German Chocolate Brownies

These are almost as easy as making them straight from the box. They are just a little more exciting and not the cakey kind that you think they would be since you use a cake mix. Super yum.

German Chocolate Brownies

1 German chocolate cake mix

2/3 cup butter (room temperature)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tub Coconut-pecan frosting (yes, the kind you find above the cake mixes at the store)
1/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9X13 pan. In a large bowl using a pastry blender, cut in butter with the cake mix until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press 1/2 the mixture (about 2 1/2 cups) into the prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes.

Sprinkle chocolate chips over hot crust. Drop frosting by tablespoonfuls over chocolate chips. Mix 1/4 cup of milk into the remaining cake mix/butter mixture. Stir to combine. Drop this batter by teaspoonfuls over the frosting. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Cool completely. Cut into squares and refrigerate until served. (These brownies really do taste best cool.)

Source:  Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Coconut Tres Leche Cake

I made this cake for my mom's birthday. I thought it was very good. Creamy and sweet and fairly easy to make. I used a box cake mix. Even my husband said it was very good and he doesn't always like whipped cream desserts--he doesn't like trifle! Make sure you toast the coconut, I don't think it would be as good if it wasn't toasted.


 

Coconut Tres Leche Cake

Cake:

Make Ahead Yellow Cake Mix or other preferred cake mix or homemade yellow cake recipe
Milk Syrup:
1 can (15 ounces) cream of coconut
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Garnishes:
2 medium-size ripe bananas
Sweetened cream (see instructions below)

1 cup sweetened flaked coconut, toasted (spread on a rimmed baking sheet and bake it at 350 degrees until golden brown, 7 minutes, or toast it in a skillet over medium-low heat on the stovetop)

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly spray a 9X13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Set the baking dish aside. Place the make-ahead cake mix, 1 1/4 cups warm water and 2 large room-temperature eggs in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until the mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes (if using another cake mix or recipe, bake according to box or recipe instructions). Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake until it is lightly golden and is slightly pulling away from the edges, 30-34 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool completely, 1 hour.

Meanwhile, make the milk syrup: in a blender, combine the cream of coconut, evaporated milk, cream, and vanilla and process until smooth.

Pierce the cooled cake all over the top with the tines of a fork or a thin wooden skewer. We are talking all over! The more pokes, the more the syrup will soak into the cake. Using a large spoon or ladle, spoon some of the milk syrup over the cake. Let the syrup soak into the cake, then continue spooning the syrup on top until all of it has been used up. When you have finished, not all of the syrup will be completely absorbed and might be pooling on the top but that’s ok because it will absorb as it refrigerates. Cover the cake loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate until all of the syrup is absorbed, 2 hours. Cut the bananas, if using crosswise into ¼-inch slices. Slice the cake and serve it with sliced bananas, sweetened cream and toasted coconut, if desired.

Sweetened Cream:
Pour 1 cup heavy whipping cream into a large (preferably chilled) glass bowl and beat it on high speed until thickened 1 ½ minutes. Stop the machine and add ¼ cup confectioners’ sugar and ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract. Beat on high speed until stiff peaks form, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Makes 2 cups.

Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Palmiers and Cinnamon Palmiers

I made these for my mom's birthday after watching Ina Garten make them on her show. They are really easy and use puff pastry-- which is both something my mom likes and something my sister can eat. Ina's recipe is vegan as long as you use vegan puff pastry like Pepperidge Farms (the "good" ones may have butter in them). I also made a non-vegan version that involved butter and cinnamon--but with vegan margarine it could be vegan too. The left on in the picture is the non-vegan one and it didn't keep its scrolls as tight. Both were very tasty.

Palmiers

2 cups granulated sugar

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
2 sheets puff pastry, defrosted (recommended: Pepperidge Farm)

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Combine the sugar and kosher salt. Pour 1 cup of the sugar/salt mixture on a flat surface such as wooden board or marble. Unfold each sheet of puff pastry onto the sugar and pour 1/2 cup of the sugar mixture on top, spreading it evenly on the puff pastry. This is not about sprinkling, it's about an even covering of sugar. With a rolling pin, roll the dough until it's 13 by 13-inches square and the sugar is pressed into the puff pastry on top and bottom. Fold the sides of the square towards the center so they go halfway to the middle. Fold them again so the two folds meet exactly at the middle of the dough. Then fold 1 half over the other half as though closing a book. You will have 6 layers. Slice the dough into 3/8-inch slices and place the slices, cut side up, on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Place the second sheet of pastry on the sugared board, sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar mixture, and continue as above. (There will be quite a bit of sugar left over on the board.) Slice and arrange on baking sheets lined with parchment.

Bake the cookies for 6 minutes until caramelized and brown on the bottom, then turn with a spatula and bake another 3 to 5 minutes, until caramelized on the other side. Transfer to a baking rack to cool.


Source: Ina Garten

Cinnamon Palmiers



1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 lb puff pastry (1 sheet store bought)
1 egg, beaten

Preheat an oven to 400F.
Stir together the sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter until it forms a paste.

Roll the pastry dough into a large rectangle, about 15-inches by 12-inches. Using a pastry brush or spoon, spread the cinnamon sugar paste in a thin, even layer over the dough. Starting at the long ends of the rectangle, loosely roll each side inward until they meet in the middle. To hold difficult pastry together, brush it with the egg, if needed.

Slice the pastry crosswise into 1/4-inch palmiers – they’ll look like little scrolls - and arrange them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake them for 12-15 minutes, until they puff and turn golden brown. Remove them from the baking sheet and serve warm or at room temperature.

Source: about.com

Buttered Toffee Popcorn

I never really think of making caramel corn, but this looked really good. And guess what....it is. Fairly easy to make and makes a great gift for the holidays.

Buttered Toffee Popcorn

*Note: you want about 18 cups of popped corn. I've found that about 1/4 cup of unpopped kernels yields about 5 1/2 to 6 cups popped corn. While the recipe calls for 3/4 cup unpopped kernels, be sure to only add it a bit at a time in shifts according to your popcorn popper so the kernels don't burn.


*Makes about 18 cups of toffee popcorn (that seems like a lot, but trust me, it goes fast!)

3/4 cup unpopped popcorn kernels, white or yellow
2 sticks butter
2 1/4 cups light brown sugar
3/4 cup dark corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
2-3 cups roasted, salted peanuts

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Grease two large rimmed baking sheets and set aside.

Pop the popcorn kernels, in shifts if needed to ensure your popcorn popper doesn't burn the popcorn, and place the popcorn in a large bowl, sifting through to remove the unpopped kernels.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. When melted add the brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Bring to a boil while stirring. Once the mixture starts boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring often, for 3 minutes. The mixture will be slightly thickened. Take the pot off the heat and stir in the vanilla and baking soda. The mixture will bubble so be careful.

Pour the caramel over the popcorn and mix slightly. Add the peanuts and mix well but gently (so you don't break apart the popcorn) until the popcorn is evenly coated and the peanuts are distributed through the mixture.

Turn the popcorn out onto the baking sheets, spreading into an even layer. Bake the popcorn for one hour, stirring and tossing every 20 minutes. Move the bottom tray to the upper rack and vice versa each time you stir. The popcorn will deepen in color and harden a bit as the caramel bakes and sets. Cool the popcorn to room temperature. Store in an airtight container. I've found the popcorn will keep, stored tightly, for 1-2 weeks.

Source: My Kitchen Cafe

Kit Kat Bars

I can't say that these taste exactly like a kit kat bar, but they are still good. I tried them from the fridge and at room temperature. I think they are better at room temperature. The flavors meld better.

Kit Kat Bars

75 club crackers (I didn't actually count, just buy a box of crackers)

1 cup butter (2 sticks)
2 cups gram cracker crumbs (from about 14 graham cracker sheets)
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup whole milk (I used skim)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup cream peanut butter
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
1/2 cup butterscotch-flavored morsels (I just used extra chocolate chips)

In an ungreased 13x9" baking sheet, put a layer of club crackers. You may need to cut a few in order to cover the entire base. I cut 2 crackers in half to lay them on the side.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat, then add the graham cracker crumbs, the brown sugar, the milk and the white sugar. I made the graham cracker crumbs simply by putting around 14 sheets of crackers in my mini food processor (in batches) and processing until they reached the consistency of fine crumbs.

Boil the mixture for 5 minutes (starting the timer the moment you start to see bubbles) and stir the entire time. Remove from the heat, and spread half of the mixture over the crackers already in the baking pan. I used an off-set spatula for this, but that's not necessary. Lay another layer of club crackers over the butter mixture. At this point, I returned the remaining half of the butter mixture to the heat for under one minute to get it flowing again. Spread the remainder of the butter mixture over the second layer of crackers. Add a final layer of crackers over the top.

In a small saucepan, melt the last three ingredients together, then spread this mixture over the third layer of crackers. Cover and place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Cut into bars and store in the refrigerator.

Source: mixingbowl.com

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

I do not like most things pumpkin. I do however like pumpkin chocolate chip bread. I don't know what it is. Maybe the flavor is more subtle than something like pumpkin pie. All I know is that it is good. And so is this recipe. It makes two loaves, so beware. The amounts will seem large and make sure you use a big bowl.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

*Note: This bread tastes best when it has cooled completely for a few hours and tastes even better the next day.

*Makes 2 (9X5-inch loaves) or 3 (8X4-inch loaves)

2 ½ cups white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
3 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
1 cup canola or vegetable oil
4 large eggs
2/3 cup water
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 9x5-inch loaf pans or three 8x4-inch loaf pans. In a large bowl, mix flours, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt together. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together canned pumpkin, oil, eggs and 2/3 cup water until well combined and stir into dry ingredients, just until the dry ingredients are moistened and no dry streaks remain. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour batter in prepared pans.

Bake the bread for 60 to 70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the bread from the oven and let sit for 10-15 minutes. Run a knife gently around the edge of the bread and turn the bread out, right side up, onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Source: mel's kitchen cafe

Pushing Daisies' Gruyere Apple Pie

I haven't actually seen Pushing Daisies--despite my sister's insistence that I should. One of these days I will get around to it. Anyway, my sister-in-law actually sent this recipe to me to try. It is not overly cheesy, but when you get the edges of the top crust you can definitely taste the cheese. It's subtle but there. Just enough to give it a unique flavor without overpowering the apple. The pie is very good. Excellent even.

Nerdy pi marking made by my husband.

Pushing Daisies' Gruyere Pie

Makes 1 9-inch, deep-dish apple pie


3 lbs. tart red apples (Northern Spy, Romes, Empires, or Harralsons)--we used granny smith picked from an orchard in Willcox, AZ
1/2 c. sugar
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
5 tsp. cornstarch or all-purpose flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 Gruyère Pie Crust–recipe below

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Take dough out of fridge.
Peel, core and slice apples into quarters. Slice each quarter thinly. Mix with other ingredients.

Roll the larger piece of dough into a disk about fourteen inches in diameter. I use a piece of parchment paper dusted with flour to prevent sticking. Flip parchment paper over 9 inch deep dish or 10 inch glass pie plate, and ease dough into plate.

Roll smaller piece of dough into circle twelve inches in diameter. Pile apples into pie plate, scraping any juice on top of the apples. Place smaller round of dough on top of the apples. Seal two crusts together, brush with the beaten egg, and make three parallel slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape.

Place pie on a cookie sheet to catch any drips, put in oven, and reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees. Bake 50 minutes to an hour, or until you can see the filling bubbling up between the slits in the crust. Cool on a wire rack at least 20 minutes before serving.

Gruyère Pie Crust

Making pie dough is governed by three principles. 1) Use leaf-lard. Spare me your gasp of horror; leaf lard makes the most tender pie crust around and unlike Crisco, contains no transfats and doesn’t leave an unpleasant, soapy taste in your mouth. Don’t use lard from the grocery store; it is most likely rancid. Leaf lard should smell pure. Buy from a butcher, or order here. And okay, if you are utterly opposed to lard, you may use butter. 2) Leave pea sized lumps of butter in the dough. Under the pressure of the rolling pin, the lumps of butter flatten into thin sheets that alternate with the flour. In the heat of the oven, they create the flaky layers that characterize the best pie doughs. 3) Keep in mind the pie ough rule of escalating insanity. The more your pie dough makes you weep, gnash your teeth and lie on the kitchen floor convinced that the whole enterprise is a complete disaster, the more likely it is that your pie dough will be heavenly. Beware the pie dough that is easy to work with; it will most likely end up dry and tough.

While everyone from Cook’s Illustrated to Rose Levy Berenbaum recommends the food processor for quick and easy pie crusts, I have never had luck with it. The food processor overprocesses the dough, and my crusts end up tough. If you use the food processor, only use it to cut the butter into the flour. After that mix with a fork. If you don’t use a food processor, a pastry blender will do. You can use your fingers, but you run the risk of melting the butter with the heat of your hands, ruining the effect of those pea sized pockets of butter. Luckily for me, my icy, grim reaper fingers pose no such threat to the pie dough.

Makes one double-crusted 9-10 inch pie.
2 1/2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp. sugar
13 tbsp. cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1 in pieces and stored in the fridge
7 tbsp. leaf lard (or more butter, if you must)
2 oz. Gruyère, grated with a microplane rasp grater
6-7 tbsp. ice water

Mix flour, salt, sugar and Gruyere in a large mixing bowl or bowl of a food processor. Using a food processor, pastry blender, or your fingers, cut in the large until no large pieces remain. Add the butter, and cut into flour until the largest pieces of butter are the size of large peas.

Remove flour-butter mixture from food processor, if using, and place in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle ice water over flour in increments of one tablespoon, toss with fork after each addition. (Try not to add too much extra water, but I usually end up going over the recommended amount.) When dough clumps together when squeezed in your palm, gather dough together into two disks, one slightly larger than the other, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Vegan Zucchini Cake

This recipe is very similar to my "family" recipe. It's vegan, but it does't have any weird ingredients. The banana that replaces the egg does give it a hint of banana flavor, but it is still really good. I opted for no nuts or chocolate chips.

Zucchini Cake

2 1/2 cups grated, peeled, fresh zucchini

2 ripe bananas, mashed well
1 cup canola oil
3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cups ground walnuts (optional)
1 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)

In medium sized mixing bowl, combine zuchini, bananas, oil, and vanilla. Stir well or beat with electric mixer if you want to be fancy. In large bowl, combine all remaining ingredients except chocolate. Add wet mixture to dry, mix well and add chocolate chips. Pour into lightly greased and floured bundt pan. Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes, until toothpick or knife inserted comes out clean. Let cool upright 15 minutes, then invert onto cooling rack. Allow to cool 30 minutes before tasting.
 
Source: Post Punk Kitchen

Bourbon Fudge Brownies

These are soooooo good. When I was making the batter, it was a little dry. I added a little extra bourbon. They tasted really good, but when I cut into them them the top cracked a lot. I really liked the crunchy top, but maybe next time I'll add some milk if the batter is too dry. Maybe it'll make them less fragile. Anyway, I will definitely be making these again. They don't taste like bourbon if you are afraid of that. Just a hint of whatever people who like bourbon claim that it tastes like.

Bourbon Fudge Brownies

1/4 cup bourbon
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups sugar
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°.
Bring bourbon to a boil in a small saucepan; remove from heat. Add chocolate chips, stirring until smooth. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt, stirring with a whisk.

Combine sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well combined. Add vanilla and eggs; beat well. Add flour mixture and bourbon mixture to sugar mixture, beating at low speed just until combined.

Spread batter into a 9-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack.

Source: Cooking Light

Strawberry Golden Oreo Vegan Ice Cream

I had a bunch of extra almond milk to use up so I made some ice cream for my sister. It was inspired by a blizzard. I think the ice cream tasted like strawberry milk. It was a bit icy, but ok.

Strawberry Golden Oreo Vegan Ice Cream

1½ - 2 c. strawberries (fresh or frozen and thawed)

2 c. soy creamer (I substituted coconut milk)
1 c. soy milk (I used almond milk)
¾ c. sugar
2 T. arrowroot
1 T. vanilla
Golden Oreos, chopped
Mix ¼ cup of soy milk with the 2 tablespoons of arrowroot and set aside. Slice one cup of the strawberries and set aside. Combine the remaining strawberries, soy creamer, remaining soy milk, and sugar together in a blender and puree. Pour the mixture into a saucepan and bring to a boil. When the mixture has just started to boil, take off the heat and immediately stir in the arrowroot slurry. This should immediately cause the liquid to thicken (not a lot, but a noticeable amount; it will be thicker when it cools). Add the vanilla. Set the ice cream mixture aside to cool. Freeze according to your ice cream maker’s instructions. Add sliced strawberries and Oreos in the last five minutes of freezing.


Source: A Vegan Ice Cream Paradise

Frozen Blueberry Pie

Love summer and all the yummy fruit. We got lots of blueberries and needed to use them. It's rough. Alton Brown's recipe is really convenient. You make pie filling and cook it whenever you want. Of course, we baked it the next day and saved one for later. The pie was very good and not at all runny.

Frozen Blueberry Pie

20 ounces blueberries, approximately 4 cups
4 ounces sugar, approximately 1/2 cup
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/4 ounces tapioca flour, approximately 5 tablespoons
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon orange zest
2 (9-inch) store-bought pie doughs
1 egg yolk whisked with 1 teaspoon water

Wash the berries and pat dry. Mash up half of the blueberries in a small bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, salt and tapioca flour. Add the mashed blueberries, orange juice and orange zest and stir to combine. Let the mixture sit for 15 minutes. Fold in the whole berries.

Line a 9-inch pie plate with aluminum foil. Place the blueberry mixture into the foil and place in the freezer until solid, approximately 6 to 8 hours.

Once the filling is frozen, remove from the aluminum foil and wrap in plastic wrap and store in a freezer bag for up to 3 months.

For baking:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Unroll first piece of dough and place into a 9-inch pie pan, making sure the dough reaches to the lip of the pie pan. Trim excess, if necessary. Prick the bottom and sides with a fork and set aside. Unroll second piece of dough and cut into 1 1/8-inch wide strips that are at least 10-inches long. Using a ruler that is 1 1/8-inches wide, lay the ruler on the dough at 1 edge and roll across dough using the edge of the ruler as you go to cut through the dough.

Remove the frozen pie filling from the freezer and place into the prepared dough in the pan. Lightly brush the edge of the crust with the egg yolk. Lay 4 strips of dough across the top of the filling horizontally, leaving an even amount of space in between each strip. Fold back 2 alternating strips and lay down another strip in the middle of the pie, perpendicular to the other strips. Return the strips that are laid back to their original position. Next, fold back the other 2 strips and lay down a strip to the left of the center perpendicular strip. Return the strips that are laid back to their original position and repeat on the other side of the perpendicular strip, folding back the same 2 strips as you did on the other side. Once you have a lattice, brush all the strips of dough with the egg yolk, trim excess dough and pinch strips and edge of crust in order to seal. Place on the bottom rack of the oven and bake for about 1 hour 15 minutes. The pie should be bubbling lightly around the edges. If the lattice is not browned enough in the center, place under the broiler for 1 to 2 minutes.

Place the pie on a rack and allow to cool to room temperature before serving, approximately 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Italian Limoncello Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

My husband picked this out for his birthday cake. I think the booze was the clincher. Luckily, we already had limoncello. The cake was super fluffy and nice and lemony. The cream cheese frosting had the texture of cream cheese, but the lemon was definitely the predominant flavor. Not a bad thing, but it was definitely a lemon cake. I used 2 round cake pans since I don't have 2 square ones and it worked fine. Note: after a few days the frosting gets kind of rubbery, so eat it fast.

Italian Limoncello Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

1 box of white cake mix
Oil and eggs as directed on the package
Water as directed on package except for 1/4 cup (replace with limoncello)
¼ cup of limoncello liquor
Grease two square 8x8 pans.

Mix the cake batter according to package directions, except replace ¼ cup of the water with ¼ cup of limoncello. Bake the cake until the top springs back when touched, or a pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Invert the two cake layers onto a cooling rack.

Limoncello cream cheese frosting:
1 package of Jello instant lemon pudding mix (I used the small box)
1 block of cream cheeses, 8 ounces
½ cup of milk
1 ounce limoncello

Allow the cream cheese to sit on the counter to soften. Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl and mix on high speed about 2 minutes, or until creamy and smooth. Turn one cooled cake layer onto a plate. Spread half the frosting mixture on top of the layer. Put the second layer on top of the first, and cover the top but not the sides with frosting. Add some sprinkles if you desire.

Before serving, dust the cake with powdered sugar.

Source: Examiner.com

Chocolate Toffee Shortbread Bars

I stumbled across the My Kitchen Cafe food blog and found too many recipes I wanted to try. This one jumped to the top of the list. It's pretty easy to make and is probably horrible for you. Good thing I shared it with my coworkers because they are dangerously good. When I cut the bars I thought I overcooked it. I imagined it would be like cutting into a chocolate chip cookie, but shortbread is crisper so they were perfect. Don't forget the foil. It makes it so much easier to take them out of the pan and cut without casualties.

Chocolate Toffee Shortbread Bars

The Crust:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 sticks (1 cup) butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 ounces bittersweet, semisweet or milk chocolate, finely chopped (if you don’t have a scale, use about 1/2 cup) --I roughly chopped some milk and semi-sweet chocolate chips

The Topping:
6 ounces bittersweet, semisweet, or milk chocolate, finely chopped (again, if you don’t have a scale, use about 1 cup) --I used milk and semi-sweet chocolate chips and no need to chop, but add a few extra chips
1 1/2 cups toffee bits (or about 4-6 Heath bars, chopped)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. To make the crust, combine the all-purpose flour, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Whisk together and set aside.

Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer. Alternatively, place the butter in a large bowl and use a hand mixer. Beat for 3 minutes, or until the butter is smooth. Add the brown and granulated sugars and beat for an additional 3 minutes. Add the vanilla and mix briefly.

Add the flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture. Beat in gradually (you can cover the bowl and your mixer with a towel to avoid flour flying all over the place or just mix in very slowly). Mix until the flour is almost incorporated. Add the 3 ounces of chocolate to the mixer and mix until the rest of the dry ingredients are incorporated. Do not overmix!

Line a 9 X 13-inch pan with foil, leaving long foil ends on the side. Lightly grease the foil.

Scrape the dough into the prepared pan and press down the mixture with a spatula and/or your fingertips. Bake the crust for 18-20 minutes, or until the crust is bubbling. Remove the crust from the oven and place the hot pan on a cooling rack.

Sprinkle the 6 ounces of chocolate over the hot bars and cover the pan with foil to let the chocolate melt. Let the pan sit for 5 minutes. Using an offset spatula or the back of a spoon, spread the softened chocolate over the crust. Sprinkle the toffee pieces (or cut up Heath bars) over the chocolate and press down gently with your fingers.

Let the bars cool to room temperature. If the chocolate is not set by the time the bars are cool, just pop the pan in the freezer for about 10 minutes. Using the long edges of foil as handles, lift the bars out of the pan and cut into bars.

Gluten Free and Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Pie

Looking for a good celiac and vegan friendly dessert recipe, I decided to try a chocolate pie. I find vegan chocolate desserts to a bit rich so I decided to find a pb recipe to balance it out. So the crust makes one crust and the 2 fillings make a full pie each. So you can cut the recipe in half or make 2 pies. Whatever floats your boat.
I found the chocolate pie and crust recipe on the Elana's Pantry blog. The pb is from here. So the end result is pretty tasty. Still a little rich, but decent.

Gluten Free and Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Pie

Gluten Free/Vegan Crust
1½ cups blanched almond flour

¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ cup grapeseed oil
2 tablespoons agave nectar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, combine almond flour, salt and baking soda. In a small bowl, combine grapeseed oil, agave and vanilla. Stir wet ingredients into dry. Pat dough into a 9.5 inch glass pie dish. Bake at 325° for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden brown

Chocolate Cream Filling

2 cans coconut milk (14 ounces)
pinch celtic sea salt
¼ cup arrowroot powder
½ cup agave nectar
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
2 cups dark chocolate chips 73% cacao

Bring coconut milk and salt to a boil in a medium pot. Sift arrowroot powder into the pot, whisk vigorously by hand or with a hand blender for 2 minutes. Whisk in agave and vanilla. Remove from heat and let stand for 1 minute. Add chocolate, stirring vigorously until completely melted. Chill in refrigerator for ½ hour until cool. Place in cooled pie crust and serve.

Peanut Butter Pie Filling

1 pound extra-firm silken tofu (I just used the refrigerated silken tofu)

1 cup creamy peanut butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons soymilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Chocolate or carob chips

Combine all of the filling ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Spoon into pie shell. Decorate with chocolate (or carob) chips. Refrigerate for at least two hours.

Chocolate-Covered Cherry Cake

This is from The Cake Doctor cookbook--which has recipes that start with cake mixes and then jazzes them up. So you can be a little lazy, but it still seems like you weren't. I thought this was very good. It was moist and very chocolatey. The only disappointment was that there wasn't enough cherry taste. Maybe you could add some kirsch or something. But as far as chocolate cakes go, it's yummy.

Chocolate-Covered Cherry Cake

1 package (18.25 ounces) plain devil's food cake mix or devil's food mix with pudding
1 can (21 ounces) cherry pie filling
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure almond extract
Chocolate Glaze:
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup whole milk
1 package (6 ounces; 1 cup) semisweet chocolate chips

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly mist a 13- by 9-inch baking pan with vegetable oil spray. Set the pan aside.

Place the cake mix, cherry pie filling, eggs, and almond extract in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping the sides down again if needed. The batter should look thick and well blended. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with the rubber spatula. Place the pan in the oven.

Bake the cake until it springs back when lightly pressed with your finger and just starts to pull away from the sides of the pan, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack while you prepare the glaze.

For the glaze, place the sugar, butter, and milk in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil. Boil, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the chocolate chips. When the chips have melted and the glaze is smooth, pour it over the warm cake so it covers the entire surface. The glaze will be thin but will firm up. Cool the cake for 20 minutes before cutting into squares and serving.

Store this cake, covered in aluminum foil, at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Or freeze the cake, wrapped in foil, for up to 6months. Thaw the cake overnight on the counter before serving.

Source: Food Network

Banana Cream Pie Gluten Free Cupcakes

I had bananas and almond meal. Elana's Pantry is posting a bunch of cupcake recipes. Made sense to try one out. The cupcake is decent. It wasn't as intense of a banana flavor as I expected, but it was moist. I do think that a cream cheese frosting would be better than the whipped cream. It needed a stronger flavor.

Banana Cream Pie Gluten Free Cupcakes

1 ½ cups blanched almond flour

1 tablespoon arrowroot powder
¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
¼ cup grapeseed oil
¼ cup agave nectar
1-2 very ripe bananas (about ¾ to 1 cup mashed)

In a large bowl, mix together almond flour, arrowroot powder, salt and baking soda. In a smaller bowl, combine eggs, grapeseed oil and agave and then stir in mashed bananas. Mix wet ingredients into dry. Scoop batter one heaping ¼ cup at a time into lined cupcake tins. Bake at 350° for 15-18 minutes. Remove from oven, allow to cool, then frost with whipped cream frosting and dust with chocolate "Dirt" or mini chocolate chips.

Source: Elana's Pantry

Banana Coffee Cake with Macadamia Nuts and Coconut

This cake is very dessert-like. It's moist and sweet and has yummy crunchies on top-- I doubled the topping amount. It's from Cooking Light magazine, but it definitely doesn't taste light. Someone who reviewed it even substituted the egg with an extra banana, so it can be vegan.

Banana Coffee Cake with Macadamia Nuts and Coconut

Cooking spray

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2 large bananas)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 large egg
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon water
2 teaspoons butter
2 tablespoons chopped macadamia nuts, toasted
2 tablespoons flaked sweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 350°.

Coat a 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray; line bottom of pan with wax paper. Coat wax paper with cooking spray.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a bowl, stirring with a whisk. Combine banana and next 5 ingredients (banana through egg) in a bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed for 1 minute or until well blended. Add flour mixture to banana mixture, and beat until blended. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Carefully peel off wax paper.

Combine brown sugar, water, and butter in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in nuts and coconut. Spread over cake. Serve cake warm.

Fruit Salad

This is a recipe that came from my great grandmother. My grandma made it and it has become a family favorite. Even my vegan sister has made a vegan version of it. Some people might call it ambrosia, but I call it fruit salad. It is super yum and always reminds me of the holidays.

Fruit Salad

1 cup maraschino cherries
1 cup mandarin oranges
1 cup pineapple chunks
1 cup mini marshmallows
1 cup sweetened flake coconut
1 cup sour cream

Mix all ingredients together in bowl. Let it sit for at least several hours.

Trifle

Trifle is an awesome dessert. It can be as easy or as complicated as you want to make it. Essentially it is layers of cake, whipped cream, custard/pudding and fruit/cookies/candy. You can make it by scratch or buy it premade. You can use whatever flavors you want. And you can make it pretty in a trifle bowl if you have one. I used chocolate cake, vanilla pudding, strawberries, whipped cream and some peanuts on top.

Trifle

Cake (angel food, pound cake, chocolate cake)
Pudding or custard
Fruit/cookies/candy (berries, bananas, oreos, heath bars)
Whipped Cream

Cut cake into cubes and layer bottom of bowl. Spread half the custard or pudding on cake. Layer fruit, cookies or candy next. Then spread whipped cream. Repeat. Sprinkle top with more crushed cookies, candy or nuts.

Vegan Strawberry Shortcake

I made my favorite sister some vegan strawberry shortcake for her birthday. Of course I was having trouble finding vegan soygurt at my area grocery stores. My Frys has vegan cream cheese, sour cream, etc. --but no soygurt. Even the soygurt I found at the Super Target had milk cultures in it. So I didn't use my sister's yougurt pound cake recipe. I found a new one. It was okay. A little sweet. Of course, somebody left it at home and it had to be delivered the next day so she was the only one to taste the dessert in it's entirety. My husband was a sweetie and helped me out since I was sick. He made the whipped cream. He also didn't check to make sure it was sweet enough. Oops. I assume everyone knows how to make the strawberry part. Slice your strawberries. Add sugar to taste (sugar creates juice, so make sure you use it if you like the strawberries juicy). So I can't judge the finished product, but my sister said that as a whole it was really good.

Vegan Pound Cake

1/2 cup vegan butter, softened (I like Earth Balance)

1 1/2 cups granulated or raw sugar (I use granulated)
6 ounces (one half of a box) plain or low fat Silken firm tofu (blending or processing first assures no lumps)
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cups water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 teaspoons baking powder


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 5 x 9" loaf pan. Cream together butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Beat in tofu until well combined. Add 1 cup flour and, with mixer on low, mix just until incorporated. Add water and extracts and do the same. End with remaining cup of flour and baking powder. Increase speed to medium and beat for 1-2 minutes. Spoon mixture into pan and lightly smooth the top. Place on the center rack of the oven and bake for 55 minutes.

Source: The Blooming Platter

Whipped Coconut Cream

1 cans worth of coconut cream- the white part, not the clear- chilled for a couple of hours.
1 tsp vanilla
2-3 tsp powdered sugar

Freeze mixing bowl and whisk attachment prior to adding in coconut cream. Beat on highest setting until soft peaks are formed- usually about 6 minutes. The colder the temperature of the cream and the utensils, the better the chances of forming these nice peaks. ( As this is a first attempt at whipping coconut cream, mine turned a bit soft as I neglected to pay too much attention to the whipping process. But, I threw it in the freezer for a few minutes and then in the fridge, and the taste and texture is pretty darn similar to the animal variety. But I won’t lie, mine came out more the consistency of regular whipped cream left to sit out a bit too long. I could hardly even notice the coconut flavor though)

Once peaks have formed, add other ingredients and immediately chill in refrigerator.

Source: Manifest Vegan