Amanda <1hr recipe, Dessert, easy recipe, vegan

Fudgey Vegan Chocolate Muffins

Fudgey Vegan Chocolate Muffins

Some of the best memories that I have of baking with my mom and brother involve muffins. It was never super fancy – definitely just the packets of muffin mix you buy at the store. But they were easy and “healthier” than cookies.

I laugh to myself now thinking that muffins are healthy. They can be! Just not the ones from the store… or these muffins really. These fudgey muffins are really just cupcakes waiting for frosting. Dust some powder sugar over them – instadessert!

Fudgey Vegan Chocolate Muffins

This recipe is very quick to make and you probably have all the ingredients in your pantry ready to go. The only liquid is canned puréed pumpkin and a splash of almond milk. That’s healthy, right??

I used part of my red velvet cake recipe (which is really just chocolate cake if you don’t add food coloring and vinegar) plus pumpkin and almond milk. The amount of almond milk you use can really be up to you. The less you use, the denser your muffins will be. The more you use, the more cake like they will be. I love how dense these are but my husband prefers a little more cake like. I use a quarter cup of almond milk for these.

hello brownlow

These can be stored for a week in an airtight container at room temperature. They also freeze well and can stay frozen for about three months before you thaw them. But why freeze them when they are so delicious hot out of the oven? I bet if you put a spoonful of nut butter on top while they’re warm it would be amazing. 😊

hello brownlow(1)

Mixing these babies up can be a challenge if you have grip issues (read: pregnant lady grip issues) since there isn’t much in the way of viscous liquid. The pumpkin will eventually mix in with the almond milk into the dry ingredients. I recommend using a stand mixer or a hand mixer. Life is much easier with either.

Enjoy making these fudgey vegan muffins. I hope they are as big of a hit at your house as they are at mine!

 

Fudgey Vegan Chocolate Muffins

  • Servings: 24
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

These chocolatey, fudgey muffins are easy to whip up in a pinch and will be a hit with your family.


Ingredients


– 2 & 3/4 C all purpose flour (you can sub oat flour)
– 2 C granulated sugar
– 1/4 C cocoa powder
– 1 tsp vanilla extract
– 2 tsp baking soda
– 1 tsp salt
– 1/4 C almond or other dairy free milk
– 1 12-14oz can pumpkin puree
– 1/2 C dairy free chocolate chips (Optional)

Directions


1. Pre-heat oven to 350F and line a muffin tin with cups or spray with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. Once dry ingredients have no lumps, add in the vanilla, almond milk, and can of pumpkin puree.
4. If adding chocolate chips, stir them into the mixture. The batter should be thick and smooth.
5. Scoop 2 TBS of batter into each muffin cup. I used an ice cream scoop for this. It will take two batches to cook all of them.
6. Bake for 17 minutes.
7. Cool on wire rack and store in an airtight container for up to a week on your counter.

Advertisements
Amanda Dessert, recipes, vegan

Easy Vegan Baklava

I have a new love that is phyllo dough. Which probably means I’ve been watching too many episodes of The Great British Baking Show. I was so excited to make something that I absolutely love! I also thought I was going to make my own phyllo dough. HA! Just get store bought. I looked at many recipes for homemade phyllo and oh my stars… I’ll be the first to tell you that I am not patient enough to roll the dough that thin.

Trader Joe’s has the best/least expensive phyllo out there that I know of. The sheets of dough are perfectly flat, not torn, and smooth. The best part? Dairy and eggs aren’t listed in the ingredients. Hooray!

There are a few tricks to working with phyllo. You’ll want to prep every other element of this dessert before you even think about taking that dough out of the package. That package will need to set in your fridge for at least 30 minutes before use. To keep the dough from drying out when you are using it will require a damp kitchen towel and cling wrap. After the dough is cut to the size of your dish, you will lay out a piece of cling wrap on your counter and place the dough on one side and loosely cover it with the rest of the wrap. On top of that you will put the damp dish towel. While you’re working you will need to keep it covered like this.

Easy Vegan Baklava

Work fast my friends!

Easy Vegan Baklava

  • Servings: 16
  • Difficulty: Moderate
  • Print

This wonderfully simple, but oh-so delicious baklava is a dessert to impress with it's many flakey layers.


Ingredients

– 1 package of store bought frozen phyllo dough, defrosted in fridge
– 1 cup dairy free chocolate chips, roughly chopped
– 1 cup mixed nuts, finely chopped (I used peanuts and almonds)
– 1 cup melted nut butter
– 1/2 cup melted  vegan butter
– 3/4 cup water
– 3/4 cup sugar
– 1 tbsp. liquid sweetener (I used maple syrup)

Directions


1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly oil a 9×9 baking dish and set it a side in an easy to access space.
2. Chop chocolate chips and nuts. Mix in a small bowl. Warm nut butter in a separate bowl in microwave until just melted. Warm butter in a small dish in the microwave until melted. Set the chocolate chip mix, the nut butter, and the oil aside near your baking dish at your work station.
3. Pull the phyllo dough from the fridge. Prep your station to keep the dough from getting dry. Cut the dough down to the size of your dish.
4. The first layer is six sheets deep. Pull two sheets of dough from your pile, holding the sheets together butter one side. Place the butter side down in the dish. Repeat 2 more times.
5. Evenly distribute 1/3 of your chocolate chip mixture and nut butter mixture on top of the last layer of phyllo in your dish. Take two sheet of phyllo, holding the sheets together butter one side, place butter side down in the dish. Repeat two more times with the remaining mixture.
6. Repeat step #4 to create the top layer of your baklava. Lightly brush the very top layer of exposed phyllo with butter.
7. In a diagonal motion, cut the baklava into diamonds. Place in the center of your oven for 40-45 minutes or until the top of the baklava is golden brown and starting to flake.
8. While the baklava is baking, mix the sugar, water, and liquid sweetener in a saucepan over medium high heat, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for at least 15 minutes. It is best to do this toward the end of the baking time so it is hot.
9. Bring the baklava out of the oven when it is done and carefully pour your hot sugar water over the baklava. It should bubble in the dish from the heat. Leave to rest and cool for at least 3 hours before serving.
Amanda On the Cheap

Saving Money on Spices

1

It’s that time of year again – start cracking open those cookbooks and dusting off those pans! This is the one time of the year that I cook twice as much as I normally do. This is also the first year that we are hosting Thanksgiving at our new(ish) house.

I am very excited to cook all our family a great Thanksgiving dinner! but I am little concerned about some of the recipes that we will be making. And let me tell ya, buying those weird ingredients that you only use once or twice a year can really add up. So, let me save you some money.

All my spices come from either Sprouts or from Whole Foods. Why, you might ask? That’s sounds expensive you might proclaim! BUT they have a bulk foods section. They have every spice you could ever need in big glass jars that you just scoop into little baggies and pay by the ounce for.

This is great for the holiday season when you only need 4 tablespoons of pumpkin pie spice and it is also great for trying new things. One of my new favorite recipes is from Thug Kitchen. It is this great FANTASTIC fried rice recipe and it called for Chinese 5 Spice. It’s like $6 a bottle if you buy it prepackaged! but at Sprouts it was only $1.50 for the baggie that we filled and it will last us for months. MONTHS. We just pour our bulk spices into clean containers from spices that we ran out of. You can also buy the ones that I use on Amazon.

We found this trick out when we transitioned to our vegan diet back in May. There were so many spices we had no idea existed or tasted so delicious. Having the option to only buy a little and not commit to it was fantastic! So, give it a try. It might just open up your world.