drizzle in the milk and increase blender speed a little until you achieve a silky smooth caramel.
- Pour the mix into a silicone mould of your choice, I used this one and I filled them 1/2 way.
- Pop into the freezer to set up a little while you make the ganache and prep the pecans.
- Melt the cacao paste and coconut oil over a double boiler.
- Remove from the heat and whisk in the remaining ingredients.
- Once the pumpkin fudge is set in the mould, fill the cavities 1/4 way further with this ganache and then sprinkle a generous spoonful of the pecan crumble on top. Press them down into the ganache a little bit.
- Pop the mould into the freezer to set, about 20 mins.
- Once firm, store in the freezer in an airtight container until you're ready to enrobe them.
Chocolate Coating
make this once the squares are set and ready to dip
- Melt the cacao paste and coconut oil over a double boiler.
- Remove from the heat and whisk in the remaining ingredients.
- Pop the squares out of the container and arrange on a tray lined with greaseproof paper.
- Pick one up and drop into the bowl of prepared chocolate, remove using a fork and drag along the edge of the bowl to remove pecans on the bottom. Otherwise the squares won’t sit straight.
- Continue until all squares are enrobed and then pop back in the freezer to set.
- Best eaten within 5 days when stored in fridge. In the freezer they'll keep several months.
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