Monday, October 22, 2012

Vegan Peanut Butter and Jelly Blondies




Ingredients
3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons milled flax seed
1 cup creamy peanut butter
¾ cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¾ cup rice milk, room temperature
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ cup strawberry preserves or jelly

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line an 8”x8” cake pan with greased parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine the milled flax seed and water and allow it to rest for 10 minutes.
  
To the flax seed mixture, add the peanut butter, sugar, and vanilla.  (Tip - If you heat the peanut butter in microwave for 30-45 seconds.  It makes it much easier to work with.)  I used a spoon to combine all of my ingredients.  The batter gets a little thick so it was easier to use a spoon than a mixer.

Add the rice milk and combine thoroughly.

Sift together baking soda and flour.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.  The mixture will be quite thick.

Spoon half of the batter into the lined cake pan.  I find it easiest to spread the batter with my hands since it is so thick.

Spread the preserves over the batter in the pan (as if you were spreading preserves on toast).

Spoon the remainder of the batter on top of the preserves.  Again, I found it easier to work the batter with my hands.

Bake for 22-28 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.



Saturday, October 20, 2012

Vegan Chocolate-Covered Espresso Bean Blondies



Not everyone likes chocolate brownies, so I decided to make a blondie version of my chocolate-covered espresso bean brownies.

3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons milled flax seed
1/3 coconut oil, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup espresso or strong coffee
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chocolate-covered espresso beans (cut into smaller pieces if they are large)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line an 8”x8” cake pan with greased parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine the milled flax seed and water and allow it to rest for 10 minutes.

To the flax seed mixture, add the sugar, coconut oil, vanilla, and espresso.  I used a spoon to combine all of my ingredients.  The batter gets a little thick so it was easier to use a spoon than to use a mixer.

Sift together the cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and flour.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.  The mixture will be very thick.

When the wet and dry ingredients have been incorporated together, add the espresso beans and chocolate chips.

Spoon out the batter into the lined baking cake pan.

Bake for 28-32 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.



Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Vegan Chocolate Covered Espresso Bean Brownie Recipe

I have been making so many cupcakes lately that when I typed the name of this recipe, I accidentally typed "cupcakes" instead of "brownies", and that is the type of experience you have to look forward to when you make this recipe.  It's packed full of chocolate, sugar, and caffeine, but it isn't all bad because it has flax seeds and flax seeds lower cholesterol.  That makes them healthy, right?

I may not sleep tonight, but rest assured that these brownies are delicious.

Yeah, ok, maybe I should just go ahead and post the recipe before this stream of consciousness rant turns into some sort of manifesto.



Ingredients
3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons milled flax seed
1 ¼ cups sugar
1/3 cup coconut oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup espresso or strong coffee
 ½ cup vegan chocolate chips
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup cocoa powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup chocolate covered espresso beans (cut into pieces if they are large)

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line an 8”x8” cake pan with greased parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine the milled flax seed and water and allow it to rest for 10 minutes.

To the flax seed mixture, add the sugar, coconut oil, and vanilla.  I used a spoon to combine all of my ingredients.  The batter gets a little thick so it was easier to use a spoon than a mixer.

Combine the hot espresso and the chocolate chips in order to melt the chocolate chips.  Add the espresso/chocolate chip mixture to the wet ingredients.  Melting the chocolate chips in this way makes the brownies extra fudgy.  

Sift together the cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and flour.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.  The mixture will be quite thick.

When the wet and dry ingredients have been incorporated together, add the espresso beans.

Spoon out the batter into the lined baking cake pan.

Bake for 28-32 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  (Since it is vegan, you can underbake them just slightly to make the brownies a little more moist)
 


Eat the whole pan and never sleep again!