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    You are at:Home»Dairy-Free Recipes»Dairy Free Desserts»Amazing Amaranth Candy (Alegría)

    Amazing Amaranth Candy (Alegría)

    23
    By Alisa Fleming on September 24, 2013 Dairy Free Desserts, Dairy-Free Recipes, Dairy-Free Snack Recipes

    This Alegría recipe was shared with us by Bob’s Red Mill for their Grains of Discovery Event. This is an interesting recipe because it has such a high mineral content for a sugary treat. The amaranth, pumpkin seeds, and blackstrap molasses offer noteworthy amounts of natural calcium, magnesium, vitamin B6 (riboflavin), and even iron. If cut into 9 squares, each Alegría treat offers approximately 25mg of non-dairy calcium. This may not seem like much, but considering the nutritious package, it definitely counts!

    Amaranth Candy (Alegría) Recipe - healthier, dairy-free, gluten-free & vegan (just 4 ingredients!)

    Special Diet Notes: Alegría – Amaranth Candy

    By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, nut-free, peanut-free, soy-free, vegan, plant-based, vegetarian, and generally top food allergy friendly. To note, amaranth is a gluten-free pseudo-grain that is more akin to Swiss chard than wheat.

    4.0 from 4 reviews
    Amazing Amaranth Candy (Alegría)
     
    Print
    Prep time
    10 mins
    Cook time
    10 mins
    Total time
    20 mins
     
    The name of this sweet treat means “happiness” in Spanish. In Mexico, alegría is molded into shapes like skulls, flowers and animals to celebrate the Day of the Dead. Recipe by Bob's Red Mill
    Serves: 9 pieces (or more)
    Ingredients
    • ½ cup amaranth
    • ¼ cup pumpkin seeds
    • ½ cup sugar
    • 1 tablespoon blackstrap molasses
    Instructions
    1. Heat a wide-bottomed pan with a lid over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the amaranth to the pan, cover and cook over medium-high heat until most of the grains have popped, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a bowl. Repeat with remaining amaranth, 1 tablespoon at a time. Add pumpkin seeds to popped amaranth.
    2. Heat sugar in a deep pot over medium heat. The granules will slowly begin to melt. Add molasses. When molasses begins to boil steadily, stir to incorporate the sugar. Remove from heat and immediately add popped amaranth and pumpkin seeds. Stir well to coat.
    3. Quickly transfer to a parchment lined 9 x 9-inch pan and spread evenly with a spatula. Immediately cut to desired size. Let cool before serving.
    3.2.2646
    Alisa Fleming
    • Website

    Alisa is the founder of GoDairyFree.org, Food Editor for Allergic Living magazine, and author of the best-selling dairy-free book, Go Dairy Free: The Guide and Cookbook for Milk Allergies, Lactose Intolerance, and Casein-Free Living, and the new cookbook, Eat Dairy Free: Your Essential Cookbook for Everyday Meals, Snacks, and Sweets. Alisa is also a professional recipe creator and product ambassador for the natural food industry.

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    23 Comments

    1. Heidi on February 21, 2021 7:04 pm

      <this recipe did not work at all. It just ended up as a 9 x 9 pan of crumbly stuff like a Graham cracker crust before its baked. I followed the directions to a T. Something is drastically wrong with the proportions or the directions.

      Reply
      • Alisa Fleming on February 22, 2021 8:35 am

        I’m so sorry it didn’t work for you Heidi. The proportions seem to be correct as it has worked well for many people. Candy can be tricky though!

        Reply
    2. Diana Taylor on May 28, 2019 8:50 am

      soo good..thanks for the recipe.. u just have to work fast at the end .. but i can’t stop eating it lol

      Reply
      • Alisa Fleming on May 28, 2019 2:27 pm

        So glad you enjoyed it Diana!

        Reply
    3. Sapna garg on December 12, 2017 7:45 pm

      Hi..this looks amazing..how many GM’s of each product pl.define as my ratio goes haywire n it came out too sweet n soft.thanks

      Reply
    4. joel on March 13, 2017 3:51 am

      Thanks for the idea. tried the recipe. The popping was very fun. I seems I had trouble with melting the sugar and had some clumps. It was tasty, but did not work into bars. Seemed like there was not enough sugar. Should I try more sugar or is it just a problem of the melting?

      Reply
      • Alisa Fleming on March 13, 2017 8:11 am

        Joel, they have a great tutorial with pictures here -> http://www.wikihow.com/Caramelize-Sugar – #2 the Dry method would be the one here, but your melting, not going all the way to caramelizing. As you can see, it looks like sugar clumps are normal with dry sugar melting. Hopefully that tutorial helps as I’m not an expert candy maker either! 🙂

        Reply
    5. Riju on February 1, 2017 12:40 pm

      IS there a replacement for the molasses?

      Reply
      • Alisa Fleming on February 6, 2017 4:44 pm

        You can use another liquid sweetener, if preferred.

        Reply
    6. Raquel on April 8, 2016 5:39 pm

      Hi Alisa, alegrias are delicious, we are a new company bringing amaranth products and the healthy version of the alegria to the US market, I would love to send you some samples so you can share the goodness of amaranth with your readers. http://www.kualifoods.com

      Reply
      • Alisa Fleming on April 14, 2016 2:39 pm

        Please feel free to email us directly.

        Reply
    7. Karen on October 22, 2015 7:17 pm

      Great recipe! Really nice and toddler loves them. Going to try honey instead of sugar next time

      Reply
      • Alisa Fleming on October 22, 2015 9:52 pm

        Great – I bet honey would work well!

        Reply
    8. Josefina on May 31, 2015 9:52 am

      Can i use honey or maple syrup instead of sugar?? Love this candy… It reminds my country Dominican Republic!!! We use sesame seeds instead of amaranth, but seems to be as good as original!!

      Reply
      • Alisa Fleming on June 1, 2015 9:34 am

        I’m not positive, but I believe it would work with honey or maple Josefina.

        Reply
    9. Hanna on February 22, 2015 2:45 pm

      I liked this recipe, but my kids were turned off by the molasses. ( I know right?!) I will try it with honey or pure maple syrup next time for them. But, until then..more for me 🙂

      Reply
      • Alisa Fleming on February 23, 2015 7:18 am

        I guess it’s too strong for young taste buds! Glad you enjoyed Hanna and I bet it would be amazing with honey or maple!

        Reply
    10. Pingback: Amaranth Grains of DiscoveryGluten-Free Doctor

    11. Kim Lutz on September 25, 2013 11:28 am

      Thanks for the link, Alisa! I will definitely have to put my popped amaranth to the test with this sweet treat!

      Reply
    12. Maggie on September 25, 2013 6:55 am

      Yum! These sound so cool – kind of like those sesame seed bars I used to get as a kid!

      Reply
    13. Pingback: Grains of Discovery Giveaway + Amaranth Recipes! - Go Dairy Free

    14. Molly (Sprue Story) on September 24, 2013 4:12 pm

      I love this idea, but we burned our amaranth the last time we tried to pop it. Do you have any tips beyond what’s in the recipe directions?

      Reply
      • Alisa Fleming on September 25, 2013 8:02 am

        Molly, my friend Kim has a great process for avoiding burned popped amaranth:
        http://www.welcomingkitchen.com/2013/08/popped-amaranth-my-adventrues-in.html

        Reply

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