Mexican Hot Chocolate Vegan Cookies

I was super excited when my copy of Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar landed on my door mat amongst the bills and junk mail. I chucked the bills and junk mail on the sofa and wandered distractedly into the kitchen with my new favourite recipe book. Dinner could wait! I had to flip through the pages of all the wonderful creations and try to figure out how the hell the figured it all out. The Mexican Chocolate Snickerdoodles were the first cookies to catch my eye. Chocolate and spice; whats not to like? So I marked the page and went on with my day. Until now. I had today off work for a hospital appointment that took nowhere near as long as expected, so I thought “What the hell? Let’s bake cookies!!”

 

And they didn’t disappoint. They have the chocolate richness of brownies, the satisfying crunch of a cookies, and they are sooooo good warm while the center is all chewy and lovely. The spice is subtle and suitable for children and chilli wimps alike. I definitely recommend leaving it in even if you aren’t a spicy kind of guy/gal.

The link to the online recipe is here http://www.theppk.com/2009/09/mexican-hot-chocolate-snickerdoodles/

I left off the cinnamon/sugar topping as I think they were sweet enough as they were… so I guess my version wasn’t exactly a snickerdoodle, but they were amazing anyway. I also switched the all-purpose flour for brown rice flour to make them gluten-free, and, as suggested in the book, I added a little extra brown rice flour. Something to do with how much it absorbs or something. I just heaped the whole cup rather than leveling it off and they came out fine.

Your family and friends will never know that these are vegan!! Enjoy!

Ultimate Peppermint Brownies

 

I love chocolate. And what’s more chocolatey than chocolate brownies with chunky chocolate chips? I’m always astounded when some one tells me they don’t like chocolate cake. “Make me any cake as long as it’s not chocolate” Are you mental? Chocolate is the best invention known to man. Fact! Ok, well maybe not, but it is pretty good.

I think brownies are the perfect thing to bake when you need a treat. Not just something sweet but something really indulgent. I love the gooey centre, and the corner pieces are always left until last to be eaten as they are the most cooked. I decided to jazz mine up this time by flavouring them with peppermint. It makes them slightly less cloying, so great for those fuss pots. I have also tried this with orange extract, which, might I add, was divine!

So armed with my packed lunch of yummy brownie squares, I am ready to share with you my ultimate brownie recipe that no one will ever guess is gluten free and dairy free. Enjoy!

Recipe

3oz Dairy Free Spread (I used sunflower)

6oz Caster Sugar

1.5 oz Cocoa Powder

2 Medium Eggs

3oz Gluten Free Flour Blend (I used Dove Farm)

2tsp Gluten Free Baking Powder, if not already in flour blend

100g Dark Chocolate Bar

1-2tsp Peppermint Extract (2tsp for mint lovers! 1tsp gives a fairly mild taste)

This can be a really easy, one bowl dish. What I do is melt the dairy free spread in a large microwave proof mixing bowl until just melted. Take it out of the microwave and stir in the sugar until well combined. Mix in the cocoa powder, eggs and peppermint to make a beautifully chocolatey batter! Fold in the flour and baking powder, and then the chocolate chunks. I open out the chocolate bar and leave it on it’s wrapper. I take a bread knife, or any large knife, and chop it up by putting my hand on top of the blade to protect my fingers, and pressing down until I have a range of chocolate chunk sizes. It’s best to leave some big because they are a great treat when you come across one in your bite!

 

Grease a baking dish and pour in the mix. Bake at 180c for 15 – 20 minutes. Remember not to open the oven within the first 10 minutes, and check the brownies before the time is up as you want to keep some of the goo in the centre. Leave to cool (if you can take it!) and divide into squares. I usually get about 12 small but deep squares out of mine, although it depends on the dish you use.

They keep well in an airtight container for a few days. They may keep longer but mine never last long enough for me to find out 🙂

 

Lemoncurd Cupcakes

 

My earliest memory of lemoncurd is of it spread thickly on bread, as white and artifical as bread comes. And I loved it. What was not to love? I have always had a sweet tooth, so to make my school lunch taste like dessert? I was hooked. My love of lemoncurd has followed me into my adult life, however my tolerance of bread, especially the white as white, artifical kind, has not.

I originally bought this particular jar of lemoncurd to make my dad a birthday cake, which was a time consuming, double filled cake. The first sponge I coated with the oh so lovely lemoncurd, onto which I layed another sponge, onto which I spread a delicate lemon buttercream, onto which I laid the final sponge. I know what you’re thinking…why the hell didn’t I blog about that creation? Maybe one day. However on that day, I was rushed off my feet preparing for a week away in Wet Wales with the family. So you are stuck with my lemoncurd cupcakes; more of a craving than a creation. A quickly thrown together treat when I just couldn’t resist any longer.

Recipe

4oz Gluten Free Flour (Add a tsp of GF baking powder if it has none added already)

4oz Caster Sugar

4oz Dairy Free Spread (as usual, I used sunflower)

2 Eggs

A jar of lemoncurd (you won’t need it all, and don’t forget to read the ingredients)

How it’s done

Preheat your oven to 160c fan or 180c without. Fill a 12 hole cake tin with paper cases ready to be filled. Cream together the spread and sugar, preferably with an electric hand whisk, until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs until well combined, and then fold in the flour. Sometimes the simplest cake mixes are the best 🙂

Spoon a teaspoon of the mix into the paper cases and gently spread until the bottom of each is covered. Using a fresh teaspoon, add a teaspoon of lemoncurd onto each one, before repeating with the batter over the lemoncurd. It doesn’t matter if you can still see a bit of the lemoncurd as the cake batter spreads as it begins to cook and it will trap all the goo inside.

Bake in the middle of the oven for 10-15 minutes until golden brown. The lemoncurd will be molten inside so be as patient as you can before tucking in as it will burn.