Double Chocolate Fudge Cookies (Vegan)

When I used to follow the Phil Plait, the Bad Astronomer, he posted a Double Chocolate Fudge Cookie recipe that I enjoyed quite a bit, and reproduced here. I liked them so much that I wanted to make a vegan version. I had to try a couple times to get the correct ingredients, but this is a good replication. Whenever something could be vegan, presume a vegan version, ie chocolate.

Ingredients:

18 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, (1.5 bags)
4 oz unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees farenheit. 
3. Place 12 ounces (1 bag) chocolate chips in a large microwavable bowl (glass is best). Microwave on high 30 seconds then stir, repeat until chips are melted and smooth. 
4. Beat sugar, vanilla, and applesauce in a large bowl until thick. 
5. Add melted chocolate and beat until blended, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. 
6. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt in medium bowl and slowly add to the wet chocolate mixture, beating until blended. 
7. Stir in the remaining 6 oz (half bag) of chocolate chips by hand (the dough will be very hard.)
8. Roll by hand into 1-2 tablespoon size balls and place 2 inches a part on the parchment lined sheet.
9. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until cookies are just cooked enough to hold together. 
10. Cool by pulling parchment paper off the cookie sheets and placing on cool counter top until cookies are firm, then move to wire racks to finish cooling completely.

Notes:

• Makes about 2 dozen.

Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Frosting

In search for a vegan lemon cupcake that could possibly replace the delicious Lemon Creme Lemon Cupcakes, I found a recipe at Vegan Cupcake Recipes. The problem is that the recipe is slightly poorly written and there's no creamy center like the cupcakes I've made. In addition, the images shown look like there's a lemon custard in the middle, but that's clearly added in for the photos and the recipe for it is not given. All those drawbacks aside, the cupcakes are delicious. I've fixed the recipe so they issues should be less of a problem. I'm still on the hunt for a vegan cupcake that has all the components of a lemon cream lemon cupcake.

Ingredients:
1 cup vegan margarine, softened
2 cups organic unbleached sugar
1/2 cup non-dairy yogurt
1/4 cup applesauce
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups vegan sour cream

Frosting
3 tablespoons vegan margarine, softened
2 1/4 cups organic unbleached sugar (what the recipe calls for, but I need to try it with powdered sugar)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1-2 tablespoons soy milk (or other non-dairy milk)


Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl, cream margarine and organic unbleached sugar.
2. Mix in yogurt and applesauce.
3. Add lemon peel and vanilla, and continue to mix well.
4. In a second bowl, combine dry ingredients. 
5. Add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream (batter will be thick).
6. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups with 1/4 cup of batter.
7. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
8. Cool for 10 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool 
9. Frosting:
10. Cream margarine and organic unbleached sugar in large mixing bowl. 
11. Add lemon juice, vanilla, lemon peel, and soy milk; whip until smooth. This may take awhile as I never got it with granulated sugar to be smooth.
12. Frost cupcakes.

Notes:

• As I noted, either powdered sugar needs to be used in the frosting, which I haven't tried yet, OR you have to whip for a very long time to get nice smooth frosting.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

Another version of these same whole wheat chocolate chip cookies. Yum!

Ingredients: 
3/4 cup sugar 
3/4 cup packed brown sugar 
1 cup Earth Balance (2 sticks), softened 
1 teaspoon vanilla 
1/4 cup applesauce
2 cups whole wheat flour 
1 teaspoon baking soda 
1/2 teaspoon salt 
1 pkg (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips

Directions: 

1. Heat oven to 375.  
2. Mix sugars, butter, vanilla, and egg in large bowl.  
3. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt.  
4. Stir in chocolate chip cookies.  
5. Form 1-2" balls of dough and drop about 2” apart onto ungreased cookie sheet.  
6. Bake approximately 10 min or until light brown. 
7. Cool slightly until you can remove from sheet without disturbing cookie shape; remove from cookie sheet.  
8. Cool on wire rack.            

Notes:

• Makes ~3 dozen. 
• Prep: 10 min           
• Total: 20 min 
• You may want to use less than the entire package of chocolate chips.

Irish Soda Bread in a Mug

For St. Patrick's Day, serve yourself a treat: Irish Soda Bread for breakfast. This bread doesn't get crusty in the microwave, although maybe you could bake it to make it so. I also removed the raisins, which is probably a definitive component of Irish Soda Bread. But, raisins ruin everything. I got this recipe from Happy Herbivore Meal Mentor.

Ingredients:
¼ cup (2-oz) almond milk 
1 tbsp white vinegar 
1 cup oat flour 
2 tbsp raw sugar 
1 tsp baking powder 
½ tsp baking soda
pinch salt 
1 cup applesauce 
12-oz yogurt 
¼ cup jam, flavor of your choice

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, whisk milk with vinegar so it curdles. Set aside. 
2. In a small mixing bowl, whisk oat flour, raw sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and a tiny pinch of salt. 
3. Stir in milk mixture and applesauce.  
4. Spoon batter into 4 microwave-safe mugs and microwave each separately for 90 seconds, or until firm. 
5. Top with a dollop of yogurt and jam. 
6. Eat remaining yogurt on the side.

Notes:
Serves 4
Per serving: 274 calories, 2.7g fat, 54.4g carbs, 3.4g fiber, 33.4g sugars, 8.0g protein

If you want the raisins, you can add 1/4 cup raisins after the applesauce step.

Sweet Potato Breakfast Mash

This is one of my new favorite breakfasts. I've been eating it regularly for about 8 months now, but it seems like a great holiday season breakfast to share. The photo doesn't do it justice. You can prepare it to order, or ahead of time, and serve warm or cold. Often, I make it ahead of time, so it all coalesces in flavor, and then microwave it to serve warm. I got this from the Happy Herbivore Meal Mentor Big Breakfast Book. 

Ingredients:
1 sweet potato, cooked 
¼ cup applesauce 
ground cinnamon 
4 tsp brown sugar 
1 tbsp chopped pecans 

Directions:

1. If you haven't cooked the sweet potato yet, do so.
2. Mash potato in a bowl and mix with applesauce. 
3. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar then garnish with pecans.

Notes:

• Serves 1
• Per serving: 282 calories, 4.8g fat, 58.6g carbs, 6.2g fiber, 36.3g sugars, 5.3g protein
• You can add raisins.
• You can sub peanuts for pecans.

Pumpkin Lentil Curry

This one looked and sounded so good that a friend of mine asked me for the recipe. It was a little thicker than I'd prefer. My friend agreed, it needed to be more soup-y. It probably just needs more vegetable broth added towards the end, but I didn't test it yet so I didn't put a suggested amount in the recipe, other than a (+).

Ingredients:

3+ cups vegetable broth 

oil

1 onion, diced 

2 garlic cloves, minced 

2 tsp curry powder 

ground cinnamon or coriander 

turmeric 

15-oz canned pumpkin 

¼ cup applesauce 

1 cup dry lentils 

3 cups cooked brown rice 

Directions: 

1. Sauté onions and garlic until translucent. 
2. Add curry powder, a dash of cinnamon or coriander (whichever one you choose) and turmeric (added for color).
3.  Stir and cook briefly, then mix in pumpkin and applesauce. 
4. Add 2 cups of broth and lentils. Stir. 
5. Cover, bring to boil, then reduce to low and simmer for 15-45 minutes, until lentils are tender. 
6. Add broth as desired to thin out curry. 
7. Taste, adjusting seasonings as desired. 
8. Serve over cooked brown rice. 

Notes:

• Serves 4

Baby Churros

Breakfast or Dessert! I made these Baby Churros several times. They could stand to be crispier, since churros have a crispy fried outside with a soft inside. But, if you're craving churros, this is a pretty quick and easy recipe to put together.

Ingredients:
1¾ cups flour 
2 tsp ground cinnamon 
¼ tsp baking powder 
¼ tsp salt 
5 tbsp pure maple syrup 
3 tbsp unsweetened almond milk 
1 tbsp raw sugar 
¼ cup applesauce

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside. 
2. Whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. 
3. Make a well in the middle and stir in maple, milk, and sugar into flour mixture and mix well. 
4. Add applesauce, stirring to combine. 
5. Take about 1½-tsp of dough and shape into little elongated ball. 
6. Place the ball on baking sheet and repeat until you have used up all the dough. 
7. Sprinkle churros with additional cinnamon and sugar. 
8. Bake 11-12 minutes, or until churros are golden and bounce back slightly to the touch.

Notes:

• Makes about 20 churros. 
• 5 churros/serving

Dessert: Día de Muertos Cake

A few years ago, I took this photo for a contest. It is one of my favorite cakes, and is perfect for the upcoming holiday.


Ingredients:
Cake
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
¾ cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups unsweeetened milk
2 tablespoons vinegar (apple cider or white)

Frosting
1/2 cup vegan butter, somewhat softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1⁄4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 to 4 tablespoons unsweetened milk


Directions:
Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Oil two 8-inch cake pans, or prepare cupcake/muffin tins with paper liners or silicon cups.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, salt, and sugar.
4. In a separate bowl, beat together the applesauce, oil, vanilla extract, milk, and vinegar. 
5. Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients, and mix until everything is thoroughly combined. 
6. Pour the batter into the baking pans or cupcake/muffin tins, and bake for 20 to 30 minutes (cupcakes – 15 to 17 minutes), or until the cake comes away from the sides of the pans and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Frosting

1. Cream together all the ingredients on low speed until smooth. Increase the speed slowly until the frosting is light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add an additional 1 or 2 tablespoons of milk, if necessary.

Notes:

Yield: Enough for one layer cake or 18 cupcakes.

Pumpkin Muffins

In the spring, I started the Happy Herbivore Meal Mentor program and decided to make these pumpkin muffins for breakfast out of the Big Breakfast Book. My only complaint is that they stick to the wrap a bit.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup applesauce
1 cup canned pure pumpkin
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Mix dry ingredients. 
3. Add remaining ingredients, mix until just combined.
4. Baked in lined muffin cups for 18-25 minutes.

Notes:

• Makes 12 muffins.
• Per muffin: 102 calories, 0.3g fat, 23.1g carbs, 2.6g fiber, 10g sugar, 1.8g protein

Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes

These cupcakes are too good to be true. Get yourself some fresh strawberries to top these. I got the original recipe from Happy Herbivore Meal Mentor. They were enjoyed by everybody in the house.

Ingredients:
2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking powder
½-tsp baking soda
½-tsp fine salt
¼-cup applesauce
1 cup raw sugar
1 cup almond milk
1 tsp lemon extract
sliced strawberries

Icing
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp almond milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
red food coloring

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. 
2. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. 
3. In a large bowl, whisk applesauce, raw sugar, almond milk, and lemon extract until well combined. 
4. Pour dry mixture into wet mixture in 3 to 4 batches, stirring until just combined. 
5. Bake in lined muffin cups for 15-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

Icing

1. Whisk powdered sugar, almond milk, vanilla extract, and a drop of red food coloring in a small bowl, adding more sugar to thicken or more milk to thin it out. 
2. Once the cupcakes have fully cooled, slather icing over top and garnish with fresh strawberry slices. 

Notes:

• Makes 12

Spinach Strawberry Salad

I LOVE Strawberry Salads!! This one is an excellent salad. It's strawberry season, so enjoy! I got the original recipe from Happy Herbivore Meal Mentor. 

Ingredients:
4 cups fresh spinach 
2 cups sliced strawberries 
1 cored and diced apple
1-2 cups cooked white beans, rinsed 
3 tbsp walnuts

Apple Balsamic Vinaigrette 
¼ cup applesauce 
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar 
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard 
pure maple syrup, to taste

Directions:
Vinaigrette 

1. Whisk together until well combined. 

Salad

1. Toss salad ingredients with Apple Balsamic Vinaigrette until well combined.

Notes:
You can make this as a side salad for dinner, or eat it as dinner, serving 2.
Per serving: 390 calories, 9.5g fat, 62.2g carbs, 18.1g fiber, 20.1g sugars, 18.2g protein

Apple Crisp Muffins

These apple crisp muffins are so good! I had a couple, one child had a couple, and someone else had at least half dozen. I got them from Happy Herbivore Meal Mentor, which is a whole foods plant-based no oil meal plan. It's not a diet. All the same, I was told, "These don't taste like diet muffins." And I was asked to make them again. 

Ingredients:

1½ cups flour (white whole-wheat or GF) 

½ cup dry rolled oats, uncooked 

2 tsp baking powder 

1 tsp baking soda 

2 tsp ground cinnamon 

¼ tsp ground ginger 

dash of ground nutmeg 

¼ tsp salt 

½ cup raw sugar 

¼ cup brown sugar 

1 cup applesauce 

¼ cup pure maple syrup 

1 red apple, diced

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350F. 
2. Mix dry ingredients together. 
3. Add remaining ingredients, mix until just combined. 
4. Spoon into lined muffin cups. 
5. Sprinkle with additional oats and brown sugar, if desired. 
6. Bake for 18-25 mins.

Notes:

Makes 12 muffins.

Per muffin: 124 calories, 0.4g fat, 28.8g carbs, 2.4g fiber, 15.4g sugars, 1.8g protein

Un-Birthday Cake Baked Oatmeal

This was amazing! It takes a little long for a regular weekday breakfast, but I think I'll be having it fairly regularly for a weekend breakfast. It came from the Happy Herbivore Meal Mentor Big Breakfast Book. I submitted this photo as a part of the March Madness Challenge on Instagram. This might be fun to make several of these during a brunch.

Ingredients:
6 tbsp dry rolled oats
1 tbsp oat flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp pure maple syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp applesauce
3-4 tbsp almond milk
3 oz yogurt
sprinkles

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a small bowl, combine oats, oat flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
3. Add in the maple syrup, vanilla, applesauce, and 2 tbsp milk.
4. Stir and add more milk until batter forms. The mixture should be wet, but not runny.
5. Transfer mixture to a ramekin.
6. Bake for 17-20 minutes, until the top is set and golden.
7. Top with yogurt and sprinkles.

Notes:

• Serves 1
• Per serving: 271 calories, 3.9g fat, 46.9g carbs, 4.1g fiber, 20g sugar, 9.8g protein
• Add a side of fruit.