Florentines (Italian cookie classic)

Ingredients

1/2 stick butter
1/4 c raw sugar
1/4 c honey
1/4 c flour (plain or rice)
1 Tbsp dried cranberries, finely chopped
1 Tbsp dried apricots, finely chopped
1 Tbsp zest of orange (about zest of 1/2 to 1 orange)
1 Tbsp almonds, finely chopped
1 Tbsp walnuts, finely chopped
200g plain chocolate (70% cocoa solids)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350. Line 3 trays with parchment paper.
2. Place butter, sugar, and honey in a small pan, heating gently until butter is melted.
3. Remove from heat, add flour, cranberries, apricots, orange zest, nuts to the pan. Stir well to mix.
4. Make 18 florentines by spooning 6 tsp of the mixture onto each of the trays. Be sure to leave enough room for spreading during the bake.
5. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown. Leave to partially cool on tray and then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely. (If the florentines become too hard to remove, pop them back into the oven for a few minutes to soften again.)
6. Set a heat proof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Temper the chocolate by breaking half of the chocolate into the bowl.  Stir until it reaches melting temperature at 127 degrees. Meanwhile, finely chop or grate the remaining chocoate.
7. Carefully remove the bowl from the pan, add the remaining chocolate, and stir gently until cooled at 79 deg.  (There are great tutorials online as to how to temper chocolate without a thermometer).
8. Spread the melted chocolate over the flat base back side of each florentine and leave to cool slightly before marking a zip zag in the chocolate with a fork. Leave to set, chocolate side up on the cooling rack. Store in an airtight container.

Salted Caramel Bourbon Brownie (Vegan, Paleo, Clean)

Ingredients
Brownie
3 c packed almond flour
2/3 c cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp Baking powder
1 c granulated sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 Tbsp non-dairy milk
4 Tbsp Bourbon
2 Tbsp room temp non-dairy butter
2 Tbsp coconut oil, melted

Salted Caramel
1/4 c non-dairy butter or coconut oil (I used a mix)
1/2 c brown sugar
2 1/2 Tbsp Heavy Coconut Milk (canned)
course sea salt to taste

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350. Place parchment paper in 6x6 pan.
2. In bowl, mix all brownie ingredients. Dough will be very thick.
3. Press dough into prepared pan. Bake 35-40 min.
4. Remove from oven and cool completely before attempting to slice, otherwise they will crumble.
5.Meanwile, make the caramel. In heavy bottomed sauce pan, combine all caramel ingredients and bring to gentle boil for 1-2 minutes, until it thickens slightly. The longer you boil, the thicker it will be.
6. Drizzle caramel over brownies and sprinkle with salt. Try not to devour in one sitting ;)

Vegan Donuts

Ingredients
1 1/2 c unbleached organic flour
1/2 c sugar
2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
dash of cinnamon and nutmeg
3/4 c non-dairy milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 c applesauce
1/4 c coconut oil

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350. In large bowl, combine dry ingredients. Combine we in separate bowl. Add wet to dry until just combined (should form a very soft dough)
2. Using a tablespoon, scoop dough into ungreased donut pan. Smooth top.
3. Bake for 12 min. They should not be browned on top, but toothpick should remove clean. Inver hot pan over board or cooling rack to release donuts. Allow to cool completely before decorating.
4. Top with glaze, melted chocolate, and /or sprinkles if desired.

Chocolate Glaze
1 1/2 c powdered sugar
4 Tbsp cocoa powder
3 Tbsp nondairy milk or water
2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions
1. In medium bowl, whisk powdered sugar and cocoa. Slowly stir in milk and vanilla. Whisk until smooth. You can add more milk if needed to make it a dippable glaze.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

FALL is here!!!

Ingredients

2 1/2 c unbleached flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. dark brown sugar
1 c of sugar or stevia
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ginger
1 tsp salt
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
dash of cloves
1 c unrefined coconut oil
15 oz pumpkin puree
4 Tbsp maple syrup
8 Tbsp water
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 c vegan chocolate chips

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease bread pans.
2. Mix all dry ingredients. Mix wet in separate bowl. Fold together without over-stirring.
3. Pour into baking pan/ pans and bake at 350 for 1 hour and 15 min.

*can easily be adapted into muffins!

Every year, our fall tradition on the first available "cold snap," we serve up some form of pumpkin bread with yummy, hot apple cider!! That's our FALL tradition...incidentally, fall is my favorite time of year ;) Boy, I do miss living in a place where I can watch the seasons change!

Experiment (Cherry) Chocolate Cake (Minimal added sugar)

I am trying to decrease or eliminate the amount of sugar in our baked goods. Plus I really wanted cherry chocolate cake, but we didn't have enough cherries for the recipe I had...so, here it is...

Ingredients:

2 cups organic unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 cup stevia
1/4 c brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tbsp flax
1/2 cup warm coffee
1/2 cup almond milk
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon coconut oil
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 c pureed cherries (we used frozen and thawed it)


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg
2. Mix all dry ingredients. Then separately, mix all wet ingredients.
3. Combine, but do not over mix. Batter will be thick.
4. Place in greased pan, and cook for 30-35 minutes.

*We used vanilla icing to top!

Healthy Brownies! NO added processed sugar, and vegan!

Ingredients:

3/4 c unbleached organic flour
1/4 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c unsweetened cocoa
1/4 c. stevia
1/4 c. agave nectar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c water
1/2 c unrefined coconut oil
1/2 vegan chocolate chips


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Mix dry ingredients. Mix wet ingredients separately. Fold in chocolate chips.
3. Add to small pan, and bake for 25 minutes.

*If you are making this for more than just a few people, I recommend doubling the recipe...it turns out pretty small!

*For extra nutritional punch, I add 1 Tbsp chia seeds or 1 Tbsp flax seeds, which also adds a new ambiance of flavor!

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

A NEW TAKE ON MY FAVORITE COOKIES!! JUST ADD OATMEAL AND A BIT MORE VEGAN MILK!!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c unbleached organic flour
1/2 c whole wheat flour
1 c quick cook oats
1/3 c unbleached organic sugar
1/3 c stevia
1/3 c brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 c organic vegan chocolate chip
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup coconut oil (I melt a bit first)
1 Tbsp vegan butter
1/2 c almond or Silk coconut milk
1 tsp organic pure vanilla extract
1 Tbsp dark molasses
1 flax egg (1 Tbsp flax, 3 Tbsp water--let sit for a bit before adding to recipe).


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Mix all dry ingredients
3. Separately mix all wet ingredients, including flax egg
4. Add wet mixture to dry mixture until well incorporated
5. Roll dough into compact balls, place on greased baking sheet or parchment paper, and squish down to make saucers.
6. Bake in oven for 10 minutes. Avoid the temptation...let cool for at least 5 minutes, then devour.

German Chocolate Cake with Ganache

Ingredients:
Cake

1 1/2 c unbleached flour
1 c whole wheat flour
1 c sugar
1/2 c stevia
4 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
5 Tbsp coconut oil
1/4 c maple syrup

Icing
I cheated. I bought store bought.

Ganache
2 Tbsp Earth Balance butter sub (or other vegan butter)
4 Tbsp cocoa
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/4 c maple syrup
3/4 c powdered sugar (optional)
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Stir all cake ingredients into 2 8x8 cake pans.
3. Bake cake for 35 minutes, or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.
4. Meanwhile, make ganache. Over med heat, melt butter sub, add cocoa and milk. Bring to a boil.
5. Mix well, reduce heat. Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Stir well and remove from heat.
6. To assemble cake: Place one layer of cake on cake platter. Ice thickly with icing. Add second layer. Ice top generously, but do not ice the sides.
7. Use ganache to cover sides of cake. Drizzle remaining ganache over top of cake.


Caveat: I opted for more nuts than the store bought icing had in it. I added about 1/2 c of pecans (crushed) sprinkled on top. You could also use walnuts.

Seriously, MY FAVE CAKE I HAVE EVER MADE!!

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c unbleached organic flour
1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/3 c unbleached organic sugar
1/3 c stevia
1/3 c brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 c organic vegan chocolate chip
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup coconut oil (I melt a bit first)
1 Tbsp vegan butter
1/4 c almond or coconut milk
1 tsp organic pure vanilla extract
1 Tbsp dark molasses
1 flax egg (1 Tbsp flax, 3 Tbsp water--let sit for a bit before adding to recipe).


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Mix all dry ingredients
3. Separately mix all wet ingredients, including flax egg
4. Add wet mixture to dry mixture until well incorporated
5. Roll dough into compact balls, place on greased baking sheet or parchment paper, and squish down to make saucers.
6. Bake in oven for 12 minutes. Avoid the temptation...let cool for at least 5 minutes, then devour.


...um, yeah. Hands down, the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever made...

Chocolate Cake and Chocolate Icing: Vegan and Eat Clean!

We made this yummy cake to celebrate Christmas!! Happy Birthday Jesus!


Cake
Ingredients:

1 c unbleached flour
1/2 c whole wheat flour
1 c sugar
4 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp cider vinegar
6 Tbsp coconut oil
1 cup water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Stir all ingredients into 8x8 cake pan.
3. Bake for 35 minutes, or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.
4. Cool and frost!

Frosting
Ingredients:
2 cups organic powdered sugar
1/4 c soy based butter or margarine (I use Earth Balance)
1/4 c almond or coconut milk
3/4 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. In a medium/large mixing bowl, cream powdered sugar and butter until thick but well combined, using electric mixer.
2. Add milk, cocoa, vanilla and continue until smooth.
3. Frost that yummy cake and enjoy!