Homemade Chocolate Chips

Homemade Chocolate Chips

1 cup coconut oil
1 cup cocoa powder
6 TB maple syrup
1 TB pure vanilla
Pinch of salt

1.  Melt everything together in a double boiler over the stove, and whisk until everything comes together and is very smooth.  (Alternately, you may just melt the coconut oil, and whisk everything until it comes together and is smooth.  It tends to clump up this way easier, but you are always willing to try it this way.)
2.   Place batter on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet, spread out thin with a spatula, and freeze for a couple hours or overnight until it hardens up.  Then, cut up with a knife into squares.  (Alternately: find a chocolate chip silicone mold, or a silicone pot holder, and pour batter into that.  Freeze for a couple hours or overnight until it becomes solid.)  Store in a freezer bag in the freezer at all times, until use.


Notes:
*If you are wanting to use carob powder, I would recommend tasting it before you add any maple syrup.  You may not have to add much sweetener at all, because carob is naturally sweet, unlike chocolate, which is naturally bitter.
*If you are wanting a neutral flavor, I recommend using the expelled pressed coconut oil instead of the extra virgin coconut oil.  The expelled pressed doesn't have any flavor.

Hot Cocoa Mix

I made a bunch of this and gave it out to close friends and family for Christmas gifts this year!  Everyone loved it.  

 I use soy milk powder for it instead of regular dried milk powder.  I have never used regular cows milk powder, so I don't know what the outcome would be.  But, you may use whatever you like!  You are the chef, remember?!  I have also made this with rice milk powder for friends who are allergic to soy, and it turns out great.

Let me know what you think in the comments below!


Hot cocoa mix
Yield: about 6 cups

1 1/2 cups cocoa powder (or carob, if desired)
2 1/2 cups organic powdered sugar
2 cups vanilla soy milk powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp fine sea salt

1.  Sift everything together in a large bowl.  Then, whisk everything until combined.  Store in a glass container.

To Serve:
Place 2-3 large TB in a mug, add hot water or milk, stir.  Enjoy!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Here's a recipe my family used growing up.  I would make a bunch of these in the summer to sell with glasses of lemonade at our annual garage sales when I was young.  I remember making quite a bit of money doing that...

Since I've been cooking a little more healthier in recent years, just by cutting the eggs out of this recipe cuts out all the bad cholesterol and cuts the calories way down, too.  Try these, you will like them!

I especially like these in the fall and winter.  They always give me such a comfort!


Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Yield: 2 dozen

1 1/2 cups organic unbleached all purpose flour (or gluten-free flour of your choice mixed with 1/2 xanthan gum)
1 TB egg replacer (or Arrowroot powder or Cornstarch)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg, ground
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1 cup vegan margarine (I like Earth Balance)
1 cup organic brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup organic cane sugar
1/4 cup water
1 TB pure vanilla extract
3 cups regular or quick oats, raw (or gluten-free oats, if you can't eat regular oats)
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (sub Carob chips or raisins)
3/4 cups pecans, chopped

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.  In a medium bowl, whisk flour, egg replacer or arrowroot, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt until fully mixed together.
3.  Beat together margarine, sugars, water and vanilla in mixer or with a hand mixer, until fluffy.
4.  Add flour mixture, mix until everything is incorporated. 
5.  With mixer running on low, slowly add in oats, chocolate chips and pecans.  You may also stir them in by hand.
6.  Using a cookie scoop, drop tablespoons onto a parchment lined cookie sheet.
7.  Bake 10-12 mins, or until golden brown.
8.  Cool a couple mins on cookie sheet until transferring to a cooling rack.

Note:  Cookies freeze really well.  If I'm making these for a special event or potluck, I will bake them, let them cool completely, place in gallon freezer bags and freeze until I'm ready to use.  They thaw out in 20 minutes and taste like you just baked them.  Enjoy!

Iced Mocha

I've taken a leave of absence of posting recipes.  Getting through each day with a toddler is sometimes all I can do, let alone all those extra things in life.  (Like, this blog for example.)  But, my short term goal is to post recipes consistently, in these fall and winter months.  So please bear with me as I accomplish this.

Here's a recipe that is my go-to, quick, comforting, anytime of the day, lazy drink.  All you need is a blender of any kind, and you should be good to go.  Oh yeah, and the ingredients would help, too.

I always just throw all these things in the blender and eyeball it every time.  This is always the quantities that I put in, so I put it in a recipe format for you all.  This is something that is easy when you're tired, or in a pinch to entertain dinner guests.


Iced Mocha
Yields: about 6 cups 

4 cups non dairy milk (soy, almond, rice, etc)
1/4 cup coffee substitute (Roma, Pero, or Caffix)
2 TB cocoa powder (or carob powder)
1/4 cup maple syrup
Seeds from 1 vanilla bean
a big pinch of salt
1 TB creamy almond butter

1.  Put everything in the blender except for the almond butter.  Blend until very smooth.
2.  With the blender going, add the almond butter, and blend until smooth.
3.  Add about a cup (or more if you want a thicker consistency) of ice while blender is going, and blend until everything is incorporated.
4.  Top with vegan whipped cream if desired.  Serve with a straw.  Keep chilled in the fridge.

Note:  You may be saying to yourself that "this seems way too gourmet for me to make due to the use of a vanilla bean."  If you don't have any; first of all, use 1 TB of pure vanilla extract.  Secondly, you should buy some!  I buy grade A vanilla beans on Amazon.com and I prefer using them in uncooked recipes like this, because you don't taste any of that alcohol from the extracts.  And there's a huge taste difference when it comes to using the real deal.  You will not be let down.

Carob Pie

This is a recipe I got from my friend Julie!  Its always been one of my favorite deserts.  I will be posting a picture as soon as I can.  If you leave the mint out, it tastes JUST like a Frosty from Wendy's!  Enjoy.


Carob Pie
yield: 1 pie

1 cup finely chopped Pecans or Walnuts
1 1/2 cup water
1/2 cup soy or rice milk powder
1 TB vanilla
1 cup Carob chips (or chocolate chips)
1/2 cup maple syrup (or organic sugar)
1 TB peppermint extract
3 TB Roma (or other coffee substitute)
3/4 cup almond butter

1.)  Place chopped nuts on bottom of pie plate evenly.
2.)  Then, blend everything instead of almond butter in a vita-mix or food processor until smooth.  You may have to add more water (or dairy-free milk) if it gets too thick. 
3.)  Add almond butter at the end, blending until smooth.
4.)  Pour into pie pan and freeze.
5.)  Remove pie from freezer 10 minutes before serving, then slice it.

Note:  If you'd like to make this pie, but you do not have carob or chocolate chips on hand, you may sub 1/2-3/4 cup of Carob or Cocoa powder, to taste. 
Note:  You may also make this into a smoothie by adding more water.  It tastes exactly like a Wendy's frosty when you leave out the peppermint flavor.

Home-style Chocolate Chip Cookies

Any vegans missing that classic homemade chocolate chip cookie indulgence?  Well, now you can indulge without need for the dairy, eggs, white sugar, or even refined flour if you choose.  These cookies can even be made wheat-free substituting spelt flour for wheat flour.  One other bonus: these are super-easy to make!

Home-style Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yield: 18-24 regular sized cookies

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (see note)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup unrefined sugar
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
2/3 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon Black strap molasses
1 TB pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup canola oil
2/3 cup non-dairy chocolate chips


Instructions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C).
2.  In a bowl, sift in the flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
3.  Add the sugar and salt, and stir until well combined.
4.  In a separate bowl, combine the maple syrup with the molasses and vanilla, then stir in the oil until well combined.
5.  Add the wet mixture to the dry, along with the chocolate chips, and stir through until just well combined (do not over-mix).
6.  Place large spoonfuls of the batter on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and flatten a little. 7.  Bake for 11 minutes, until just golden (if you bake for much longer, they will dry out).
8.  Let cool on the sheet for no more than 1 minute (again, to prevent drying), then transfer to a cooling rack.


Note:  These cookies freeze well after they are baked.  What I like to do is make extra cookie batter, place on cookie sheets, and freeze instead of baking.  Then take them out of the freezer, and put into a plastic freezer bag.  Then, whenever you crave a fresh-baked cookie, you don't have to worry about making the dough! 

Note: Unbleached all-purpose flour or spelt flour produces a more classic cookie taste and texture, but you can use whole-wheat pastry flour and still get a delicious cookie. For a wheat-free version, use spelt flour, but add an extra 2-4 tablespoons of the spelt flour to the dry mix (the amount needed varies with brand of spelt flour and whether you are using a refined spelt flour versus a less processed spelt flour).

Note: If, as you are mixing together your batter it appears quite floury and thick, simply mix together a couple of teaspoons more canola and maple syrup and incorporate it into the batter. Sometimes humidity, type of flour used, and other factors can affect the density of the batter and so a touch more liquid may be needed.

Rich Chocolate Pudding

Rich Chocolate Pudding


1 pkg 14 oz. silken tofu
1/3 cup agave
1/8-1/4 cup cocoa powder (depends on how rich you want it)
1 TB vanilla
1 big pinch of salt

1.  Blend everything in a food processor until very, very smooth.
2.  Chill, serve.