Vegan Cheesecake Cookie Dough Bars

These, adapted for vegan-friendliness from this recipe, are absolutely decadent.

Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 Tbsp brown sugar
5 Tbsp Earth Balance margarine, at room temperature

Cheesecake Filling:
8 oz vegan cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup hot cocoa mix (I used Ghiradelli) OR 1/4 cup sugar + 3 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa
1-1/2 tsp egg replacer (optional)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Cookie Dough:
2 Tbsp Earth Balance margarine, at room temperature
3 Tbsp canola oil
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup flour
1 cup chocolate chips

Before you start, set out your margarine and vegan cream cheese and let it warm up. (This isn't essential, but it makes things easier.) Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Crush the graham crackers into crumbs. Mix with the sugar and 5 Tbsp margarine. Press the mixture into the bottom of an oiled baking dish. Bake the crust for 6-7 minutes. Remove pan from oven and let crust cool a bit. (You could also use a pre-made graham cracker or Oreo crust, if you want to skip this step.)

Mix the cream cheese, hot cocoa mix (or sugar + cocoa powder), egg replacer and vanilla together until smooth. Spread over the crust.

Combine the remaining margarine, canola oil, sugar and vanilla until creamy. Add the flour and mix well. Fold in the chocolate chips. Drop the cookie dough evenly over the cheesecake layer.

Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until the top is crunchy. Let cool as much as possible before eating.

Vegan Chocolate Stout Cheesecake

I winged this recipe when a quick Google didn't turn up anything, and yes. This wins.

2 8-oz tubs vegan cream cheese
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup cornstarch
4 tsp powdered egg replacer (I used Ener-G egg replacer)
2 Tbsp molasses
1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegan stout
1/3 cup mini vegan chocolate chips (optional)

1 pre-made Oreo or graham cracker crust

Blend all ingredients except chocolate chips with a hand mixer until smooth. Add the chocolate chips and pour into prepared crust. Bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees, then let cool before serving.

Ingredient Notes: I used Tofutti's Better Than Cream Cheese and Samuel Smith's oatmeal stout (check other stout brands here), which I picked up at the Hy-Vee Drugstore at 42nd & University. If you can't find vegan chocolate chips, you can always chop up a vegan chocolate bar and use that instead.

Veganized Chocolate Eclair 'Cake'

This is a mostly veganized version of a recipe a friend made at a party this weekend. The only non-vegan elements remaining are honey in the graham crackers and milkfat in the standard chocolate chips I bought at Hy-Vee. If you hunted a little harder for vegan versions of these two ingredients (according to Accidentally Vegan, Nabisco original graham crackers are vegan, and you could chop up vegan dark chocolate bars to sub for the chocolate chips), it'd be totally sinless.

1 package graham crackers

2 packages vanilla Jell-O Instant Pudding Mix
2 cups cold vanilla soy/rice milk
1 tub ricemellow creme (or vegan whipped topping)

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (or chopped sweetened dark chocolate)
2 Tbsp margarine
1/4 cup soy/rice milk

Place a layer of graham crackers in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Whisk the pudding mix and milk together and let sit for 5 minutes to set. Fold in the ricemellow creme.

Spread one half of the pudding mixture over the graham crackers. Top with more graham crackers, followed by the rest of the pudding. Top this with graham crackers, too.

Meanwhile, melt your chocolate chips, either in the microwave (30-second bursts, stirring after each one) or in a double boiler (I use a stainless mixing bowl over a pot of boiling water). Add the margarine and soy milk and stir until very smooth. Pour the chocolatey goodness over the graham crackers and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Crack Cookies

These are dead simple, completely addictive, and they satisfy my junk food cravings like nothing else. Sweet-tooth alert: these are super-sweet, so be warned. This is no namby-pamby dessert. It charges onto your tastebuds with sugar guns blazing.



1/2 cup liquid sweeter (agave nectar, honey, maple syrup, etc.)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup chocolate chips
4-5 cups cereal (I used Corn Chex, but Special K or Rice Krispies would work, too)

Combine the sugar and liquid sweetener in a stovetop pan and heat until it bubbles and froths. Remove from heat, mix in the peanut butter and chocolate and stir until incorporated. Add the cereal and stir to coat. Press into a greased pan and stick in the fridge until cooled. Nom with great abandon!

Instant Vegan Chocolate Pudding

I am eating this right now. It is delicious.

1 package silken tofu
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup all-fruit jam (I like raspberry)
a splash or two of vanilla soy milk
agave nectar/sugar to taste

Combine all ingredients, blend (with a stick blender or in a normal blender), adjust sweetener to taste and enjoy.

Vegan Brownies

This recipe is adapted from Peter Berley's The Modern Vegetarian, and it works like a charm.

1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup maple syrup (or agave nectar)
1/4 cup vanilla soy milk
1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup sweetened hot cocoa mix (I use Ghiradelli)
1 cup unbleached or pastry flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a medium baking dish (I find Earth Balance works well).

Combine the canola oil, maple syrup, soy milk and vanilla, mixing until creamy. In a different bowl, sift together the cocoa, flour, baking powder and salt.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Stir very gently just until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. Spread the batter in the greased dish and bake for 30 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Chocolate-covered cookie dough bites & Peanut Butter Chex Cookies

Chocolate-covered cookie dough bites

1 batch VWAV cookie dough, minus the chocolate chips
1-1/2 cups chocolate chips
1/4 cup soy milk

In a double boiler (or in my case, a metal bowl set on top of a pot of boiling water)


Chocolate-Peanut Butter Chex Cookies

1-1/2 cups chocolate chips
1/4 cup soy milk
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup ricemellow creme
2-3 cups Corn Chex

Warning: I have no idea if these proportions are correct, since I totally eyeballed this one.

Chocolate Pumpkin Pie

We had this for Thanksgiving. Super-easy and delish.

1 can pumpkin puree
2/3 cup Mexican hot chocolate mix (or normal hot chocolate + 1 tsp cinnamon)
2 Tbsp maple syrup
1 Tbsp cornstarch/arrowroot
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 Oreo crust
1 handful chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine all ingredients except crust and chocolate chips in a bowl. Taste and adjust sweetness as desired. Pour the filling into the crust. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Bake for 30 minutes. Chill overnight to set.

Eat with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Chocolate Dalek (Reprise)

For those of you who came to my Crafty TARDIS panel at Chicago TARDIS this weekend, here's the link to the Chocolate Dalek Cake recipe and photos. I'll have the Cassandra cookies recipe up later today.

* Chocolate Dalek recipe & instructions
* Flickr photoset of the Dalek cake

Here are some of the other web sites we discussed during the panel:

* Doctor Who Scarf
* Scarf patterns from UNIT
* Crafty TARDIS LJ community
* Who Knits LJ community
* Dalek Builder's Guild
* K-9 Builders' Guild
* TARDIS Builders' Guild

Sweet Potato Brownies

I'm not sure what possessed me to make these. The idea just sounded tasty. They're not quite as decadent and crackly as my usual brownies, but they're still moist and delicious.

1 cup all purpose, whole wheat pastry or spelt flour
1 cup Ghiradelli hot cocoa mix
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup sweet potato puree
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup vanilla soy milk
2-3 handfuls dark chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Oil a baking dish.

Whisk together the flour, hot cocoa, salt and baking powder. In a separate bowl, combine the sweet potato puree, canola oil and soy milk. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and stir just until mixed (don't overbeat, especially if you're using a whole flour). Stir in the chocolate chips. Spread the batter in the oiled dish and bake for 30 to 45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Double-Chocolate Spelt Muffins

These fluffy, tender, decadent chocolate gems are, amazingly, wheat, egg and dairy-free. These are based off Isa's delightful recipe at the PPK.

1 1/2 cups spelt flour
3/4 cup Ghiradelli hot cocoa mix
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup vanilla soy milk
1/2 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons soy yogurt (I used Wildwood's raspberry flavor)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 handfuls chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray muffin cups with oil. Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, whisk the soy milk, oil, yogurt and vanilla extract.

Add the wet mix to the dry mix and stir just until combined. Gently mix in the chocolate chips.

Fill the muffin cups until nearly full. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Stout Chocolate Cupcakes

So I was making the Seitan Portabello Stroganoff from Vegan with a Vengeance tonight, except I only had 1/2 cup red wine, and I wasn't about to open another bottle of wine just for the sake of the stroganoff (sorry, Isa), so I opened a bottle of oatmeal stout. Which worked marvelously in the stroganoff, but then I had half a bottle of stout left, and I'm really not drinking so much these days. So I did what any half-sane cook would do, and I made chocolate stout cupcakes. Except I don't have Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, so I went to search through my saved bookmarks, and I found this Chocolate Beer Cake recipe. So I adapted it, and while my boy and I were scarfing down stroganoff, these little beauties puffed up in the oven and made everything smell like heaven.

They turned out marvelous... rich, chocolatey and oh so tender. And I was happy. The End.

1/2 cup spelt flour
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Sucanat
3 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
3 Tbsp Ghiradelli hot cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup Samuel Smith oatmeal stout
1/4 cup canola oil
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup dairy-free mini chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the flours, Sucanat, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a largish bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the stout, oil, vinegar and vanilla. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix just until combined, then pour into greased muffin tins. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely, then release from the muffin pan.

Ingredient Notes: You can use any combination of flours here. I just have this massive 5-lb. bag of spelt flour that I'm trying to use up. I'm sure you could use normal sugar, too. I ran out of unsweetened cocoa, so that's why I added the Ghiradelli. You could use white or cider vinegar instead of rice vinegar (it's what I had on hand). Samuel Smith's stout is vegan, unlike Guinness or Murphy's.

Grilled Plantains w/ Black Bean-Corn Relish & Gingered Mangoes & Strawberries

Grilled Plantains
1 semi-ripe plantain, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch thick slices
2 tsp sucanat or sugar or maple syrup
1/4 tsp lime juice
dash salt

Rub the slices with lime juice and sprinkle with sucanat and salt. Generously oil the grill pan and grill for 3-4 minutes on each side.

Black Bean-Corn Relish
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
kernels from 2 ears of corn
1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp lime juice
1/4 tsp garlic powder
a few shakes chipotle hot sauce

Combine the corn kernels and a little water in a small saucepan. Cook the corn for 3 minutes, or until no longer raw. Drain the corn and add to the black beans. Add lime juice, cumin, garlic powder and hot sauce and mix well.

Gingered Mangoes & Strawberries
2 ripe mangoes, peeled and diced
5-6 strawberries, quartered
2 pieces crystallized ginger, chopped or 1/4 tsp grated fresh ginger

Combine the mangoes, strawberries and ginger in a bowl and mix well. Let set for a few minutes, then serve!

Chocolate-Nutty Protein Shake

I whipped this together tonight because we had baked zucchini and tomatoes -- which is super-tasty and very good for you -- but has very little protein. This was sweet, creamy and smooth... almost a drinkable dessert.

1 frozen banana
1 handful berries
6 oz. silken tofu (the vacuum-packed kind)
2 Tbsp natural peanut butter
1 tsp hemp seed nuts (optional)
1 handful raw cashews (optional)
1 cup soy milk
1/4 cup fruit juice
2 Tbsp cocoa powder

Puree all ingredients in a blender for a few minutes, or until very smooth. Taste and adjust ingredients to your liking. Makes 2-3 8-oz. servings.

Ingredient Notes: Smoothies tend to get all of my pantry leftovers. I used the last of my farmer's market strawberries, which were a little overripe. I used Bolthouse Farms' Green Goodness smoothie for my fruit juice, and Mori-Nu Mates chocolate pudding mix instead of cocoa powder.

Total grams protein: 36.5g, or 12g per 8oz. serving
Banana = 1g
Tofu = 12g
Peanut butter = 8g
Cashews = 5g
Hemp seed nuts = 2g
Soy milk = 6g
Juice = 1/2g
Cocoa powder = 2g

Total percent calcium: 45%, or 15% per 8oz. serving
Banana = 1%
Tofu = 10%
Peanut butter = 1.5%
Cashews = 1%
Soy milk = 30%
Cocoa powder = 1.5%

Total grams magnesium: 300mg (100%), or 100mg (30%) per 8oz. serving
Banana = 30mg
Tofu = 44mg
Peanut butter = 50mg
Cashews = 82.5mg
Hemp seed = 5mg
Soy milk = 39.2mg
Cocoa powder = 50mg

Sundried Tomato Pesto

1/2 cup dry sun-dried tomatoes (not in oil)
1 cup water
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/3 cup pine nuts
1 tbsp dried basil
1/4 tsp salt
fresh ground pepper (to taste)
2 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp olive oil

Put the sun-dried tomatoes in a bowl. Boil the water in a kettle and pour it over the tomatoes, then cover and let sit for 10 minutes, or until the tomatoes are soft. Drain and set aside. Put the pine nuts in a dry saucepan and heat over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring, or until just golden.

Crush the basil, pine nuts, garlic, salt & pepper in a mortar and pestle until they form a thick paste. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl, add the olive oil and tomatoes, and pulverize with the pestle. Finish the mixture off with a hand blender until smooth.

Toss with pasta or gnocchi and consume!

Creole Okra, Tomatoes & Corn

A co-worker of mine brought this to our Mardi Gras potluck, and it was surprisingly delicious. Okra is a vegetable I've always been skeptical of (something about the combination of hairy and slimy that turns me off), but this is genuinely delicious. We served this with Red Beans and Rice Deluxe for a killer combination.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tsp onion powder
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can diced mild green chiles, drained
1 can diced tomatoes, juice reserved
1-1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning
1 dash each salt and pepper
1 16-oz. package frozen okra pieces
1 cup frozen corn

Drain the tomatoes and the chiles over a large bowl to catch the juices. Saute the onion powder and garlic in the olive oil until they start to brown, then add the chiles, tomatoes and Cajun seasoning. Cook for 3-5 minutes, then add okra, corn and reserved tomato juice. Cover and cook until heated through and the okra is no longer crunchy.

Chocolate Dalek

Oh, don't ask how I got started making a chocolate Dalek cake. It's a long story. Pictures of the whole experience are available here: Chocolate Dalek Photo Set.

For the body:
--------------------
4 Betty Crocker devil's food cake mixes
2 cups egg beaters or plain soy yogurt
5-2/3 cups water
1-1/3 cups canola oil
1 stainless steel bucket or ceramic flowerpot, approximately 9" high and 6" base diameter
foil or waxed paper
baking spray
Pyrex bowl (with a flat bottom), 5.5" inch diameter
dome shaped bowl, 5.5" diameter at the top

For assembly & decoration:
--------------------
bamboo skewers
2 vanilla frosting tubs
2 milk chocolate frosting tubs
jumbo marshmallows (2)
Special Dark miniature chocolate bars
pirouline cookie sticks (2)
Pocky (1)
black licorice twists
chocolate-covered bite-size cookies
chocolate chip (1)

Bake the cakes. Mix the cake mixes with the egg beaters/yogurt, water and oil. Line the bucket with a double thickness of foil. Spray the bucket and 2 bowls generously with baking spray. Fill the bowls/bucket two-thirds full. (I had a little too much batter... I poured it into mini-loaf pans, which I baked with the bowls.)

Put all baking receptacles onto baking sheets (to catch any potential spillage) and bake at 350 degrees. Pull the bowls out after 25-30 minutes. The bucket may take several hours. Use some bamboo skewers to test the bucket's done-ness... you're finished when the skewer comes out clean.

COOL COMPLETELY. YOU MUST OBEY!

If all goes well, you should have a huge bucket-shaped cake, a cylindrical mid-section and a half-dome for the head.

Now you shall sculpt! Turn the bucket upside down onto a round serving platter and unearth your alien body. Using a large knife, slice off the sides of the body. Affix one of the sides to the front of the body. Secure with toothpicks or skewer pieces.

Mix the chocolate and vanilla frosting together. Frost the entire base using a butter knife or spatula, making sure not to frost too thickly. Set the midsection on top of the frosted base. Set the dome on top of the midsection. Insert two skewers all the way through the dome, midsection and body to secure. Frost the midsection and the dome.

Now you will DE-COR-ATE! DE-COR-ATE THE DAAAA-LEK! Using 2-3 licorice twists, rim the base of the Dalek. Slice 4 or 5 licorice twists in half lengthwise. Use the halved twists to rim the seams -- where the base meets the midsection (leaving an open space in the front for weaponry) and 3 in successive rows where the midsection meets the dome.

Place the Special Darks lengthwise around the midsection between the laces.

NOTE: If you are transporting the cake to another location, do not affix the bumps until you have arrived. They will sag and slide downwards!

Prepare the eyestalk and weaponry. Pierce 2 marshmallows with skewers, then remove. Squish one marshmallow so that it flattens out -- this will be the plunger. Impale it on a cookie stick. Break another cookie stick in half to be the gun. Impale the other, plump marshmallow on the Pocky. Dip the chocolate chip in frosting and stick to the end of the marshmallow. This will be your eyestalk.

Affix the bumps and weaponry. Take the bite-sized chocolate-covered cookies, dab them in frosting and place in vertical columns -- 3-4 down -- all around the base. Using a skewer, draw vertical lines to delineate the columns. Cut a bump in half and place the halves on the dome to serve as lights (or Mickey Mouse ears... whichever you prefer). Carefully insert the plunger, gun and eyestalk.

Behold! A menacing chocolate Dalek!

Chocolate Pudding

Me being female and all, I've been craving creamy chocolatey things lately. Thus I concocted this pudding from a homegrown protein shake recipe. It makes a delightful post-workout reward.

1/2 pkg silken tofu
2/3 cup vanilla soymilk
1 banana, mashed
1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tbsp fruit preserves (I used cherry jam)
dash salt

Combine all ingredients and blend with a stick blender until very smooth.

P.S. It's even better with fresh raspberries on top. Amazingly delicious.