Double (or Triple)-dipped Chocolate Cupcakes

“Did you just double-dip that cupcake?”

I did, Timmy.. I dipped, then I dipped AGAIN! I made the Redux: Red Velvet Cake cuppies (mini-sized), and then dipped into a chocolate glaze. When making the cuppies, fill the cups a little more than normal so they have a little peak over the edge of the cup. I let the cuppies and single dip chill in the fridge for about 10 min..then I dipped again! 🙂

Chocolate Glaze:
scant 1/3 C So Delicious Coconut Milk Beverage or other milk alternative
heaping 1/3 C chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet, but I bet a dark chip would also be nice. You could also chop up your favorite chocolate bar into 1/3 C.)

Heat milk over medium heat until steaming, but not simmering or boiling. Pour over chocolate and let sit a few moments (I hand-washed the pot that I steamed the milk in, then went to whisk). Whisk to create a glossy emulsion. Let chocolate cool on the counter about 10 min. If you’re in a colder ambient temperature location, it may not take as long. Once both cuppies and chocolate are cooled, dip cuppies in the chocolate gloss. Let chill in the fridge about 10 min, then dip again.. feel free to dip as many times as you like, letting them chill in the fridge between each dip. This recipe will make more than is needed for the cupcake recipe, so you can double the cupcake recipe..say for a potluck or party situation. And I’ve never heard of anyone complaining because there is extra chocolate glaze.. glaze pancakes, scones, or sundaes the next morning, or skip the middleman and just glaze your tongue. 😉

Happy Baking!

Confectioner’s note: If you want a sturdier chocolate – i.e. one that doesn’t soften at the touch – then simply melt the chocolate in a double-boiler and omit the milk step.

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Redux: Red Velvet Cupcakes

The first time I posted about Red Velvet Cuppies, I did mini’s and the frosting didn’t turn out as well as could be expected, so the post was lacking in standard Primate verve.. So here’s the redux post. This time I made full-size, since I didn’t have enough liners for minis.. and sometimes it doesn’t hurt to go standard-sizing – I’m just a gnome deep down, and love all things mini or gnome-size. 🙂 But who’s really going to turn down a cupcake, regardless of size.. honestly. This recipe makes 12 regulars, or about 24-32 minis. I old-school frosted with standard vegan Buttercream Frosting. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Red Velvet Cuppies:

1 C hemp or almond milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 C turbinado sugar
1/3 C canola oil
1.5 tsp vanilla extract
1 C oat flour
1/4 C AP flour
1/3 C cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
red food coloring, as needed (or omit for a basic chocolate cupcake)

Buttercream Frosting: [this will make enough for piping the frosting, if frosting old-school style freehand..HALF the recipe]

1 C Earth Balance Vegan Butter, lightly softened
4.5-5 C sifted powdered sugar (I put in 3 C as the original recipe called for, but then added about 1.5-2 C more..didn’t measure it, but added until it was the right consistency)

2 TBSP Coconut Milk Beverage or Almond Milk

1 TBSP vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 12-muffin tin with cupcake liners (or opt for minis). In a large measuring cup, combine milk and apple cider vinegar. Set aside.

2. In a mixing bowl, stir together sugar and oil. Pour into milk mixture. Set aside.

3. In same mixing bowl, sift (or whisk) together flours, cocoa powder, baking soda & powder, and salt. Add liquid mixture. Stir to combine. Add red food coloring to desired color.

4. Allocate around 1/4 C per cupcake for regulars (about 1 TBSP or so for minis). Bake at 350°F for 18-22 minutes for regulars, 12-15 minutes for minis.

5. Let cool while you make the UnButtercream Frosting in a stand mixer. Frost. Enjoy!

Happy Baking!

On this day in History: New Years Eve @ 1323 Menu

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New and Improved Chocolate Chip Cookies

Readers may be surprised by this, but I find it absolutely impossible to follow a recipe exactly – even ones I’ve developed myself!  I always think, oh, it would be great to add a little of this, or leave out just a little of that.  The downside is that sometimes things are not quite as delicious as they could be, but the upside is that sometimes I improve on things.  So, I was baking my other Chocolate Chip Cookies, which are a bit on the thick side, and wanted them to be a little bit thinner, with tantalizingly crisp edges, and soft gooey middles.  And here it is, my new and improved chocolate chip cookie recipe:

Ingredients:

2 TBS flaxseed meal combined with 1/4 C water, and then microwaved for 30 seconds

1.75 C AP flour

1 stick Earth Balance buttery sticks

1 stick Earth Balance shortening

1 C cane sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla

1 bag chocolate chips

1 C nuts (optional)

Instructions:

1.  Soak the flaxseed meal in warm water for at least 10 minutes.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2.  Cream the Earth Balance sticks with the sugar.

3.  Add vanilla and flaxseed goo.

4.  Add dry ingredients in a few stages, mixing each thoroughly.

5.  Mix in chips and nuts.  Taste test!

6.  Roll spoonfuls of dough into balls.

7.  Bake at 400 degrees for 9-10 minutes.

On this day in History: Roasted Corn Salsa

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Babka

“Cinnamon takes a back seat to no babka. People love cinnamon. It should be on tables at restaurants along with salt and pepper. Anytime anyone says, “Oh this is so good, what’s in it?” The answer invariably comes back, “Cinnamon.” “Cinnamon.” Again and again. Lesser babka?? I think not.” – Jerry Seinfeld

Just like the Black & White cookie – this babka brings “two races of flavor living together side by side in harmony.” Enter the Elaine-loving chocolate babka, and the Jerry-touting greatness  of the “lesser” cinnamon babka in this explosion of dual-babka heaven! Don’t “go in with a lesser babka” – serve an empirically superior combination of cinnamon and chocolate. A perfect babka for dinner parties, breakfast, or lazy afternoons on the couch at teatime.. 🙂

Ingredients

Bread:

2 tbsp  instant yeast

3/4th cup lukewarm almond milk

6 tbsp Earth Balance

6 tbsp  sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

4 TBS plain coconut milk yogurt

3 ½ cup  all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

Filling:

1 ½ cups coarsely grated chocolate chips

1 tsp cinnamon, ground

1/4th cup Earth Balance

Directions:

1.  Whisk the yeast into lukewarm almond milk and set aside.

2.  In a large bowl, or the bowl of a KitchenAid, cream together the sugar and Earth Balance until smooth.  Add the yogurt to the bowl in a couple of additions, mixing constantly for 30 seconds between each addition.  Add the vanilla and mix until light and fluffy.

3.  Add 3 C of the flour and salt and continue to mix until it all comes together.

4.  Now mix in the almond milk + yeast mixture and let it mix until it forms a soft dough.  Add in some or all of the remaining 1/2 C flour as needed for a soft, but not not sticky dough.

5.  Turn out onto a floured surface and knead by hand for another 2-3 minutes. You will have a soft, supple, but not sticky dough.

6.  Let this rise for about 2 hours, or refrigerate overnight, making sure to remove it from the fridge two hours before baking.

7.  For the filling: butter and cinnamon together in a bowl.

8.  Once the dough has risen, roll it out into a sheet with a thickness of 1/8^th to 1/4^thinch. Make sure to keep it dusted well with flour at all times, or else it might stick.

9.  Spread the cinnamon mixture over it, and then spread out the chocolate.

10.  Roll the sheet of dough and then pinch the seams to seal it. Roll it to a length of about 24 inches. Place onto cookie sheet.  Cut the log down the middle lengthwise, making sure to keep the top end attached. Twist over each other to get the braided look.

11.  Let the dough proof for another 1-2 hours.

12.  Preheat the oven to 350F and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Happy Baking!

On this day in History: Chocolate Duo Almond Bark

“Look to the cookie, Elaine..look to the cookie.”

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Chocolate Stout Cuppies with Irish Whiskey Buttercream Frosting

The springtime inspires me to get back into baking.. and of course, who doesn’t love St. Patty’s Day?! Ever since I saw this recipe on my Facebook feed, I knew I had to make them. I actually made the cuppies pretty much verbatim, so I’ll simply include a link with the photos.. I did use olive oil in place of canola (didn’t have any canola on hand), but it worked out nicely! Check it out! Super deliciousness awaits you… 🙂 This recipe made about 5 dozen mini cuppies – and I baked at 350°F for 15 minutes.

Chef Chloe’s recipe – NOM NOM!

I did, however, tweak the frosting recipe a bit..so here’s my frosting recipe:

Ingredients:

1 C Earth Balance Vegan Butter, lightly softened
4.5-5 C sifted powdered sugar (I put in 3 C as the original recipe called for, but then added about 1.5-2 C more..didn’t measure it, but added until it was the right consistency)

4 TBSP Irish Whiskey

2 TBSP Coconut Milk Beverage

1 TBSP vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Dump all ingredients into a mixer. Mix until smooth and delicious – adjusting moisture level as needed.
2. Taste for quality control, and frost cooled cuppies.

Happy Baking!

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Vegan Samoas

You may have seen the unpaid female child labor hawking their animal-torture based cookies out in front of your grocery store.  It’s that time of year.  I can admit to enjoying a thin mint back in the day.  They’re pretty refreshing out of the fridge.  But hands down, the best creation ever conceived was a shortbread cookie topped with caramel, coconut and chocolate:  the Samoa.  My love for Samoas cannot be contained by our meager language.  I could definitely put away a box of them in one day.  In fact, they were the last non-vegan food I ate on purpose.  Five years ago.  I haven’t had a Samoa in five years.  Until now.  I can’t believe it took me this long to do it.  But here they are for you all to enjoy – Vegan Samoas.

Although this recipe seems to have many steps, each of them is pretty simple.  It takes a while from start to finish, but mostly it’s a hurry up and wait game, until the final assembly, which doesn’t take long.

Ingredients:

Cookies:

2 C flour
1/3 C confectioner’s sugar
1/3 C turbinado sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
2 sticks Earth Balance

Caramel:

3/4 C hemp milk
1.5 tsp cornstarch
3/4 C brown sugar
3 TBSP Earth Balance vegan butter
1.5 TBSP brown rice syrup
pinch of salt
3 tsp confectioner’s sugar

Topping:

2 TBS shredded coconut, toasted
1 ounce semi-sweet chocolate, melted

Instructions – cookies:

1.  Place all dry ingredients in a food processor, and give a few quick pulses to blend.

2.  Cut “butter” into pieces and add to food processor, along with vanilla.  Blend for 20-30 seconds, or until the mixture resembles course cornmeal.

3.  Turn onto lightly floured surface and kneed a few times to form a dough.  Roll into a ball.

Warning!  This cookie dough tastes fantastic, and harbors no salmonella, but if you eat it all, you will have no Samoas!

4.  Cover with plastic and refrigerate for 1 – 24 hours.

5.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Roll dough out onto a lightly floured surface and cut with cookie cutters.

6.  Bake at 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes.  This is a very unusual case where you want the cookies to be slightly crispy.  Let cool while you prepare the caramel.

Warning!!  At this stage, the cookies are in fact already delicious, and it’s wise to find a disfigured one to perform quality control tests on, just to make sure.  But, if you eat all of them, you will end up with no Samoas!

Instructions – caramel: (based on Sara’s dulce de leche)

1. Place hemp milk, cornstarch, sugar, vegan butter, and brown rice syrup in a small stainless steel pan and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat, stirring frequently to prevent burning.

2. Cook gently for 15 minutes, stir in the pinch of salt and the confectioner’s sugar. Continue to cook gently until the mixture thickens enough so that a spoonful dropped on piece of parchment holds together, about an additional 5 to 10 minutes. You know you’re there when you can run a spoon through it and it doesn’t run back together immediately.

3.  Remove from heat and begin cookie assembly.

Instructions – assembly:

1.  After the caramel has cooled for five minutes or so, you can start the assembly line.   Drop spoonfuls of caramel on top of each cookie, and spread it to the edges.  As soon as possible, sprinkle the toasted coconut on top.  It’s great to have a helper for this, to see to the coconut, while you work on the caramel.

Warning!  A shortbread cookie with caramel and coconut on top is a wonderful idea all by itself.  However, if you eat them all at this stage, you still will not have had any Samoas!

2.  After all the cookies have the caramel and coconut, it’s time to melt the chocolate in a double boiler.  Drizzle spoonfuls of chocolate over the cookies.

3.  Place cookies in refrigerator for 10 minutes to set everything.

Warning!!  Consumption of more than 2-3 cookies will likely lead to sugar-induced coma.

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Here Comes the SunButter Cups

“Little darling, it’s been a long cold lonely winter…Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces.” Ah, haven’t had many posts in a while, let alone a Beatles reference as awesome as Strawberry Fields Forever. Well, here ya go.. with both! I’m on a bizarre, obsessive SunButter kick right now. Last Sunday we had SunButter Kind of Love Fudge, and today we have Here Comes the SunButter Cups! To alleviate some of your pain from the cold (and from the lack of posts), I created these beauties for you. So for all those out there who have peanut allergies and the like, I give you a SunButter Cup that is equally delicious to it’s nutty cousin, the peanut butter cup. Made from sunflower seeds, these are a great nut-free, gluten-free, tree nut-free alternative. Of course, check your chocolate as well.. but at least the filling is copacetic for the allergy-laden gnomies in the crowd. So “here comes the sun, here comes the sun, and I say it’s all right.”

Ingredients:

2 C vegan chocolate chips, or a chopped chocolate bar to 2 C (make sure you quality control your chocolate by tasting it prior to melting – if it needs to be sweetened add some sugar accordingly)
1 TBSP Earth Balance Vegan Butter *optional for a more ganachey consistency or leave it out if you don’t want the added fatty goodness
1/2 C SunButter, creamy or chunky – however your prefer your cups
1/4 C powdered sugar, sifted
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. In a small sauce pan, add about 1-inch of water and bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer. In a dry, heat proof glass bowl, add chocolate chips, 1 TBSP vegan butter, and sugar (if necessary) and place over the simmering water. Keep an eye on it..make sure no steam or water droplets get into the water – this can cause the chocolate to seize..and well, seizing chocolate isn’t as fun as seizing the finished product into your gently smiling jaws. If your chocolate suddenly clumps up and looks gross and no longer shiny, it’s been seized – there’s no saving it, so set aside to eat at a later moment and start over. The melting takes only about 5-10 minutes, so be patient. As I said before, in the PB Cup post, that equally applies here: “As with almost everything in life – you start out cute as a button, go through an awkward, only-see-the-inner-beauty phase, then before you know it you only have a few lumps…and you blossom into smooth, luscious ganache!”

2. Meanwhile, with a hand mixer or wooden spoon, combine SunButter, sugar, salt, and vanilla until combined. Fill a pastry bag with the SB mixture and set aside, [or prep a melon baller or small spoon]. **When you’re ready for it, microwaving the SB mixture (before adding it to a plastic pastry bag) for about 30 seconds will help make the mixture easier to work with.

3. In a mini-muffin tin lined with candy/foil wrappers, fill with about 1 tsp melted chocolate with a spoon, a small melon baller, or chocolate in a pastry bag (the latter two I find to make things more manageable, but feel free to get your fingers dirty. What a tragedy..licking chocolate-covered fingers.) Place a hefty dollop, about 2-3 tsp of the SB mixture (again a pastry bag or melon baller seems to make things easier for me) and press down so it’s cozy in the chocolate. Top with remaining melted chocolate, about another tsp, to cover SB center. Give the muffin tin a good shake, then place in fridge about 15-20 minutes for chocolate to set!

*Confectioner’s Notes: Your chocolate bowl needs to be 100% dry – not a speck of water. Don’t rush the melting of the chocolate. Stir occasionally with either a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Remember…good things come to those who wait, and those who rush get unworthy chocolate. Keeping the heat low will also help prevent the burning of the chocolate – which is also not a good thing.

Happy Baking!

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Dylan’s Bearkat Blueberry Brownies

Melanie is a dear, sweet friend of mine, who also happens to teach at Cherry Blossom Yoga. Her son, Dylan.. a growing lad of 17..likes his tasty goodness. And like any good mother, she prefers those tasty treats be healthy tasty goodness’s. Her first treat for the onset of school was the Chocolate Zucchini Cake in cuppie form. So now that I’ve returned to the land of plenty..well, the land of plenty hot – i.e. Houston TX – I can now return to that wonderful thing referred to by these innocent primates as ‘crack jam!’ Otherwise known as New Cannan Farms Blueberry Jam. And now that I have access to it anytime I like, I feel the need to exploit the blueberries in all their jammy-goodness glory. I altered this recipe a bit from that standard classic cookbook, Veganomicon.. using Hemp milk in place of soy, organic white whole wheat flour in place of AP, and Coconut oil in place of canola (thank you Melanie for that inspiration, of which you weren’t even aware! but when you asked if Coconut oil would be good in the Chocolate Zucchini cake, I just knew I had to try something with coconut oil..and it was time to accept my adulthood and move on to bigger and better oils. Now I just need to go back and make my lemon popper pies with Coconut oil in the crust, thank you Marika for that one!)…but I digress. This recipe makes 16 thick and delicious brownies (1 – 8X8 pan).

Ingredients:

2/3 C plus 1/2 C semisweet vegan chocolate chips
10.7 oz blueberry jam (the original recipe called for 10 oz, but my jar was 10.7 oz)
1/4 C hemp milk (or other milk alternative)
1/2 C Demerara turbinado sugar
1/4 C granulated sugar
1/2 C canola, safflower, or coconut oil
2.5 tsp vanilla extract
1.5 C Organic White Whole Wheat flour
1/4 C unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Line 8X8 pan with parchment.
2. Melt the 2/3 C chocolate chips in a small saucepan over low heat (or in a double-boiler) – reserving the 1/2 C as whole chips. Use a rubber spatula to stir until melted. **If melting without a double-boiler, keep a close eye so as not to burn the chocolate. Remove from heat and let cool while you prepare everything else.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the jam, milk, sugars, oil, and extract. Mix by hand with a large, sturdy whisk (or wooden spoon), or use an electric mixer..but really, you don’t need any extra power beyond yourself – depending on the jam you use, of course.
4. Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir with wooden spoon until well mixed. **If you use a whisk, things could clump up inside of it..making it hard to lick the mixing apparatus, for quality control, when done.
5. Mix in the melted chocolate. Fold in the remaining 1/2 C chocolate chips. Spread the batter in the baking pan – you’ll have to spread it. It won’t be as runny as traditional “animal-filled” brownies, but it won’t be as thick as other vegan brownie recipes. And it will spread a little during baking, so it doesn’t need to be perfect going into the oven.
6. Bake for 45 minutes. You can do the poke test, but be aware the chocolate chips may make it appear as if it’s not done…so test wisely.

Serve to any growing athlete or hungry brownie-lover in your life. I apologize for the lack of cross-section photo..they were eaten too fast to get a cut shot! I suppose that means I’ll have to make them again..damn the bad luck 😉

Happy Baking!

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Festivus Food Gifts: Chocolate Duo Almond Bark

Ok, so it’s not technically two chocolates in one bark…but here’s a recipe that can be used for both white chocolate and “milk” chocolate almond bark! Dad requested almond bark as a gift for his neighbors – and initially I thought he was wanting Almond Brittle but simply not realizing they were two different things, then realizing he actually knew what he was talking about 😉 hehee…love ya Dad!

Ingredients:

6-8 oz Almonds or Walnuts; whole
10-12 ounces White or Dark chocolate chips (whatever size your bag is – my white chips were 10.5 and my dark chips were 12)

Directions:

Spread nuts in a single layer in shallow pan. Place in cold oven; toast at 350°F 12 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly toasted. Let cool. Melt white chocolate in top of a double boiler over very low heat. Remove from stove, and stir in almonds. Drop by heaping tablespoons onto waxed paper. Refrigerate until cool and hardened. Store in airtight container in refrigerator. Keeps up to 2 weeks.

Happy Candy making!

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Puppy Chow

No…this isn’t the horrible kibble that you shouldn’t be feeding your dog, it’s the delicious treat you used to eat as a kid – or in my case, on bus rides to out-of-town High School football games with the dance team! Oh, how this stuff takes me back! This is great to hand out to friends for holiday snack-gifts, and it also travels well on a plane for those long lines and uncomfortable plane rides during the Festivus holiday festivities…

Ingredients:

1/2 C Peanut Butter
1/4 C Earth Balance Vegan Butter
1 C Chocolate Chips
1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
9 C Crispix or Oaty Bites cereal (basically a whole box)
1.5 C Powdered Sugar

Directions:

1. Combine peanut butter, butter and chocolate chips in a large bowl and microwave until melted, stirring every 30 seconds.

2. Once it all comes together. Add vanilla and stir well.
3. Place the cereal in a very large bowl.
4. Pour the peanut butter-chocolate mixture over the cereal and toss evenly, making sure all the cereal gets a good covering.

5. Coat with powdered sugar, sprinkling evenly over the cereal and tossing as you sprinkle to cover each piece well. Store in small plastic baggies or glass storage container, give out as gifts or nosh all on your own – Just keep this Puppy Chow away from the pooch 🙂

Happy Cooking!

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