S'mores Cookies!

I went cookie monster crazy this weekend for the Super Bowl. There were so many cookies they seemed to be flowing out of the oven. Two recipes, two teams, too many cookies? No way. They were too good.

Mexican Hot Chocolate Cupcakes

Soft, chocolate, Kahlua-spiked cupcakes, filled with melty chocolate, covered in vanilla Kahlua marshmallow icing, drizzled with more melted chocolate, and topped off with a Dandies marshmallow. I call them Mexican Hot Chocolate Cupcakes, and they definitely warmed up the guests at my holiday party!

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Truffles & Vegan Halloween

Happy Halloween! What better way to end Vegan MoFo than with a deliciously sweet spread. We had a Halloween party Saturday night, and yep, I did my crazy hostess thing yet again.... This time, I made bourbon cinnamon cupcakes, candy corn, and pumpkin cream cheese truffles.

Vegan Candy Corn and Chocolate Candy Corn

Candy corn seems to be one of those polarizing things. You either love it, or you hate it. For me, it's always been the former. Until I eat too much of it and then I hate it- for a few hours, anyway. But no matter how much I may OD on candy corn in October, every year when Fall rolls around, I look forward to its return, right along with the falling leaves, crisp air, and cozy sweaters, of course. No matter which candy corn camp you're in, you have to admit, these little candies, with their uniquely sweet texture, are a Fall candy staple. So of course I needed to make vegan candy corn!

Brownies, Brownies, and Strawberry Brownies!

Sometimes you just want a brownie. For my husband, that sometimes is pretty much always. Brownie sundaes and strawberry shortcake are probably his top two all-time favorite desserts. I decided to combine the two, since our neighbor had just brought us 3 baskets of fresh local strawberries. Think chocolate-covered strawberries, in brownie form. They're even low fat, too- but every bit as satisfying.

And if you're looking for other vegan brownie recipes, read on- I also include some links to a few brownie recipes from around the web. These recipes are easy and can completely be thrown together on a weeknight evening when you're just craving a little dessert...

Candied Cacao Nib Cookies

Want something a little nuttier than your typical chocolate chip cookie? Try these on for size! They're chewy, sweet, and a little crunchy.

Chloe's Cinnamon Espresso Chocolate Cookies

These are my new favorite cookies. They are quite decadent, so make 'em to share. In fact, I've made them to share TWICE within the past month, and both times they were a complete hit. Espresso, cinnamon, and chocolate come together in this rich little cookie.

Cookie dough cupcakes and *alternates*

I don't know about you, but I don't go to many 1 year old's birthday parties. But, I went to one this weekend and I thought- what better treat to bring than COOKIE DOUGH in CUPCAKE FORM??!

Speaking of this weekend, we were *supposed* to have been in Mexico Saturday. Yes, instead we were at a birthday party filled with screaming children. How did that happen? And how else might one vary these cupcakes? For these exciting topics and more, read on! ;-)

Homemade Chocolates with Sugar Filling

Every week there's at least one food picture I find online that makes me say, "I HAVE to make that!" These Easter Egg Peppermint Patties were it this week. I thought it'd be fun to try my hand at making my own chocolates- specifically, my own peppermint patties! But, as I tend to do with most of my desserts, I made a few different variations...

Chocolate Puddin'!

Happy Leap Day!

My first try at vegan chocolate pudding didn't work out so well. But, actually, it's not that hard to make a tasty vegan chocolate pudding or mousse. This is a good base recipe that can easily be altered to include different fruit mix-ins, and it's quick too!

Chocolate Bundt Cake

I don't know what it is about getting married that makes you think you need things like a springform or bundt pan, if you've never used either before. But, I asked for them, I got them, and both have been sitting in my cabinets, unused, for 3 years.

This weekend, I got a case of the "I just want to bake something"s, and decided it was time to use that damn bundt pan. And one of my awesome new cookbooks, Veganomicon. Let me just say right off the bat that my husband took a few bites of this cake and said, "Ok, this goes on the list of your best vegan dishes." Score! Chocolately, but low in fat. Double score.

I don't really go out of my way for chocolate desserts, but this has a hint of almond flavor and light, moist texture that is just awesome. It's reminiscent of a brownie, but a more impressive, grown-up brownie. De-lish. And easy to make, too.

Chocolate Cherry Cookies

These delicious chocolatey cookies are like digging into a pint of Cherry Garcia ice cream, but healthier, vegan, and better for sharing because you don't have to fight over the good stuff. They're perfect with a glass of red wine too! The chocolate cookie is like a fudge brownie, and the cherry center is... ummm... the cherry on top ;-)

If you aren't a fan of cherries, these would also be good with a raspberry filling. See my notes at the end for more on that.

Recipe from the Tolerant Vegan (altered slightly)
Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Earth Balance buttery spread
• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 small-medium banana, ripe and mashed
• 1 and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 and 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• Dark morello cherries in syrup (you'll need about 24)
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips 
• 1/2 cup non-dairy vanilla milk
• 1 to 1 1/2 tsp of the syrup from cherry jar

Steps:

1. Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl.
2. Add in the mashed banana and vanilla.
3. In a separate bowl mix together the flour, baking soda and powder, salt, and cocoa powder. 
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well; the batter will be fairly thick.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 F. 
6. Scoop out the batter into small balls and slightly flatten. Place on cookie sheet and press a small circle into the center of each cookie using your thumb or forefinger. Add a cherry to each center.
7. In a small saucepan, place the chocolate chips and milk. Melt over low heat, constantly stirring with a whisk. Remove from heat and add 1-3 tsp of juice from cherry jar (amount depending on how sweet you want the sauce).
8. Scoop about a tsp of the melted chocolate over the cherries in the center of each cookie.
9. Bake for 10-12 minutes. After removing from the oven, add another tsp of melted chocolate to cover the top of each cookie and allow to cool.

Notes:
I'm actually not much of a chocolate person, but did really like these cookies. I did have about a 1/4 cup of the chocolate sauce leftover though, so if you don't want that hanging around your fridge, I'd cut back the sauce ingredients to 3/4 cup chocolate chips and a little over 1/4 cup milk. I also cut back the syrup used in the sauce from the original recipe since I thought it would be too sweet with any more, but feel free to add up to 3 tsp depending on your preference.

If you can't find Morello cherries, try another tart dark cherry (the Morello ones taste better though!). The first time I made these I used organic, low sugar maraschino cherries, which worked fine, but might have been a tad sweet. Whatever you do, DON'T use those really fake sugary maraschinos that seem to be fluorescent pink-  they might be good in a cocktail, but you don't want that fake taste overwhelming the cookies.

As mentioned, a good variation of these would be raspberry chocolate cookies. Simply add about a teaspoon of the raspberry sauce from this recipe to the center of each cookie instead of the cherry. Actually, there are plenty of options to fill the center of these: caramel, white chocolate, more chocolate (death by chocolate cookie?!)...

These go really well with red wine ;-)

Time for a girls night?!