Easy Peasy Pecan Pie

Do you love pecan pie? I do - I really, really do.

Whenever I used to make (ok, buy) pecan pie, it would disappear before eyelashes could be blinked and I found it futile to keep bringing it into the house - especially after reading the list of ingredients from store bought pies.

This recipe makes a simple 1.5 inch pecan pie. To accommodate those other pesky folks who are going to bother you to make them one too (most of us call them husbands and children)-adjust the recipe accordingly.

Pecan pie - there really isn't anything better.

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup walnuts
1/2 cup raisins
6 dates, soaked
1/4 cup pecans
pinch salt

1) In a food processor with an "S" blade, process the walnuts and raisins until they are crumbly and stick together. Press into a small tart plate (the one I used is 5 inches diameter) and chill.

2) Then in the food processor again, puree the dates with a tiny bit of the soak water until they form a gooey paste. Spread into the crust and top with pecans.

The amounts can be easily increased to make a larger pie for a more conventional sized dessert.

Fast and good for you. These make great tea time additions!

Quinoa Raisin Cookies

Raisin cookies are my favorite!

OK, my favorite used to be chocolate chip, but when I replaced chocolate with carob, my new favorite became raisin. I love carob and all of the wonderful things you can make with it - but it is a taste slightly south of chocolate. These quinoa raisin cookies will pleasantly surprise you!





For the cookies
1 cup quinoa, rinsed well and soaked over night
1 cup pecans
1/2 cup agave
1 cup raisins
2 tsp cinnamon
1 pinch salt

Equipment needs
Food processor
Dehydrator

Directions:

In the food processor, process the pecans down to a fine meal. Add the salt and cinnamon.

Add your damp quinoa into the processor and continue to process for about thirty seconds. 

Pour in the agave and continue to process for about a minute, allowing some of the grain to break down and blend into the dough.

Place the dough into a large bowl and hand mix in the raisins.

Using two spoons, place small blobs of the dough on to your  dehydrator sheets — I used the Teflex sheets that came with my dehydrator, not the fine mesh (yet).

You don’t have to space them out too much, as these raw food treats won’t be spreading out when they ‘bake.’

Flatten the cookies slightly, so that they are all the same height.

Dehydrate at 105 degrees for about 4 hours. The outside of the cookies should no longer be tacky. At this point, you can remove them from the sheets and place them onto the mesh so they can ‘bake’ faster.

Continue in the dehydrator for about 5 more hours. Watch them carefully as every dehydrator is different.

If you choose to 'bake' these in the oven, keep it as low as you can for a few hours and check them every hour.

(thanks, The Raw Dessert)

Nibbly?
This recipe will give you about 24 cookies....give or take one or two. ;)