Archives for dessert

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Granola Balls

When I came across this recipe they sounded delicious, simple and packed with all sorts of things that are good for you (not low fat) but good for you! I was right – almost. The “simple” part, not so much. These ended up taking me a period of a week to actually complete due to my self-induced busy schedule. BUT they were totally worth it and next time around, I will know how much time I need and can cut out the trouble-shooting! I got this recipe out of my 1,000 Vegan Recipes cookbook and couldn’t WAIT to try it!

Ingredients
1/2 c. granola (store-bought or homemade)
1/4 c. powdered fructose
1/2 c. raisins
1/2 c. shelled sunflower seeds
1/4 c. sesame seeds
1 1/2 c. creamy peanut butter
2 c. vegan semisweet chocolate chips
(Makes 3 dozen pieces)
Instructions
Combine the first 5 ingredients in a food processor by pulsing a handful of times. Slowly start to add the creamy peanut butter a few tablespoons at a time. Ensure to blend very well after each addition of peanut butter, until all 1 1/2 cups have been added. Refrigerate mixture overnight (or for at least 6 hours).Scoop out one tablespoon of the mixture at a time and arrange on a cookie sheet lined with freezer paper. Once all the mixture is divided on the sheet (or sheets) form into balls by quickly rolling with your hands. (**Note: This is where I could have made this easier on myself. Freeze the measured portions for 1-2 hours before forming into balls. I had to keep freezing and reshaping them to get them round, otherwise they were melting blobs, which I didn’t like.) Once the balls are formed, freeze again for at least 2 hours.Melt your chocolate in the microwave (or double boiler if you want to get fancy). I was surprised to find that Baker’s Semi-Sweet Chocolate, which I’ve been using since a kid, was vegan! How cool. Once the chocolate is melted, remove one ball from the freezer and quickly coat with chocolate and return to freezer. Repeat until the remaining balls are coated. (**Note: I ran out of time to complete these the first night, but kept eating the balls plain, without the chocolate for a few days! They were just as good, but less sweet obviously.)

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Midnight Madness Cookies

I’m calling these cookies “Midnight Madness” because Dan and I decided at 11:45 p.m. tonight that we were going to make them.

We realized we were all out of our homemade applesauce stock in the freezer, so we quickly looked up the grocery store hours! We were in luck – they were open until midnight! We jumped in the truck, even Rocco, and made our way to the store with 8 minutes to spare. We found a suitable substitute for my homemade applesauce (no corn syrup, sugar or anything – just apples). Then we looked to see if we could find dairy free chocolate chips. (If we could find some, then the cookies could be 100% vegan!) SCORE again, we found some semi-sweet chips by Guittard that did not have any milk products in them. Combined with the dried cranberries and pecans, we knew these would make fabulous cookies!

Preheat oven to 350ºF

Ingredients and Instructions

Combine below ingredients in a mixer or bowl and stir well.

1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
3 c. quick cooking oats
1/2 c. organic sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon

Next, add below ingredients.
Mix well ensuring no dry ingredients are left at the bottom of the bowl.

1 1/2 c. all natural applesauce (I prefer homemade if possible)
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Stir in remaining ingredients

1/3 c. pecans (or walnuts)
1/3 c. chocolate chips
1/3 c. dried cranberries

Coat baking sheet with coconut oil or use parchment paper to line them. Be sure to flatten cookies after spooning them onto pan, because they won’t spread at all! Bake for 8-10 minutes. These cookies will have an almost cake like consistency and are NOT overly sweet. If you wanted a sweeter cookie, you could increase sugar to 1 cup.

Especially delicious served with nut milk of choice!