[Hankering for some frosting, sans the cake? These adorable Healthy Pumpkin Spice Frosting Shots will hit the spot! Plus, they’re vegan, sugar-free, gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, egg free, soy-free, optionally nut-free, yeast-free, and low glycemic. Suitable for all stages on an anti-candida diet.]
One of the benefits of being a kid who knows her way around the kitchen is that you don’t have to wait for your mom to whip up meals or snacks. It’s also one of the greatest drawbacks.
I first learned to bake around age 6, helping my great-aunt whip up chocolate chip cookies. By age 7, I knew how to make from-scratch cakes and frosting, and knew that frosting was made from icing sugar, butter, milk and cocoa.
Well, all of those ingredients were staples in our house. So, whenever I had a craving–which occurred alarmingly frequently for a seven year-old–I’d simply go to the cupboard, then mix up a bowl of chocolate frosting, and eat it. Since my mom worked full time back then, she was never privy to this little habit of mine.
Eventually, I grew up and moved out of the house. Did I continue this aberrant behavior as an adult, living on my own?
Of course not. By that time, I had discovered that canned Betty Crocker frosting existed, and it was way more immediate. And, I thought then, it tasted way better, too.
I wish I could say that my rational mind finally took hold and I curtailed that awful mainlining-sugar-via-frosting addiction, but honestly, the behavior didn’t stop until my life-changing bout with candida in 2009.
Since then, sugar has been entirely off the table (and the spoon, and the can).
So what’s a frosting-loving gal to do? Why, whip up some sugar-free, dairy-free, healthy pumpkin spice frosting shots instead, of course!
Courtesy BabyCakesNYC (now Erin McKenna’s Bakery), the concept of “ frosting shots “ was first popularized in the US and Canada early in the 2000s.
A frosting “shot” is simply that–a single hit of frosting to satisfy the sweet tooth, but without having to consume the rest of the baked good along with it. I realize now that I perfected this concept back when I was seven and whipped up “shots” of chocolate frosting as a snack. Sadly, those frosting shots contributed to the imbalance in my intestinal bacteria, candida overgrowth, and lifelong litany of symptoms.
Not so these Healthy Pumpkin Spice Frosting Shots! These babies are rich, creamy, fluffy and eminently satisfying–but they forgo the sugar, dairy, egg, gluten or any other questionable ingredients.
Go ahead and indulge freely. These frosting shots make adorable treats for Halloween or Thanksgiving. Or, you can go with conventional wisdom and simply spread the frosting on a brownie, cake or cupcake. (You can even put it in a can first if you prefer).
However you enjoy these gorgeous Pumpkin Spice Frosting Shots, you’ll feel good about your health and make your sweet tooth happy, all at the same time.
Pumpkin Spice Frosting Shots
When you need a shot of frosting, these little packages will relieve the yearning! Made with real pumpkin and without sugar, dairy, eggs or gluten, you can definitely indulge without guilt. Or use the batch to frost you favorite cake or cupcakes!
1 cup (240 ml) pure unsweetened pumpkin puree (homemade or canned)
2 Tbsp (30 ml) goji berries (for Stage One, omit and replace with 2 Tbsp more xylitol, or a few drops lemon stevia)
6 Tbsp (75 ml) xylitol or Lakanto
2 Tbsp (30 ml) pumpkin spice syrup OR 1 tsp (5 ml) pumpkin pie spice and 1/4-1/3 cup (60-80 ml) additional xylitol, to taste
2 Tbsp (30 ml) smooth natural cashew butter, tahini, or other nut/seed butter of choice
3-6 Tbsp (45-90 ml) unsweetened nondairy milk of choice, as needed (start with 3 Tbsp/45 ml and add more as needed)
1/8 tsp (.5 ml) fine sea salt
3/4 cup (180 ml) coconut butter (not oil), gently melted
Place all ingredients except the coconut butter in a blender and blend until combined and the xylitol has completely dissolved. Pour into a medium bowl and stir in the coconut butter by hand (NOTE: it is important that you DO NOT ADD THE COCONUT BUTTER TO THE BLENDER. This could cause the mixture to curdle and separate–not very frosting-like!).
For a “buttercream,” beat with electric beaters until the color lightens 1-2 shades and the mixture appears fluffy. Pipe in to shot glasses, ice cupcakes or cakes, or just eat with a spoon. Makes about 2-1/2 cups (600 ml), enough for 12 servings or to frost a 9-inch (22 cm) layer cake. May be frozen. To defrost, place in a covered container in the fridge overnight, then bring to room temperature and beat again with beaters until fluffy.
Suitable for: ACD All stages (if goji berries are omitted; otherwise Stage 2); refined sugar-free, gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, egg free, soy-free, optionally nut free, yeast-free, vegan, low glycemic.
Disclosure: Links in this post may be affiliate links. If you choose to purchase using those links, at no cost to you, I will receive a small percentage of the sale.
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Hi! I'm Ricki, cookbook author, professional recipe developer, holistic nutritionist and anti-candida crusader. Let me show you how easy it is to eat plant-based, sugar-free, gluten free food that tastes great! 
Hi Ricki!! I was surprised to see xylitol in your recipe and canola oil in a recipe to!! I could never put xylitol in my recipe so I would like for you to give me another consolation is xylitol gives me A very bad upset stomach so I wouldn’t be able to eat The pumpkin cream which sounds so good if it didn’t have that in it!! Maybe would be A good substitute for the xylitol that you could let me know about ! Thank you so much enjoy all your other recipes except her chocolate which I can’t have either !!
Hi Clara Ann, you could try coconut sugar instead of the xylitol, or Lakanto (though erythritol would likely cause even more stomach upset!). I’m not sure where you see canola oil in my recipe–?? I would never use canola oil–it’s known to be highly GMO and processed. Please stay away from it!
I’m sorry to say that I found out I was allergic to coconut oil maybe I was eating too much but I have to stay away for a while to see so coconut sugar is out to maybe I can try another oil macadamia etc. and I will try Mark fruit sweetener or swerve let me know what you think about that !! Thank you so much Ricki for all your help !!
Sorry to hear that, Clara Ann. You could try actual butter if that’s okay for you. Liquid oils won’t work in this, unfortunately. I definitely prefer monkfruit to Swerve, which is a processed product. 🙂
Hi Ricki.. which of the following types of sugar substitute bring least harm to health , at the same time still can satisfy a sweet tooth ?
~ coconut sugar
~ liquid form of malt sugar
~ molasses
~ brown sugar
Thanks in advance.
Ariana, some of those aren’t sugar substitutes. . . they other sugars. 😉 This is a great question. I’d like to deal with even more than this list, in fact, in a full blog post. In the meantime, I do cover some of my favorite sweeteners here. Hope that helps!