It’s been a minute since I have posted a recipe on the ol’ blog. Summer came and went, and having all my kids home was just as demanding as it sounds. Now, we are getting back into the swing of things, and the time I spent writing and testing recipes still seems to be fleeting. I actually think it has a lot to do with my current priority of getting 8 hours of sleep a night, and as someone who has never valued that much sleep at night, it is like I lost 2 hours of productivity.

There is no better recipe to return to my blog with than Puffed Wheat Squares (or Puffed Wheat Cakes if you are from Saskatchewan). If this sounds like many words you aren’t familiar with, I can assure you that you will want to find out what it is all about.

Puffed Wheat Squares are a Canadian potluck staple (side note: will potlucks survive this pandemic?). Sticky, sweet, and chocolatey, the only downside to them is that I can’t stop eating them once I have made them. But I will let you know that my kids, who didn’t grow up with them the same way I did, also love them. The nostalgia of them could be why I love them so much, and I am totally okay with that.

The traditional recipe features corn syrup, but I personally try to avoid that in my baking and honey is the perfect alternative. It also is made with brown sugar, which I like to replace with coconut sugar to make it refined sugar free.

The only tricky thing about puffed wheat squares is finding puffed wheat. Especially in the USA, it can be challenging to find. I haven’t been able to find it for years (typically found in the cereal aisle), but I have been able to find puffed Kamut regularly, and it is perfect.

Puffed Wheat/Kamut Squares (refined sugar free)

Ingredients

1 cup coconut sugar (*or brown sugar or a combination of both)

½ cup butter (vegan works)

½ cup honey

2 tbsp cocoa powder

Pinch of salt

2 tsp vanilla extract

8 cups puffed Kamut or puffed wheat

Directions

Prepare a 9x9 pan with parchment paper or lightly grease, measure out 8 cups of puffed wheat in a bowl.
In a large pot, combine the butter, sugar, honey, cocoa, and salt.
Bring to a slow boil on medium heat, turn down to medium-low and cook for about 2-4 minutes. Once the mixture has reached the softball stage (235ºF or when placed in cold water, you can make it into a ball and pull it out of the water, and it will soften slowly), remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
If you have enough room in your pot for all the puffed wheat, pour in the puffed wheat and mix until it is all coated evenly. Alternatively, you can pour the hot mixture over your puffed wheat and mix in a large bowl.
Transfer the mixture to your prepared pan.
Let it cool to set before cutting into squares and enjoying.

*If you want this to be free of refined sugars, be sure to use coconut sugar