Pumpkin Swirl Brownies.

I took a bite right before I took the picture! I couldn't resist...

Baking is one of my absolute most favorite things to do and it always makes me feel better when I'm having a less than perfect day. Today was one of those so baking was a must! I decided to keep with the pumpkin vibe since it's still fall and Thanksgiving is only 4 days away! I've been seeing recipes around for pumpkin brownie's and I couldn't resist creating my own! These came out super fudgy and delicious and absolutely made my day better...These are a must to try.


Ingredients:

1/2 cup vegan butter
2 ounces dark chocolate
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs (2 tablespoons flax meal + 4 tablespoons water)
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup whole wheat flour

What to do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium sauce pan, melt together butter and dark chocolate.

 Once melted, remove from heat and stir in sugar, flax mix, and flour.
In a separate bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, sugar, and flour.
In a 9X9 greased baking pan, evenly spread out the brownie mix. Spread out the pumpkin mix on top and swirl in with a butter knife.
Bake for about 30 minutes and ENJOY!

 

So good with vanilla ice cream!

The batch right out of the oven.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

It's Fall! This means the holiday's are coming up and I am so excited! In celebration, I have been starting to make lots of pumpkin goodies! I have made here a delicious chocolate chip pumpkin bread recipe! It's pretty easy and super delicious! Happy October.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 cup vegan butter
1 can pumpkin puree (15 oz)
Egg replacer (equiv. 2 eggs)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup semi-sweet vegan chocolate chips

What to do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a mixing bowl, mix together sugar, butter, pumpkin, vanilla, and eggs.
In a separate bowl sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon.
Once sifted together, add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well.Stir in the chocolate chips.
Pour into a baking pan of your choice i.e. a cupcake pan, a loaf pan, a bundt pan, and etc.
Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Almond Butter Dark Chocolate Cups

These are so incredibly easy to make and don't call for a lot of ingredients. They're very decadent and rich!

Ingredients:
1 pound vegan dark chocolate
2 tablespoons earth balance butter
1 cup almond butter
1 cup brown sugar (or powdered sugar)


What to do:
In a double broiler, melt the chocolate and butter together until smooth. Remove from heat.
In a mixing bowl mix together the almond butter and sugar.In a miniature cupcake pan put about a teaspoon of the melted chocolate and spread it so it covers the sides. Put in about 1 teaspoon of the almond mix. Then cover the almond butter with dark chocolate. Freeze for about an hour.

 MAGGIE

I was in LA recently visiting a friends new apartment. As I walking to her house, the sweetest little white dog came up to me. She was so sweet while I petted her. She ended up following me all the way to my friends house and my first thought was I have to take her home! But, my mom, who is less impulsive than me, said no, it could be someones dog, although she seemed too dirty to me to have been taken care of. So, my friend Mary let me give her a bath. I looked on Craigslist and no one posted a listing for her. So, I took her to the LA Shelter where someone could find her if they were looking. I was so sad and scared because it was a kill-shelter. But, I had no other choice except to wait and see if someone claimed her. No one did and the day she went up for adoption I went and got her. She's the sweetest, most playful, energetic dog! I love her and I just had to share my new addition who literally just walked into my life.

Blackberry Oat Scones

I used to work at a small coffee shop in Summerland and they had the best pastries. My favorite was the blackberry oat scones. We got to take home the leftovers everyday. While there usually weren't any scones left, because they were so good, I remember one day there were two left. I was like oh, yay, I have a two day supply. I was driving home and I was like man, I really want a bite. So, I had one bite, then you know, another, then the last thing I know in my 10 minute drive home I ate both scones! (Don't judge.) They were that good! Since then, a few years have passed and I have yet to find a Vegan version of those scones. I decided to make my own, and they came out, in my opinion just as good as the others! Anywho, long story short, blackberry oat scones are delicious and I can't contain myself with scones, apparently.

What you need:
1 cup frozen or fresh blackberries
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup almond milk
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup rolled oats
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda

What to do:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a medium saucepan on medium heat stir together blackberries, sugar, and almond milk. Stir together until balckberries become very soft and are almost mashed up. It takes about 5 to 10 minutes.
In a large bowl measure out flour, oats, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix in blackberry liquid.
On a clean surface, sprinkle flour. Make about 2 pancakes about 1 1/2 inches thick. Cut each like a pizza into about four squares. There four you will have about 12 scones. Bake for about 20 minutes. Enjoy!

Raw Vegan Cheesecake with Berry Sauce

 I've been so busy lately, I haven't been able to make anything new! Thanks to my good friend Kyla, fresh back from a  summer in Paris, she suggested I attempt to make cheesecake! I decided a raw one would be interesting. So, I found a few raw cheesecake recipes and tried it out! This cheesecake takes some work but it is so worth it! You won't believe that raw, vegan cheesecake could be so delicious!!
 
What you need:

Crust-
1/4 cup dried coconut
1 1/2 cup raw walnuts (or any other nut like pecans or almonds!)
1/2 cup pitted dates
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Filling-
3 cups raw cashews (soaked in water for 1 hour)
3/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
3/4 cup raw agave
3/4 cup coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla

Sauce Ingredients-
1 cup frozen berries
1/2 cup dates or agave

What to do:

In a pie tin sprinkle the cocunut over bottom. This keeps the crust from sticking.
In a food processor grind up walnuts, dates, and salt. This will make a crust like substance. BUT, if  you have miniature, not very good food processor like me...Blend the nuts ad the dates separately. Then, in a bowl mash the dates and walnuts together (my hands worked well for this) until it is all mixed together.
Sprinkle the crust into the pie tin and then with a spatula press it down so it is like a crust.
In a blender, mix together all of the filling ingredients until smooth.
Spread the filling over the pie crust.
Place this in the freezer for about an hour.
While this is freezing, in a food processor blend together the fruit and dates. This takes some patience but it will eventually smooth out!
Once the cheesecake is cooled spread the sauce evenly over the top.
Keep in the refrigerator and enjoy! It's so yummy!

Vegan Dark Chocolate Pecan Bars

I love bars of any kind. I've been wanting to make some recently so I figured Pecan Bars would be good! These were delicious and irresistible. They're unbelievably easy to make! Have fun and hope you like!

What you need:

Crust:
1 cup white flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup cold vegan butter

Pecan Filling:
1/4 cup vegan butter
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon almond milk
1 cup whole pecans

1/4 cup dark chocolate

What to do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
For the crust: Mix flour sugar. Cut in the cold butter until mixture is crumbly.
In a smaller, lightly greased baking pan press the mixture in.
Bake for about 20 minutes.
Remove from oven and set aside.

For the Pecan Filling: In a medium sauce and on medium heat pan melt the butter. Stir in the maple syrup, sugar, vanilla, and almond milk. Remove from heat and stir in the pecans.

Pour the pecan mixture over the pre-baked crust.
Bake for 20 minutes. 
Melt the dark chocolate and drizzle over cooked pecan bars.
Cook completely, if you can resist!