Vegan Espresso Chocolate Chunk Cookies

     Last week I tried out a couple new recipe ideas. Some of them turned out so-so and need a bit more work, but these dark chocolate cookies I made are perfect just the way they are! And once I (and a close group of my friends...and Ryan's co-workers) give the seal of approval, it's time for you guys to give them a try and tell me what you think. 

     These cookies have a lot of substance to them. In addition to the fresh espresso, they also have cranberries and almond pieces which really make these cookies stand out. Oh, and of course there are chunks of chocolate. I decided it was time to make a chocolate chunk cookie mostly because I had a ton of dark chocolate left over from Easter. I've had the idea for this recipe as a note in my recipe book from before I even had a blog (I knew what was up) and I figured it was about time I tried to make my chicken scratch into something delicious.

     If you're not a big fan of espresso, don't be alarmed, it is not over powering at all but rather ties the chocolate and the cranberries together perfectly. If you taste the batter (and please do, it is delicious!) you can really taste the espresso, but baking breaks down some of the espresso aromatics, and makes the cookie almost more savory. I've got a similar recipe that doesn't have the espresso, but has the same ratio of flour to sugar, and they taste much more sweet. 

Serves: 3 dozen
Time: Prep 20 minutes; Cook 11 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup vegan margarine
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 espresso (If you like espresso pull two double shots, otherwise pull a  long double shot)
• 1 tsp vanilla

• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda

• 100g dark chocolate, chunked (about 1 cup)
• 1/3 cup chopped or sliced almonds
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375°F/ 190°C and prepare a large baking or cookie sheet with parchment paper. 
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream margarine with brown and white sugar. Slowly whisk or mix in espresso and vanilla until smooth.
3. In a medium mixing bowl combine flour, cocoa powder and leavening agents.
4. Pour dry ingredients into wet and mix well.
5. Add in the goodies: chunks of chocolate, cranberries and almond pieces and mix to combine.
6. Using a cookie scoop or ice cream scoop, scoop balls of delicious batter onto the cookie sheet, leaving about an inch and a half between the cookies.
7. Bake at 375°F/ 190°C for 9-11 minutes.
8. Remove from oven and let cool on the baking sheet for five minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
9. Enjoy!

Morning Glory Muffins

 A.K.A. banana-carrot-apple/pear-coconut-raisin muffins

It seems that every time I talk with my dad, he complains that he wants my mom to bake him something. He was a bit jealous when I told him I made these muffins. They've got pretty much everything he loves in them: carrots, raisins, coconut, banana and nuts. Can you ask for a more tasty way to start off your morning? 

Serves: 12 muffins

Ingredients

1 large banana, mashed
3/4 cup soy milk or other non dairy milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup white sugar

2 cups flour, half whole wheat, half white
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp salt

1 large pear or apple, pealed and chopped
1 cup grated carrot
1/2 cup shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened up to you, I've used both)
1/2 cup raisins

1/2 chopped pecans for topping

Preparations

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a muffin tin, or line with muffin liners (Do not need to grease if using a silicon muffin tray).
2. In a large mixing bowl, mash banana and mix with all wet ingredients and sugar.
3. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, spices and salt.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix to combine.
5. To the batter, add the chopped fruit, grated carrot, raisins and coconut and mix well.
6. Distribute the batter evenly, top the muffins with the chopped pecans and place in your preheated oven at 350°F.
7. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes in the muffin tray before transferring the muffins to a wire rack and cooling for an additional 5-10 minutes before chowing down.

No-Bake Double Chocolate Torte

       Updating a favourite! Brought this delicious Chocolate Avocado Torte to a dinner party this past weekend and it was a huge success. I don't know how a chocolate torte could get bad reviews, but this one sure didn't fall short. The inspiration for this recipe came from "oh she glows' Chilled Double Chocolate Torte: The No-Bake Version" by Angela Liddon which I originally made in 2013 (oh how the time flies!). This torte is an excellent chocolate summer treat, and because it is no-bake, you don't need to brake a sweat making a delicious dessert.

Serves: 8-12
Time: 40 minutes + 2 hours (inactive)

Ingredients

No-Bake Crust

• 2 cups pecans or walnuts, toasted
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 tbsp melted coconut oil (can also use vegan margarine, though the crust will be a bit crumbly)
• 1/8 tsp salt

Chocolate Avocado Mousse 

• 3 medium avocados, pitted and flesh scooped out
• 1/3 cup soy milk or dairy-free equivalent
• 1/2 maple syrup or honey
• 1 tbsp almond butter or smooth peanut butter
• 1 tbsp cornstarch 
• 1/8 tsp salt, scant
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 cup of melted chocolate chips, semi-sweet

Preparation

Crust:

1. Oil a 7-10 inch spring form pan, or use wax or parchment paper.
2. In a food processor, pulse pecans or walnuts with other crust ingredients until thick and crumbly or cakey (a few larger nuts never hurt anyone).
3. Spread the mixture evenly on the bottom of the spring form pan, and put in the freezer while making the mousse.

Mousse:

1. Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler or in the microwave, stirring frequently.
2. Meanwhile, in a food processor, purée all other mousse ingredients until smooth.
3. Stir in melted chocolate chips and pulse until smooth and well combined.
4. Remove the crust from the freezer and scoop the mousse on top. Smooth out with a smatula and freeze for at least 2 hours before serving chilled.
5. To serve, let defrost for 5-10 minutes before cutting the torte, then replace the remaining torte in the freezer to not over soften the mousse.

Vegan Cheesecake

I've made this dessert for my mom's birthday for the past two years. She loves cheesecake and loves this vegan version too. Unlike regular cheesecakes that can weigh you down, this version in light and protein rich. You can feel good about yourself after eating it, so go ahead and have an extra piece. Really, this cake is a complete source of protein, using pecans as a crust with a tofu/tofutti cream cheese filling. You don't need to worry about missing out on your meat substitute food group if you're having this baby for dessert!
I've made this recipe a total of three times, and every time I make it, I play with the toppings. I've used apples in the fall, raspberries and strawberries and my latest was blackberries and strawberries.

How delicious does this look? Untouched and ready to be eaten.

 Ingredients

2 Cups strawberries (1/2 quart) to 1 Cup blackberries (1/2 pint)
I only cooked the berries for a few minutes (the strawberries for
 ~5 minutes and the blackberries for ~3 additional minutes on
medium low heat) to keep them fresh 

Crust
3 cups pecans (2.5 if chopped)
4 tbsp white sugar
3 tbsp whole wheat flour
6 tbsp melted margarine

Filling
1 package firm (or extra firm) tofu, rinsed
2 tubs tofutti cream cheese
2 tbsp soy milk (or other varieties)
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tsp cinnamon (optional)
5 tbsp whole wheat flour

Topping
2 tbsp margarine
3 cups fruit, such as mixed berries (see photos for more information)

2 Cups raspberries (1 pint) to 1 Cup strawberries
I made this this cheese cake last year and travelled on the bus
with it from Toronto to North Bay to surprise my mom for her
birthday. It was refrigerated for at least 24 hours, which is why
the topping is clearly firmer than the previous, which only had
time to chill for about 4 hours.

1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup corn starch dissolved in 1/4 cup cold water

Preparation

Crust
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
In a blender or food processor, pulse pecans, sugar and flour until crumbly (this can be challenging if using a blender, and may take some patience and frequent stirring).
Stir in melted margarine with a fork until well mixed.
Poor mixture into a 9" spring form pan and press down firmly with a fork or spatula, distributing the mixture evenly to about 1/4 inch thick. 
If you are using a smaller spring form pan, you may want to consider continuing the crust up the sides of the pan.
Bake crust at 400°F for 13 minutes.
Let crust cool at room temperature for 5-15 minutes.
Reduce oven heat to 325°F.

McIntosh apples (3 sliced)! I didn't
have a spring form pan at the time, 
so I used a large pie plate instead.

Filling
In a medium mixing bowl, crumble tofu, and add all other ingredients.
Mix together roughly, then transfer to the food processor or blender, or use an immersion blender, and blend until smooth.
Spread the filling evenly onto the crust.
Bake at 325°F for 70 minutes.
After 70 minutes, turn the oven off, leaving the cheesecake in the oven for an additional hour.
Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature on a wire rack before cooling in the fridge.
Let chill for at least an hour before making the topping.




Topping
Wash fruit and slice to desired thickness or leave smaller berries whole.
On medium low heat, melt margarine and toss with firmer fruit. Sauté for a few minutes, until tender, before adding any additional softer fruit. 
When the fruit are at the desired tenderness, and they have produced a good amount of liquid, stir in the brown sugar and cook on medium low until bubbly, stirring lightly when needed.
Add the corn starch-water mixture and stir constantly until thickened.
Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
Top cheesecake with topping and let chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours. The longer it chills, the firmer it will become.

And if ever short on time, you can always switch between the fridge and the freezer when chilling this delicious cheese cake...I've never been a very patient person when it comes to cake.

Enjoy!

Vegan Banana Bread

Waking up to the smell of banana bread is absolutely wonderful. Unfortunately, I was the one in the kitchen, not the one leisurely waking up. :)
This is hands down the best vegan banana bread I've had to date.  It has the components of every good bread that doesn't know if it should be eaten for breakfast or for dessert. Well, if you are fortunate enough to have any left after breakfast, you might just be able to indulge after dinner too.

Serves: 6-12
Bake at 350°F for 1 hour

Ingredients

2 ripe and frozen bananas/ 1 cup mashed
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Granola, optional

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Remove bananas from freezer, cut off ends and cut in half, place in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high until defrosted, about 1 minute, 30 seconds. 
When dethawed, squeeze banana out of peel, and mash in medium mixing bowl. 
Add wet ingredients, brown sugar, salt and vanilla and mix well.
Mix dry ingredients and add to wet. Mix well.
Pour batter into greased bread pan.
Top with granola.
Bake at 350°F for approximately 1 hour.
Test with a knife/chopstick/cake tester before removing.
Remove, let cool 5-10 minutes before removing from bread pan. Let cool an additional 10 minutes (minimum) before cutting.

butter it up and enjoy!

Bars and Squares

Two days till christmas, if I don't do my christmas baking now, I'll never get it done in time for the big day. I've been making this recipe for years, super easy and a real crowd pleaser. 

Brownies

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 and 1/2 cups flour
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup baking cocoa
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2-1 cup chopped walnuts (optional, amount depends on how nutty you like it)
• 1/2 chocolate chips (optional)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. 
2. Boil water with 1/2 cup flour over low heat, stirring constantly until it reaches a thin, glue like consistency. Remove from heat and let cool completely.
3. Mix sugar, salt, vanilla, cocoa and oil. Add the cooled flour-water mixture and mix well.
4. Add the remaining 1 1/2 cup flour, baking powder, nuts and chocolate chips and mix well.
5. Spread mixture into greased 11 x 7 glass pyrex pan.
6. Bake at 350°F for around 25 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean.

Best Ever Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Serves: 4-5 dozen cookies
Cooking time: 11-13 minutes
Preheat Oven to 350F

Ingredients

1 cup vegan margarine
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup boiling water
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped pecans
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Preparation

Cream together margarine, sugar, vanilla.
Add flour and salt and mix well.
Dissolve baking powder in boiling water and add to mixture. Stir in oats, nuts and chocolate. And mix.
Roll dough into golf ball size balls and flatten with a fork on a baking sheet.
Bake at 350F for approximately 12 minutes.