chocolate peanut butter tofu pie

 A vegan friend made this pie for me more than 20 years ago, and it became a favorite though I haven't made it in many years.  I've been craving it for over a year, and I gradually acquired the ingredients, and boom I just made it.  i plan to have a slice tonight and then to slice them and stash with parchment paper in the freezer, to pull out a slice from time to time when I want a rich treat.  

There are a lot of iterations of this but I just wanted to dump things in and not add sugar besides the chocolate.  So here's what I did.

 Ingredients

• a graham cracker pie crust 9" (or another type of crust that goes well with chocolate and peanut butter)
• 1 bag of dark chocolate chips (I got them from Trader JOe's, 10 oz)
• 1/2+ cup of natural peanut butter  
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 box of silken tofu (mine was about 10.8 oz I think it said) 

Melt the chocolate chips at 30 second increments and stir until melted.  Put all ingredients into a food process and combine.  

Pour into the crust and let chill a few hours before serving. 

chocolate cherry cake

 this was tasty, from here.

 

Ingredients

• 1 cup (240 ml) hot water or coffee
• ⅓ cup (30g) cocoa powder
• 1 ¼ cup (150g) all-purpose flour, sifted will try with whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar  recipe called for 1 cup but just 1/3 was fine. 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup vegetable/canola oil**
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups (230g/8 oz) fresh cherries, pitted and halved (for other options, see notes)***
• 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• ½ cup  chocolate chips or chunks 

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C and grease an 8×8-inch square pan or 9-inch round.  I used parchment paper. 

2. In a small bowl, whisk together hot water (or coffee) and cocoa powder until smooth. Set aside to let cool slightly until warm.

3. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

4. In another medium bowl, mix together eggs, oil, vanilla extract, and liquid-cocoa mixture. Add egg mixture into flour mixture and mix with a rubber spatula just until combined. Do not overmix—the less you mix, the lighter the cake will be. It will be a slightly runny batter.

5. In a small bowl, toss cherries with 2 teaspoons flour in order to prevent cherries from sinking during baking. Add cherries and chocolate chips to cake batter and stir just until combined.

6. Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean (repeat testing if your toothpick runs into a cherry). The internal temperature of the cake should be 205℉ / 96℃ if using an internal thermometer. Allow cake to cool completely on a wire rack.

7. Dust the top with powdered sugar or top with chocolate ganache.

8. Serve at room temperature. Cake can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Recipe Notes

*To make a bigger cake, multiply the recipe by 1.5 and use a 13×9-inch pan. You may need to bake the cake a few minutes longer.

**I used oil to keep the cake moist for longer, but you can replace half of it with 50g melted butter for flavor if you prefer. This would no longer make it a dairy-free cake. However, this cake is already so flavorful that I don’t find it necessary.

***Fresh sour cherries are my favorite option, but you can use any type of fresh cherries you like as well as frozen or canned. If using frozen, use them straight from the freezer, without thawing, mixing them with some flour and then immediately folding them into the batter. Canned cherries can also be used as long as you make sure to drain them well and dry them with paper towels, or else the juices will seep into the cake and affect its texture and taste.

 

chocolate chip cookie in a ramekin

Sometimes I want a sweet treat but even if I just buy one cookie, it's too much.  And to be honest, this is too much.  It's a lot.  I should plan to freeze or throw away half.  But, I didn't because I haven't been able to get my blood sugar consistently above hypoglycemic warning, so fuck it.  

From here, but halving the sugar (and still too sweet). 

• 1 T butter
• 1/2 T brown sugar
• 1/2 T white sugar 
• splash vanilla
• (cinnamon)
• 1 egg yolk
• 3 generous T of flour (white) (if using whole wheat, add a teaspoon of milk)
  
• 2 T chocolate chips  

Melt butter in ramekin.  Add sugar, egg yolk, vanilla, cinnamon, salt.  Mix in flour, then chocolate chips.  

Cook in microwave for 1 minute. 

mulberry brownies

 I ran across this "Turkish" recipe for mulberry brownies.  While I know that mulberries are eaten there, I'm skeptical about the brownies part of that, but oh well.

It's likely quite good as is, but I wanted to use up some mulberry jam that's in my freezer.*

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• sugar (I put in about 1/3 cup of brown sugar because that's what I grabbed I was using jam which has sugar)
• 100 grams butter (about a stick)
• 80 grams chocolate (I used chocolate chips)
• 1 cup yogurt
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 3 T cocoa
• salt
• 1 cup frozen mulberries (or other fruit, or jam)
  

Instructions

I used a food processor so put things in one by one.  It would be fine by hand, too, I'm sure.

• Grease the pan.  A 9x13 pan is probably preferable but I used a 9x9 to fit in toaster oven. 
• Cream together eggs and sugar.
• Heat  together the butter and chocolate just until melted.  Once cool, add to eggs/sugar and mix.
  
• Add yogurt, mix.
• Whisk together in a small bowl the flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa.  Then add and mix.
• Add the fruit and mix
• Bake at 350 degrees until done (about 35 minutes for me). 
  

 They were ... ok. 

*When I canned it, for some reason it siphoned out of most of the jars.  So I put them in the freezer and need to use them up before hurricane season.  Hence, this recipe. Plus, I can put the small pan in the toaster oven and don't have to heat the regular oven which is a lot of electricity and heat for summer.

date cocoa nut balls

 These are terrific.  Not too sweet, with lots of "superfoods" like nuts and dark cocoa and dates.  Also a good way to use up some old dates and nuts and nut butter that is too solid to combine by hand.  I needed a powerful snack for an upcoming intense day and these are so much better than any kind of packaged snack. 

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup pecans (toasted)
  
• 1/2 cup pitted dates (about 7 to 8), cut into quarters
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• Scant 1/2 cup maple syrup (more like 1/3 c)
  
• 1/2 cup nut butter
  
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• I also added in some chunks of dark chocolate with blueberries at this point
  
• 1/2 cup whole almonds (toasted)
  

For topping/rolling the balls:

• 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 Make the date balls: Place the walnuts and dates into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade, and pulse several times until well combined. The pieces should look like a rough crumble.

Add the cocoa powder, maple syrup, almond butter, vanilla extract, and sea salt and pulse until the mixture is smooth and thick; it will start to peel away from the edge of the bowl.

When this happens, stop the food processor; if it keeps whirring away, it may get stuck because these ingredients are, well, sticky! Keep a close eye on this, as it will come together quickly.

2 Add the almonds: Add the almonds and pulse a few times to incorporate them. You want them sort of irregularly sized, so that some pieces are still pretty crunchy and offer a variety of textures.

3 Roll the date balls: Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment or wax paper. Place the coconut in a small bowl and the cocoa powder in another bowl.

Scoop out the mixture, roll it into golf-ball shapes, and roll in the shredded coconut or the cocoa powder (or leave plain).  

4 Chill and store the date balls: Transfer the date balls to a baking sheet with wax paper and chill them for a few hours or overnight, if needed. Once they've firmed up, transfer to a plastic lidded container and keep in the fridge.

farm cookies - chocolate chocolate chip

From one of my dearest, oldest friends and her cousin who pulled together from the cupboard.  These chocolate bombs are one of my favorite special treats.

Blend together:
- 1 c butter
- 2 eggs
- 1 c honey
- 1 tsp vanilla

Mix together:
- 2 c flour
- 1 c cocoa
- 1 tsp baking soda

Mix all together, add chocolate chips

350 degrees about 8-10 minutes. 

oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

From here.

Ingredients

• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temp (1 stick)
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed - a bit less
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned whole rolled oats (not instant or quick cook) - 120 g
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour - 98 g whole wheat ground
• scant 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• pinch salt
• 1 heaping cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup nuts 

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Combine the egg, butter, sugars, vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed until creamed and well combined, about 4 minutes.
3. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the oats, flour, cinnamon, baking soda, optional salt, and beat on low speed until just combined, about 1 minute.
4. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the chocolate chips, nuts, and beat on low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds.
5. Chill at least 2 hours before baking (or don't).  
6. Bake for about 11 minutes (for super soft cookies, longer for more well-done cookies), or until edges have set and tops are just set, even if slightly undercooked, pale, and glossy in the center; don’t overbake. Cookies firm up as they cool. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for about 10 minutes before serving. I let them cool on the baking sheet and don’t use a rack. 

Cookies will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 6 months. Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 4 months, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.

chocolate oatmeal bars

These are a pretty good substitute for the chocolate oatmeal cookies with a ton of butter and sugar.  I wonder how they would be all mixed together instead of layered?  From here.

Ingredients

• 2 3/4 cup oats (regular are fine)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup, honey, or agave
• 1/4 cup peanut butter, or allergy-friendly sub
• 1 tbsp water
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 4 to 5 oz chocolate chips
  
• 1/2 cup peanut butter, or allergy-friendly sub

Instructions

*If you want a thicker chocolate layer than the bars in the pictures, feel free to increase the amount of chocolate chips. Line an 8×8 pan with parchment or wax paper, and set aside. Stir together the maple syrup, 1/4 cup peanut butter, water, and vanilla until smooth. Stir in the oats and salt. Transfer about 2/3 of the mixture to the pan, and press down very well, using a second sheet of parchment to press it evenly into the bottom of the pan. In a separate bowl, carefully melt the chocolate and 1/2 cup peanut butter. Stir until smooth. Pour this evenly on top of the crust in the pan. Sprinkle the remaining oat crumbles on top of the chocolate layer, then press down. Refrigerate or freeze until firm enough to cut squares.

cocoa banana muffins

From here. Very yummy!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup applesauce (or substitute vegetable oil)
1 egg
1 cup sugar
2 very ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup cocoa
1-1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350F. Cream applesauce, egg, sugar and banana. Stir in remaining ingredients. Pour into greased muffin tins. Bake for 25 minutes. Makes 1 dozen muffins.

banana bread

I have a bunch of bananas from a friend from our last freeze - I think they are ready for consumption, but they're a funky kind. Friend called them "Mexican bananas" but I see no description for that on-line; said friend said they're not as sweet and have a nice lemony flavor. Well, I have no idea what to expect, and I fear they're very starchy, but I don't want them to go to waste! I like banana bread a lot, but I'm not fond of it being too sweet or too fatty. So, I shall make this up! (Note: And it TURNED OUT GREAT!! Exactly what I wanted!!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees; grease 1 bread pan.

Combine & set aside:
1 1/2 c flour (3/4 white all purpose and 3/4 c whole wheat pastry)
1/2 c oats
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Cream:
1/2 c sugar (white or brown)
1/4 c (4 T) butter, softened

Add in:
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 c - 1 c yogurt*
1/4 - 1/2 c applesauce*

Add flour mixture in.

Mash: 2-3 very ripe bananas. Add in to mixture.

Add (if desired):
1/2 c chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts)
1/2 c chocolate chips or nibs

Bake for about an hour, until done.

*Honestly I didn't measure the yogurt & applesauce - just thawed frozen little containers. Whatever I used (probably to the upper level) was great - but the bananas were very starchy and didn't produce my liquid. So if I were using more and juicier bananas, I would use the lower limits of these probably.

Chocolate Espresso Snowcaps

Chocolate Espresso Snowcaps
Originally uploaded by gummychild

If you like coffee, and have a penchant for chocolate, why...you'd love this cookie. =) It's straight from Martha Stewart's Collectible Cookie Edition of Everyday Food (2006) again, and available online too.

It gets a little messy to make, but that really is part of the fun, hee hee...^_^ The original recipe says it makes 18...I doubled the batch though, and got about 52 of them! O_o Perhaps I made them a little smaller than instructed...^_^ Below is the recipe for "18" snowcaps.

Ingredients:

- 4 ounces bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I just used the Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips and melted them)
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 4 teaspoons instant espresso powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon table salt
- 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon milk

Directions:

1. Place chocolate in a bowl, and melt in the microwave in 30 second increments; let cool. In a separate, medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder, and salt.

2. In a large bowl, beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat to combine. Stir in cooled chocolate. Add dry ingredients alternating with the milk. Mix just until combined.

3. Turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Shape into a flat disk; wrap in plastic and chill in freezer until firm, about 45 minutes.

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Pour confectioners’ sugar into a large bowl. With slightly damp hands, shape dough into 1-inch balls (about 1 tablespoon of dough each). Roll each ball in powdered sugar. Leave in sugar while shaping remaining cookies. Roll cookies a second time to completely coat.

5. Place on prepared baking sheets 2 inches apart. Bake until sugar coating splits, and cookies have spread but are still soft to the touch, 12 to 14 minutes (my oven = 11 minutes). Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Hague Cookies =)

Mr. Hague's Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies
Originally uploaded by gummychild

Mr. Hague makes these gigantic cookies regularly for our staff at Sierra, and he shared the recipe with me years ago. =) Though they're still very, VERY good and the ONLY chocolate chip cookies I ever make (I know it sounds snooty, but really...I've not had another chocolate chip cookies better than these! ^_^), they're always better when Mr. Hague makes them, just because. ^_^

They're not the most photogenic, aesthetically beautiful cookies, but they're probably one of the best tasting. You simply can't beat that rustic, homemade cookie taste. ^_^

Ingredients:
- 3/4 Cup white sugar
- 3/4 Cup packed brown sugar
- 1 Cup of butter, softened
- 1 egg
- 2.25 Cups flour (AP or whole wheat flour)
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 cup of coarsely chopped nuts (pecans for me)
- 12 ounces (or 2 cups) of semisweet chocolate chips (I use bittersweet Ghirardelli because I'm a dark chocolate girl...)

Directions:

1) Heat oven to 375 degrees F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2) Mix the sugars, butter, and egg in a large bowl well.

3) Add in the flour, baking soda, and salt (dough will be stiff). Stir in nuts and chocolate chips.

4) Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls (or, if you're Mr. Hague, rounded palmfuls, hee hee...), about 2 inches apart onto the baking sheet.

5) Bake 8-10 minutes (I find 8 minutes is fine for my oven; as the oven stays on for each batch, by the 3rd batch, I usually go down to 7 minutes) or until light brown.

6) Cool slightly, and then remove from the cookie sheet. I like to put them up on a wire rack to cool completely before storing them in an airtight container, but you can also eat them at this point, hee hee hee...^_^

Lemony White Chocolate Chunk Biscotti

Lemony White Chocolate Biscotti
Originally uploaded by gummychild

I've been playing and experimenting in the kitchen again...hooray! ^_^

This is one of my recent creations...

Even BatNomi would be proud of me, because these came out pretty dang tasty! =) And they were the first time I've ever made biscottis before...=)

Granted, they're not photogenic, but they are wonderful in taste! =)

Modified slightly from KraftFoods.

Ingredients:
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tsp. Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 Tbsp. grated lemon zest
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp. lemon extract
- 4 ounces of White Chocolate chips
- 1/3 cup Sliced Almonds, toasted

Directions:

1. HEAT oven to 350ºF.

2. SIFT together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

3. Beat butter, sugar and lemon zest in separate large bowl with mixer until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each. Blend in extract. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate and nuts.

4. DIVIDE dough in half; shape each half into 12x1-inch log on floured surface. Place on greased baking sheet.

5. BAKE 20 min. or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheet 10 min.

6. Transfer to cutting board. Cut each log diagonally into 21 slices, using serrated knife. Return, cut-sides down, to baking sheet. Bake 5 min. or until crisp. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.

Chocolate No-Bake Cookies

Recipe from here.

INGREDIENTS:

* 2 cups granulated sugar (I put in 1 1/2 c but less than that and I worry they won't harden)
* 1/2 cup evaporated milk (or regular milk, or diluted half and half)
* 2 tablespoons cocoa (or more like 3 for me)
* 8 tablespoons butter
* 3 tablespoons peanut butter (2-3 T - I like PB as backdrop, not central flavor)
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/2 cup chopped pecans
* 2 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats (I use regular oats, up to 3 c until it seems right)

PREPARATION:
Combine sugar, milk, cocoa, and butter in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly; boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla, peanut butter, and chopped nuts.

Add oatmeal and stir to blend thoroughly. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper. Makes about 4 dozen no bake chocolate oatmeal cookies.

Cooler Weather = Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Everybody knows this--it's hard science, folks.

Cooking's been a nemesis in my family for generations, probably. But baking? Baking's never been a problem. And everybody I talk with lately has the same thing on their mind: chocolate chip cookies.

So today I did the deed. My friend mailed me these three recipes that vary slightly depending on the desired outcome. I tried the puffy ones, except I just used butter instead of butter-flavored shortening, which I know will probably make them less fluffy.

The dough is chilling tonight and if I manage to make the cookies before I and other "enthusiasts" in my household "sample" all of it (it's happened before), I'll report on the resulting puffiness or lack thereof.

chocolate yogurt

Do they still make pudding pops? I don't think so. But thinking about them made me start thinking about chocolate and yogurt. Why not?

To about two cups of yogurt I added:

*about a teaspoon sugar
* a heaping teaspoon cocoa (probably more like a tablespoon)
I don't need a lot of sweet but I need a lot of cocoa to satisfy the craving.

Then I added probably about a teaspoon of coffee liqueur and that made something pretty good to something VERY GOOD. Yum!

Wacky Cake

What's wacky? You mix it in the baking pan itself, and it's missing some typical ingredients (eggs, butter, milk). Rumor is it started being popular during war rationing, though others refute that. It's found on dozens of sites - I first found it here when looking for a cake to fit in a 9x9 pan (didn't want to make a bigger cake).

This was very popular with my friends and fantastic with vanilla ice cream. Very moist (don't decrease sugar or it'll be dry) and good chocolate flavor. I will definitely make this again!

WACKY CAKE

Mix together in a 9 x 9" pan:
1 1/2 cups flour
3-4 tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Make three wells; into well #1:
1 tablespoon white vinegar

Well #2:
1 tablespoon vanilla

Well #3:
4 tablespoons melted butter or veg. oil

Pour over the top and mix until combined.
1 cup cold water

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes (until toothpick comes out clean).

I didn't frost it because eating it with ice cream!