Brownie Cupcakes

Sometimes you just can't decide between cupcakes or brownies... This recipe makes a pretty big batch, so I usually put most of them in the freezer right away. Then it is just too easy to take some out about a half hour before you need them. Top with whipped cream and berries, or a scoop of your favorite ice cream (So Delicious Mocha Fudge!). For these I used Mimiccreme and frozen strawberries (thawed). Not bad, but I am really looking forward to fresh berries to be in season soon!

Vegan Brownie Cupcakes
Makes about 20

1 1/2 cup flour
1 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup oil
2 cups sugar
4 oz silken tofu (about 1/4 block)
1/4 cup strong coffee
t tbsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare muffin tin with liners. In a small bowl, mix the flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder. Blend the oil, sugar, tofu, coffee and vanilla, ideally with a stick blender in a large bowl, or in a blender and transfer into a bowl. Add the flour mixture and combine. Fill the liners about 1/3, then bake for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool before freezing or topping. Enjoy!

This recipe can also be used to make a 9x13 pan of brownies, just increase the baking time to about 25-30 minutes. It is always a good idea to line the pan with parchment paper.

Raspberry Rice Krispie treats

The kids have been wanting to make these for a looong time now, and I have had a bag of Dandies vegan marshmallows reserved for this purpose for several weeks, but someone kept eating up the cereal. To be honest, I am not a huge fan of rice krispie treats (too sweet), and being a foreigner who didn't grow up on these, I don't even get nostalgic about them. Still, they did come out great. Adding some freeze-dried raspberries really balanced out the sweetness, and some chopped up dark chocolate will probably make it in the next batch we make.

4 tablespoons vegan butter
1 bag of Dandies vegan marshmallows
1 tablespoon milk of choice
1/4 tsp salt
5 1/2 cups rice krispies
a good handfull of freeze-dried raspberries

Slowly melt butter, add marshmallows and continue to heat slowly , stirring often, until melted. Stir in the milk and salt. Add the rice krispies and raspberries, and mix quickly until everything is coated. Transfer to a 9x13 pan, lined with wax paper, and use more wax paper to press the mixture down evenly into the pan. Let cool before cutting.

Swedish Semla

Here is a Swedish Fat Tuesday treat: Semla. A sweet cardamom bun filled with almond paste and whipped cream! At home these are probably the most popular treat between Christmas and Easter. It is one of the foods I really miss living abroad. I usually make at least one batch of these every year. The buns keep well in the freezer and are then (too) easy to thaw and assemble when you need them. The old-fashioned thing to do is to serve these in a bowl of hot milk, but they are great either way!

Semla:
1/2 cup butter (I use Earth Balance)
1 cup milk (any kind will do)
2 tsp dry yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp cardamom
1/2 cup sugar
3-4 cups flour

4 oz almond paste
1 cup heavy cream, whipped (we like Mimiccreme)
powdered sugar

Melt butter, add milk, and heat until warm. Add the yeast, salt, cardamom, sugar, and most of the flour, and mix until the dough is somewhat firm and not too sticky. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to rise for at least half an hour. Divide the dough into 12 pieces and roll them. Alternatively you could make 24 mini buns. Cover and rise again, at least 30 minutes, a little longer is even better. Brush buns with milk, then bake at 400 F. Allow to cool completely before assembling.

Cut the tops off the buns, then scoop out about a tablespoon from the inside of each bun. Mix the scooped out crumbs well with the almond paste, adding a small amount of milk to get a smooth, but not runny filling. Distribute evenly in the hollow of the buns, then top with whipped cream. Replace the top of the buns, and dust with powdered sugar. PS. If you want to try these but don't feel like baking, IKEA has them in their restaurants this time of the year (not vegan of course).

Simple Apple Cake

Craving apple dessert, but don't have time to make a pie? This cake is a good alternative to apple crumble.

2/3 cup milk ( I used coconut milk)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
about 2 apples, thinly sliced
1-2 oz grated almond paste/marzipan (alternatively just sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon)

Preheat oven to 350° and grease a round cake pan (8" or 9" will do). Combine the milk and vinegar in a large bowl, and let sit for a couple of minutes. Add the oil, sugar and vanilla. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt, then add to the wet ingredients. Pour into cake pan, spread out a little if necessary. Press apple slices down into the batter and sprinkle with grated almond paste. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Raw Chocolate Chip Cookies

Our oven broke a couple of weeks ago, and it took a while before we could get it fixed. In the meantime I finally got around to trying a recipe for raw chocolate chip cookies that I had come across recently on Flickan & Kakorna. I am so glad I tried them, because they are delicious! Something in between cookie dough and marzipan... Even Dave like them, which might make this the first time I made a "raw" dessert that he actually liked! The original recipe comes from Fru Fruktsallad (in Swedish), the only changes I made was to use maple syrup instead of agave, (which I realize makes them not completely raw) and to add a little maple syrup in the chocolate as well.

Raw Chocolate Chip Cookies:
1 1/4 cup raw cashews
2 tbs melted coconut oil
2 tbs maple syrup/agave/honey
1 tsp vanilla powder
1/4 tsp sea salt

Chocolate chips:
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tbs melted coconut oil
1 tsp maple syrup

Stir the cocoa powder, coconut oil, and maple syrup. Pour it onto a plate covered with parchment paper and place it in the freezer or fridge to set. Mix the cashews to a fine powder: use a food processor or spice mill. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Chop up the chocolate and mix it in. Shape into cookies (it makes about 12) and store in the fridge or freezer. If you want these to be completely "raw," obviously use raw cocoa, etc. Otherwise feel free to just chop up some of your favorite dark chocolate instead.

Rosemary Shortbread

This spring our girls each used some of their spending money to buy herbs. One bought thyme, the other rosemary. All summer long they tended their herbs, watering them and cutting off twigs to use for dinner. Some days they were almost to the point of fighting over which herbs we should use for our meal. Fortunately, herbs can be mixed, and this shortbread recipe would work just as well with thyme (and perhaps some lemon zest) instead.

Vegan rosemary shortbread:
1 cup earth balance
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups flour
2 tbs chopped fresh rosemary
a few squares of dark chocolate, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°. Cream the earth balance and sugar in a large bowl. Add the flour, rosemary and chocolate and mix to combine. Wrap the dough up and place it in the fridge for 10 minutes to make it easier to handle. Roll the dough out on a floured surface and cut out cookies or use cookie cutters. Transfer to a cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.

Chocolate Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

I have been wanting to try to make these for a while now, and finally got around to it. Whoopie pies are supposedly a Pennsylvania Dutch invention, and I believe they are usually filled with a marshmallow cream filling. But with Halloween being right around the corner, how could I resist making a pumpkin cream cheese icing instead?

Cakes:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup oil
1 cup sugar
4 oz silken tofu
1/4 cup soy milk
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Blend the rest of the ingredients (I use a stick blender), then mix with the flour into a batter. Drop with a tablespoon onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, then flatten with your hands. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until they are just dry. Cool on a wire rack.

Filling:
1/4 cup vegan cream cheese
2 tbsp earth balance (or other vegan butter)
2 tbsp pumpkin puree
peel from 1 orange
pinch of salt
2-2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Cream all ingredients together. Place 1 tbsp icing between 2 cakes and press lightly. The icing is quite sweet, so don't use too much. If it is too soft to handle, just place it in the fridge for a while. Store the pies in an air-tight container in the fridge, but place them in room temperature before eating. Makes 18.

My Cookies Won!!!

Woohoo!!! Turns out my cookies won Veganmage's vegan Ballerina contest!

The prize is the book All Amercian Vegan, which looks very awesome. I can't wait to read it!

More good news: In some ways, this contest was a win for everyone, as it seems there is now a good possibility Göteborgs Kex may develop a vegan/laktose free version of their popular cookies.

Thank you so much Veganmage, and thanks to those who voted too! :)

You can see all the lovely cookie entries here.

Lemon Ginger Granola Bars

These bars are somewhere in between oatmeal cookies and a granola bars. I used white chocolate chips, but they would be just as good with chocolate or dark chocolate instead.

4 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup flour (whole wheat works well)
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup oil
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup soy milk
1 tsp vanilla
Grated zest of 1-2 organic lemons
1/2 to 1 cup (depending on your liking) candied ginger, chopped
1 cup chopped walnuts or almonds
1/2 to 1 cup chocolate or white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 F, and line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper. Mix the rolled oats, flour, baking soda and salt in a medium size bowl. In a large bowl, mix the oil, brown sugar, soy milk, vanilla and lemon zest. Add the oat mixture and your mix-ins and combine. Press down into the pan and bake for 20-25 minutes. Let cool before cutting with a sharp knife.

Cinnamon Craters

This is a super easy recipe that I learned a long time ago in a home economics class. Probably around 5th grade. I love that it is easy enough for my kids to actually make on their own.

When baking with kids, it really helps to set everything up beforehand: ingredients, bowls, measuring cups, etc. It will not only save time, but also help keep them focused, and most important: keep the mess limited to one place. :)

Cinnamon Craters
1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
4 tbsp vegan butter
1/2 cup soy milk

filling
2 tbsp vegan butter
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 425ºF. Mix the flour, baking powder and sugar in a bowl. Add vegan butter and mix until crumbly. Add soy milk and combine. The dough will be sticky. Try not to add too much flour, but rather add some flour to your hands while handling it. Divide into 12 balls, place on baking sheet, and press down the center with finger.

Cream together all the ingredients for the filling, and add a small amount into each "crater."

Bake for 6-8 minutes.

Ballerina Cookies

A few days ago, I came across this contest that involves making vegan Ballerina cookies, and taking pictures of them. Since I already had a half batch of hazelnut frosting left over from the cupcakes I made this weekend, I could not pass this one up.

Ballerina is one of the most popular cookies in Sweden, and the factory is just outside of my home town Göteborg. They have a chocolate cookie bottom and a vanilla cookie top, with a creamy hazelnut nougat filling in between. IKEA sells them here in the US.

The point of the contest is to show the makers that Ballerina could very easily be made vegan and try to get them to change the recipe. Either way, it was a fun little project.

Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes for our little party yesterday. The recipe is the same one I always use, the Basic Chocolate Cupcake recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. For the frosting I made a vegan chocolate buttercream with about 1/2 cup of toasted and ground up hazelnuts. A little bit like Nutella, but fluffier!

Favorite Brownies

I just found a new favorite brownie recipe, and I am so excited about it! I already made these twice in the past couple of weeks. These brownies are fudgy and very rich, so a small piece will do the trick. The recipe comes from King Arthur, but I changed a few things to make a vegan version:

1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon espresso powder
1 cup oil
2 cups sugar
1/4 of a block of silken tofu (about 4 oz)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix the flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder and espresso powder in a small bowl. Blend the oil, sugar, tofu and vanilla extract in a large bowl until smooth (I use a stick blender). Add the flour mixture, and the chocolate chips, and mix until combined. Spread into a 9x13 pan lined with parchment paper and bake for 25-30 minutes. Enjoy!