Chocolate Mudpies

I've been really slacking on posting recipes and blog posts lately. It's so much easier to point and click the iPhone before chowing down than it is to type out recipes! #firstworldproblems! 

Tonight I decided to try the 6 ingredient Chocolate Mudpies that I saw on Finding Vegan! Boy am I glad I did!!!

This is raw, vegan, GF and gluttonous!

Crust:

1 cup pitted dates, soaked

1.5 cups walnuts

3/4 cup cacao powder

Mudpie Filling:

1 package silken tofu

1.5 cups melted vegan chocolate chips

1/2 cup of coconut milk

First pulse the walnuts and cacao in the food processor until finely ground. Then remove into a bowl and drain and pulse the dates. Fold the nut mixture back in and blend.

I lined muffin tins with Saran Wrap and equally portioned balls of the mix into each one, then pressed into the bottom evenly. In the freezer she goes!

Now, clean the food processor and et ready for the filling. Add the tofu and coconut milk into th food processor.  In a double boiler (or microwave) heat the chocolate chips. Add the melted chocolate chips into the food processor and while they're still warm turn on high until it's consistency is fluffy! 

Remove the muffin tin from the freezer and add two to three dollops of the filling onto each crust. Place back in the freezer for at least 30 minutes and Voila! Amazing chocolate mud pies!!

Whoopie Pies!!

I have this bake sale coming up, and to be honest I'm freaking out a little. I flip flop between "oh god, what if no one comes" and "oh god, what if no one likes the food". A little ridiculous, I know. 

The biggest feedback I got about my baking was really that I needed more gluten free options. But the problem is that gluten free food sucks!! Ok, that was harsh. But honestly, so much of it is really bland with dry or unappealing textures. I do have my gluten free macaroon, which is damn good but I wanted something else to sell on May 3rd. So I asked the land of Facebook and lots of suggestions came. 

I made a chocolate quinoa cupcake with whipped buttercream frosting that was pretty good. The people who ate my test batch loved them, but when a recipe calls for 6 eggs the egg replacer falls a little flat, in my opinion. 

Those are the quinoa cupcakes above.

Tonight I thought I'd try another recipe went to me. It only called for one egg and was a one bowl dessert which is my fave. It's actually all made in a food processor which is even better. I doubled the recipe to make 10 joe louis sized whoopie pies. Because I'm gluttonous like that.

The ingredients:

2 cups of black beans

6 tbsp cacao powder

2 "eggs" (I used Ener-G GF replacer)

3 tbsp coconut oil, melted

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup of agave nectar

3 tsp baking soda 

Here's where it gets easy. Preheat oven to 350. Throw all ingredients into a food processor and process until smoothe. 

Spoon about 1.5 of batter at a time onto cookie sheet and leave room for spreading. Bake for 20 minutes and voila!!

While they're cooling, make the icing. 

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

1/2 cup earth balance

3.5 cups powdered sugar

2 tbsp cacao (if you want chocolate)

1 tsp vanilla 

1/4 cup almond milk

Mix the earth balance and shortening together, add the remaining ingredients and stir well. Then use electric beater and whip into a beautiful sugary dream.

When cookies are cool, pipe onto one side of a cookie and press together. BAM! Whoopie pies straight from heaven!!

Mmmmm, I love turtles...

A lovely humanoid named Soo-Jin sent me a recipe once upon a time for vegan turtles. You know, those sweet and salty delicious chocolates? Me too. 

I admit that tonight I cheated while making these, because I already had melted chocolate on the go (making macaroons) and "caramel" in the fridge (it's the kiddo's go-to snack) and a variety of raw nuts are always in my pantry. 

If you too have all of these goodies, here's whatcha do.

Pipe a quarter sized dollop of chocolate onto a sheet of parchment paper. In the middle place one half pecan. Around the edges place pecan bits and pieces.

With a small spoon, put a small amount of "caramel" on top of the whole pecan. Sprinkle sea salt on the "caramel" and top with more melted chocolate.

Set somewhere cool (fridge or covered porch/garage if you're Canadian like I am..) In about 20 minutes they should be set and ready to OM NOM NOM.

Chocolate Caramel Cream Bars

I am so excited to start my Christmas baking this weekend that I started as soon as I got home from work! 

Chocolate Caramel Cream Bars. 

Just close your eyes and say the name. 

Chocolate. 

Caramel. 

Cream.

Oh lawd! There is so much awesome about this recipe. For starters, it's vegan. It's super high in protein. It tastes AMAZING. And it's no bake. Seriously. 

There are three layers; crust, caramel cream and chocolate. All you need is a food processor. For the crust start by putting one cup of nuts in and turn to "powder". I used pecans. Then add in one cup of pitted dates and voila. Crust. 

Line a square or rectangular dish with parchment or Saran (for easy lift out) and pour in the mixture. Spread evenly and then press down to compact. Now put it in the fridge and move onto the caramel cream.

For this, in the processor add 1/2 a cup of nut butter (I used organic unsweetened almond butter) and half a cup of organic coconut oil, melted. Then add one cup of pitted dates and blend into ridiculously good, drool worthy sticky caramel. Take the pan from the fridge, pour in mix, spread evenly and put back in the fridge.  Onto the chocolate! 

In a bowl mix 1/3 cup of coconut oil (melted) with 3 tablespoons of cacao and 1/4 cup of agave nectar. (You could also use honey.) Whisk well and when smooth pour on top of the mixture and bam! Done. You could put it back in the fridge to set unless you're impatient like me and then in the freezer they go! Within half an hour they'll be ready to lift out, cut into squares and INHALE. 

I'm quite proud of myself that I shared with not one but TWO friends and I'll even share with more. This recipe will definitely be in my "times by 3847383 for Christmas" list. Cheers!

Double Chocolate Pancakes

I don't know about you, but every once in a while, I become RAVENOUS for pancakes. 

A well "buttered" pan + sweet cakey goodness = HEAVEN. I love the sweet and salty! 

Today I wanted something extra sweet so I decided to make some double chocolate chip pancakes. Ingredients were (roughly);

1.25 C whole wheat flour

2 tbsp raw organic coconut sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt (to taste)

1 flax "egg"

2 C chocolate almond milk 

Make your flax "egg" first. 1 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsp of water. Mix and let sit for 5 minutes or so and you've got an egg sub! Then mix the dry ingredients well. You could add a tablespoon of cocoa if you want them super duper chocolatey. Then add in milk and flax "egg" and stir. You can make them as thick or thin as you'd like, just add more or less milk. 

After pouring in the pan add a few semi-sweet chocolate chips. Then flip and top with a few more. When they're good and melty, transfer to plate, slather generously in pure maple syrup and INHALE! 

Sweet Tooth in a Hurry

As you've probably gathered by now, the kiddo wants to help me in the kitchen. Like, really, REALLY badly. Desperately.

I am terrible at sharing my kitchen. Really REALLY terrible. Horrible. 

It is this conundrum that leads me to bake things that are 5 ingredients or less and take less than 20 minutes start to finish. That way we both win. She gets to help mommy, and mommy doesn't need to drink her weight in wine to make the left eye twitch go away. 

That lead us to tonight's mother-daughter dessert. Samoas Babies. (I didn't make the name, trust me.) 

To be honest, at the beginning I didn't really care whether or not they turned out. I just wanted to get it over with. But then I tasted one. BIG MISTAKE. These things are like crack. Trouble!!

Basically, add dates, chocolate chips, coconut, a pinch of salt and vanilla into a food processor and blend. Then roll into balls and enjoy. 

But why stop there? I somehow got the idea to make a coconut chocolate to add on top. Best idea ever!

In a double boiler I melted some coconut oil and added in some semi-sweet chocolate chips. Then instead of making balls of the cookies, I made them flat with a divot in the middle. Poured on the chocolate and BAM. Diabeetus! 

Side bar: Diabetes, when said with a strange "Southern" accent becomes Diabeetus and is so much fun to say! Just ask Cheryl. :)

Anyhow, chocolate coconut crack cookies look like this:

Cheers!!

Ain't nobody got time for that...

Ok, so I had full intentions of doing the pumpkin pinwheel tonight but I had failed to sufficiently scan the recipe... GOOD LORD! 3.5 hours?! OF PREP?! 

Plan B it is...

After successfully squashing the kiddos dream of "baking pumpkin pinwheels with mommy", I did what any good mother would do. I blurted out "what if we make a CHOCOLATE cake instead? Mmm, chocolate!!"

She bought it and thus began tonight's baking adventure, which if we're being honest was less of an adventure and more of me doing everything while she watched and asked incessantly "Can I stir/pour/measure/whisk/lick that" while I said no. To everything. Except licking the spoon, but even that was only so she could sit at the island out of the way while I cleaned up any evidence of the kitchen having ever been used. 

You see, I'm not good at sharing the kitchen. If I had my way, not only would my family not be in the kitchen while I cook or bake- they wouldn't be home at all.  

I see all of these mothers who think it's endearing when kids throw flour and sugar all over the place, leave messy little handprints everywhere and fill the kitchen with the sound of laughter and joy. But, I just see that as kids trashing the place and laughing about it- at which point I turn into Tourette's mom. It's just a never ending string of expletives followed by "Go to bed." 

But don't feel bad for the kiddo though, at least she gets cake for breakfast. The power of guilt. Sigh.

Moving along, here is how the cake turned out! 

Waiting for icing...

And iced!

It's iced with store bought non-vegan cream cheese icing. You remember that the kiddo was helping, right? I'm not sure my maternal love could withstand baking cake from scratch AND making icing. Plus it was getting late. Ha!

The Pumpkin Pinwheels will appear at some point. 

Stay tuned!

Recipe Link: http://m.allrecipes.com/recipe/16779/vegan-chocolate-cake