Bloody Cups

Every year my office has a staff potluck at Halloween. It's fun. I took over the mantle from the previous organizer's impossible to fill shoes a few years ago. There's competitions for costumes and food - scariest and tastiest food. Last year I found these Bloody Cups from Elephantastic Vegan. These are super easy and super rich. Consider making these for your Halloween parties.

Ingredients:
1 cup frozen raspberries
1 tablespoon agave syrup
2 cups dark chocolate 

Directions:

1. Thaw frozen raspberries and mash into small bits. Warm over medium-high heat to accomplish this, if necessary. 
2. Mix in the agave syrup to sweeten.
3. Set aside to cool.
4. Melt the chocolate via your preferred method. My preferred method is to microwave for 30 seconds, stir, microwave for 30 seconds, stir, repeat until it's all melted. 
5. Keep warm and fluid.
6. Place about 8 or 9 cupcake liners in a muffin pan. 
7. Pour enough chocolate to cover the bottom of each liner by about 1/4" and tilt around so it spreads to all sides. 
8. Allow cupcake liner chocolate to harden in the fridge for a few minutes.
9. Add a teaspoon or so of raspberry filling to each chocolate base. 
10. Pour the remaining fluid chocolate over the filling and tilt as necessary to cover the filling completely. 
11. Harden in fridge for at least 5 minutes.
12. Remove cupcake liners before serving and allow small amounts of raspberry to leak out for a spooky effect.

Notes:

• Store in refrigerator until ready to eat.

Snickers Bar Oatmeal

Super yum! You need to plan the night ahead so that you can freeze the tablespoon of agave. 

Ingredients:
½ cup dry rolled oats 
3/4 cup water
2 Tbsp vanilla almond milk 
2 Tbsp cocoa powder 
1 Tbsp agave nectar FROZEN 
1 Tbsp peanuts 

Directions:

1. Bring water to a boil. 
2. Stir in oats and cook until you have oatmeal at the consistency you prefer. 
3. Turn off heat and stir in a splash or two of milk to cream it up. 
4. Add cocoa powder, stirring to combine. 
5. Transfer to your serving bowl and swirl in frozen agave nectar. 
6. Top with peanuts and serve.

Notes:

• Serves 1
• Per serving: 296 calories, 9g fat, 51.3g carbs, 9.3g fiber, 16g sugars, 9.8g protein

Ebelskiver (Danish Filled Pancake)

We've been having Aebelskivers for a long, long time. On the theme of making things I loved prior to becoming vegan something I will eat now, I found a vegan Ebelskiver recipe. 

The top photo shows some of the fillings I used this time around: strawberry jam, peanut butter, blueberries, dark chocolate chips, and the pumpkin cream cheese filling from the recipe linked above. I topped with powdered sugar, maple syrup, and soy whip.

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp ground flax seed 
3 Tbsp water
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups vanilla almond milk 
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 Tbsp agave
4 Tbsp vegan butter, melted
1 Tbsp vanilla
cooking spray

Directions:
Making Batter

1. Prepare the flax egg by whisking the ground flax seed in the water and set aside in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
2. Warm your Ebelskivar pan over medium or medium-low heat.
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
4. In another bowl, whisk together the milk and lemon juice. Let sit for a few minutes. Whisk again, add the agave, butter, and vanilla, and combine.
5. Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Add the flax egg, whisking to combine.

Making and Cooking the Ebelskivers

1. Spray the pan with cooking spray. If it turns brown, your pan is too hot. Lower the heat if need be.
2. Fill each well half-full with batter.
3. Add 1 teaspoon to 1 Tablespoon of filling to the batter, then fill remaining well with batter. Be quick!
4. Cook until the sides are golden brown and the top is bubbling (like regular pancakes.) It takes a couple minutes.
5. Turn the ebeskivers over using special turning tools, two spoons, two chopsticks, or another device. Cook through. 
6. Remove from pan, cover with toppings, and serve!

Notes:

• Makes about 27 (just shy of 3 servings in my house).
• You need an Ebelskiver pan to make these. 

Vegan Double Chocolate Cheesecake

I made this as a treat. It is super rich, which may only hit you after you've eaten too much. The original recipe from VegNews says it serves 8, but I think it is closer to 12, 16 if you are trying to be reasonable. This is a no-bake cashew-based cheesecake. Everybody loved this recipe. It isn't the easiest recipe to make. You'll need both your food processor and your high-speed blender. I also had a teenage son to make chocolate cookies into crumbs with a rolling pin. I've written the recipe here exactly as I made it.

Ingredients:

1¾ cups Newman's Chocolate Alphabet cookies, smashed into crumbs

¼ cup coconut oil, melted
cooking spray
7 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1½ cups raw cashews, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes, then drained
1 (14-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk
¼ cup agave nectar
¼ cup coconut oil, melted

Directions:

1. Soak the raw cashews in hot water for 30 minutes, then drain.
2. This is a good time to smash the cookies into crumbs.
3. Spray an 8-inch springform pan with cooking spray.
4. Transfer cookie crumbs and melted coconut oil in a food processor and pulse to combine. The mixture needs to press into the springform pan and hold, so be sure that it sticks well together. If it is too dry, add more melted coconut oil. If it is too wet, add more crumbs. 
5. Transfer the crumb mixture to the prepared pan and spread evenly. Press the mixture into the springform pan using your fingers to make a firm, even crust. Refrigerate or freeze while you make the filling.
6.  Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave. Be sure the melted chocolate stays fluid and does not harden.
7. In the blender, combine the drained cashews, coconut milk, agave, and coconut oil.
8. Blend until smooth. 
9. Add the melted chocolate and blend until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides as needed.
10. Pour the filling into the prepared crust. 
11. Release air bubbles by tapping the pan on the counter. This may be an art because every time I tapped and released air bubbles, more seemed to form. 
12. Refrigerate until set, at least 4 hours. It may be left overnight.
13. Once set, run a sharp, thin knife along the edge and gently remove the sides of the pan.

Notes:

• Serves 12
• Top with your choice of berries, whipped cream, or chocolate curls. 
• Store leftovers tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to a week