Category: Chocolate

Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1/2 c. coconut oil

1 1/2 c. granulated sugar

3 flax eggs (3 T. golden flaxseed meal and 9 T. warm water) OR 3 Ener-G eggs (4 1/2 tsp Ener-G egg replacer and 6 T water)

2 tsp vanilla

1 c. brown rice flour

3/4 c. potato starch

1/2 c. tapioca starch

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 c. cocoa powder

1 c. non-dairy milk (from a carton).  I used almond milk.

1/4 to 1/2 c. Enjoy Life chocolate chips (I used a mix of mini and mega chunk.)

 

Directions:

Melt coconut oil and stir together with sugar in a large bowl.  Add “eggs” and vanilla and stir well.

In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients.

Add the dry ingredients and the milk to the wet ingredients, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.  I usually give it a quick mix with a mixer just to make sure all those gluten free ingredients are incorporated (about 1-2 minutes).  The last thing you want is a mouthful of unblended rice flour.

Line cupcake tin with cupcake papers.  Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 18 minutes until cupcake springs back when you touch it.

Cool on a wire rack.  Top with frosting (see below) and mini chocolate chips.

 

Frosting:

Ingredients:

3 1/2 c. powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 T. plus 1 tsp. butter (I used SmartBalance)

2 T. shortening (I used Spectrum.  You could probably use butter instead but it may not hold its shape as well.)

1/4 tsp salt

4-7 tsp non-dairy milk (I used Silk’s Original Cashew Milk but you could also use coconut or almond)

 

Directions:

Combine powdered sugar, vanilla, butter, shortening, and salt in a bowl.  Combine with a fork or a pastry cutter.   Add non-dairy milk one teaspoon at a time. You will need at least 4-5 teaspoons, but stir well before adding the last couple.  If your frosting will hold its shape, stop adding liquid.  Mix with a mixer for about a minute to combine well and to add a little fluff.

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

I tried to make mint ice cream awhile back.  I figured since it was green that I needed spearmint extract, right?  Wrong, wrong, wrong.  It’s peppermint extract with green food coloring.  You can skip the food coloring if you don’t want it, but it sure adds to the effect :-).

 

Ingredients:

3 1/2 c. vanilla non-dairy milk (I used almond milk)

1/2 tub cocowhip (4 oz. total)

1/2 can sweetened condensed coconut milk

2 tsp peppermint extract (add at the end)

4-5 drops of green food coloring

mini chocolate chips or chocolate shavings

 

 

Dairy Free Wendy’s Frosty Copycat

I saw this idea on Pinterest quite some time ago, but I am pregnant and have not been wanting many sweets.  However, my ingredients that I’d purchased when I thought I would want sweets were about to expire, so it was time!  Previously, I had tried a recipe that claimed it tasted like a Frosty.  My first clue that something might go wrong should have been that it called for a banana.  Pretty sure there’s no bananas in a Frosty.  Secondly, the sheer lack of sugar should have been a clue.  Needless to say, that is NOT the recipe I am posting.  This one has three simple, sugary ingredients: sweetened condensed coconut milk, chocolate almond milk, and Cocowhip.  I knew that even if this recipe didn’t exactly mimic a Frosty, it would still be delicious.  I was not disappointed by this recipe!  Not only was it good, but it was like a Frosty with a hint of coconut.  So, break out your ice cream maker and make this recipe!

 

Ingredients:

1 can sweetened condensed coconut milk (11.25 oz)

1 tub Cocowhip (8 oz), not the lite version

1/2 gallon minus one cup chocolate almond milk

 

Directions:

Allow Cocowhip to defrost in fridge (takes 4+ hours).  Whisk together sweetened condensed coconut milk, Cocowhip, and chocolate almond milk.  Follow your ice cream maker’s directions.  Mine is a cuisinart and I put it in the pre-frozen bowl and churned it for about 15-20 minutes until it looked like a frosty (see below).  This made two batches in my little ice cream maker.

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Chocolate Sheet Cake

My husband requested this for his birthday this year.  The original recipe was supposedly brownies, but what we experienced was a sheet cake.  I hope you enjoy this as much as we did!  I just might have to make it again soon…

 

Dry Ingredients:

1/3 c. sorghum flour

1/2 c. teff flour

1/4 c. potato starch

1/3 c. tapioca starch

1/2 c. cocoa powder

1 tsp xanthan gum

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp sea salt

 

Wet Ingredients:

1/3 c. nondairy butter, softened (I used Earthbalance)

1/3 c. coconut oil, melted

1 1/4 c. granulated sugar

2 tsp vanilla (I used Mexican)

1 c. warm water

 

Mix-ins and toppings:

1/2 c. Enjoy Life Mega Chunk Chocolate Chips

1/4-1/2 c. Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips

1/2 recipe Vegan Milk Chocolate Frosting (but use all 7 tsp milk- see recipe re-written below)

1/2 c. chopped walnuts or pecans on top

 

Directions:

Combine all dry ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside.  In a stand mixer, cream butter, coconut oil, and sugar.  Add vanilla.  Take turns adding the dry ingredients and warm water to the stand mixer until both are completely added, stirring briefly between each addition.  Mix on medium speed for 1 minute.  Add both types of chocolate chips.  Pour into a greased 9×13 pan and bake in an oven preheated to 350 degrees.  Bake for 25 minutes.  Allow it to cool completely and then frost with Vegan Milk Chocolate Frosting (listed below).  Sprinkle nuts on top of frosted cake and gently press down so they stick in the frosting.  Eat and try to share ;-).

 

 

Vegan Milk Chocolate Frosting (1/2 recipe)

 

1 3/4 c. powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 T. plus 1/2 tsp. butter (I used SmartBalance)

1 T. shortening (I used Spectrum.  You could probably use butter instead but it may not hold its shape as well.)

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 to 1/6 c. cocoa powder (depending on how dark you want the chocolate to be)

7 tsp non-dairy milk (I used Silk’s Original Cashew Milk but you could also use coconut or almond)

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It was hard to get an even line for this picture because we kept getting one last forkful…

 

Original recipe:

Credicott, Tammy.  “Fudgy Brownies.”  The Healthy Gluten-Free Life.  2012.  306.  Print.

Rocky Road Chocolate Cookies

Nothing says, “I love you” like some chocolate cookies.  Okay.  Maybe there are some other ways to say it quite effectively, but this won’t hurt.  Try these out for your valentine tonight!

Ingredients:

3/4 c. brown rice flour

1/4 c. tapioca starch

1/4 c. potato starch

1/4 tsp xanthan gum

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 c. cocoa powder

1/2 c. coconut oil, melted but room temperature

1/2 c. granulated sugar

1/2 c. packed brown sugar (I used light brown because that’s what I had)

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/3 c. non-dairy milk (I used unsweetened Cashew Milk this time, but normally I use coconut milk)

1/4 c. Enjoy Life Mini-Chocolate Chips

1/4 c. mini marshmallows or 4-5 big marshmallows torn into bits

1/4 c. chopped walnuts

 

Directions:

In a small bowl, mix flours and starches, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder.  In a stand mixer bowl, mix coconut oil and sugars.  Blend on low.  Add vanilla and blend again on low.  Add half the flour and half the milk and stir just a little bit before turning on the mixer to prevent a flour cloud.  Mix briefly with the mixer.  Repeat with the rest of the flour and milk and mix with mixer briefly.  The dough should be very thick.  Add in chocolate chips, marshmallows, and walnuts.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Meanwhile, form dough into balls and place on parchment paper on a cookie sheet.  Chill the dough balls on the cookie sheet until ready to go into the oven.  Bake for 10 minutes or until desired firmness.  *Note* Coconut oil will harden as it cools, so do not over bake.

Healthy Coconut Flour Chocolate Cookies

I think this recipe might be paleo.  I’m not too sure since I don’t follow that diet, but I’m pretty sure it falls under a lot of “healthy” categories (low sugar, low carb, etc).  It tastes kind of healthy too.  I typically don’t go for “healthy” tasting recipes, but some of my friends do and they loved this recipe, so I’m adding it in case you like healthy cookies too.  The taste grew on me, but I have a pretty big sweet tooth and I would normally eat cookies with more sugar.  With that said, those of you who avoid refined sugar might just love this recipe.  Plus, it is helping me get rid of the large amounts of coconut flour currently in my possession.  I have had trouble finding recipes that sound good and that don’t call for eggs.  So, there are many reasons to try this recipe -just don’t expect it to be as sweet as the other dessert recipes I have posted :-).

 

Ingredients:

1/2 c. coconut oil

1 1/2 tsp dried mint or fresh mint or more (optional)

1/2 c. honey

1/4 c. cocoa powder (The original recipe calls for carob powder but I would only do that if you’re allergic to chocolate.  The taste is NOT the same.)

1/4 c. golden flaxmeal plus 3/4 c. water

1/8 tsp salt

1 c. coconut flour

1/2 c. shredded coconut (I used the sweetened kind, but you could use unsweetened if you don’t want the sugar.)

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

 

Optional step: Heat coconut oil over low heat.  Turn off the heat and add mint leaves and allow to steep for 10-30 minutes.

Directions: Mix flaxseed and water first.  Stir all ingredients together, including coconut oil and flaxseed mixture.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees and bake for 10-12 minutes.  After baking, I rolled some of them in powdered sugar to sweeten them up, but you could skip this step.

 

Chocolate Chip Coconut Flour Cookies

This is the same recipe I used for my Coconut Flour Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies, but for some reason it turned out WAY better this time.  Maybe it was the coconut oil and cashew milk switch?  Last time I thought the recipe was ho-hum, but this time I got a lot of compliments on it and enjoyed it better myself.  I think rolling them into balls helped too as it kept the center soft.  If you’re debating which one to make, I say make this one first :-).

Ingredients:

1/2 c. white sugar

1/2 c. brown sugar

1/2 c.coconut oil

1/3 c. cashew milk

2 tsp vanilla

3/4 c. white rice flour

1/3 c. coconut flour

2 T. potato starch

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp xanthan gum

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 c. Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips

1/4 c. chopped pecans

 

Directions:

Cream coconut oil and sugars.  Add milk and vanilla and stir well.  In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients.  Add dry ingredients to wet and stir in chocolate chips and pecans.  Set the dough aside for 20 minutes so it can rest (maybe this is because of the coconut flour?) Roll into 1-inch balls. Bake cookies on parchment paper-lined cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 9 minutes.  Edges should have just a tinge of brown.  They will harden when they cool so do not overbake.  Allow to cool.  May be frozen for longer storage.

 

Adapted from:

http://www.yammiesglutenfreedom.com/2014/05/gluten-free-chocolate-chip-cookies.html

Shortcut Fudge

I recently went to the beach with my in-laws.  Some of them had never had s’mores before, so I got the ingredients, the men scouted out firewood, we found a hole that was already dug in the beach, and my husband got the fire going quite successfully.  Everyone had a good time.  And then we came back with half a bag of large marshmallows.  We keep our house fairly warm in the summer, so I knew they had to be used soon.  All the recipes I could find online called for small marshmallows.  So, I made something up.  The result was good- the texture was more marshmallowy than normal fudge, but if you eat it straight out of the refrigerator, it holds up nicely.

 

Ingredients:

1 T. butter (I used SmartBalance- the green tub)

1/2 bag of large marshmallows (hopefully leftovers from a fun cookout!)- about 15-20 marshmallows

1/2 c. peanut butter or other nut butter

4 oz. Baker’s chocolate or Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips

 

Directions:

Put butter in a 2-quart sauce pan.  Turn heat on low/medium-low.  Add marshmallows and stir until they begin to melt.  Allow them to melt most of the way and then add peanut butter and chocolate.  Continue to stir until everything is melted and the mixture is smooth.  Pour into a wax-lined 8×8 pan.  Allow to cool slightly and then chill in the fridge.  After it is chilled, cover.  Use within a week or less.

Kansas Dirt Cake- vegan and gluten free

Being a Kansas girl myself, I had never heard of this, but I wanted to try it just because of the name.  Ok, so it looked decadent too.  It indeed was decadent.  I love sugar but even I could just eat one piece at a time. If you can do dairy, I bet you could just whip together some cream cheese, a package of cool whip, and a batch of pudding and it would be pretty similar.  It is pretty simple.  Either way, this is a treat!

 

Ingredients:

Pudding:

2 c. unsweetened cashew milk (could use coconut)

1/3 c. sugar (granulated)

3 T. cornstarch

Whipped part:

8 oz. Daiya “cream cheese”

1 c. powdered sugar (you could use less and it would still be very sweet)

SoDelicious CocoWhip (like CoolWhip)- comes in the freezer section

1 package Glutinos, pulverized (you can use Oreos if you’re not gluten free)

 

Directions:

Whisk together the “milk” with the granulated sugar and cornstarch. Cook on the stovetop until bubbly and then cook another 4 minutes until thick.  Let pudding mixture cool for 10 minutes and then place in fridge for 2-3 hours or until set.

Place the “cream cheese” in a bowl and whip for 2-4 minutes until light and fluffy.  Add powdered sugar, 1/4 c. at a time.  Add in the cooled and set pudding mixture and whip again until combined.

Gently fold in 1/2 a package of SoDelicious CocoWhip.  If you can’t find this product in the store, you could chill a can of coconut milk for 4 hours and then whip up the creamy part and add a little sugar (unless you think the recipe already has enough sugar).

In a 9×13 pan, spread half of the pulverized Glutinos on the bottom.  Spoon in the whipped creaminess and spread evenly.  Top with the remaining Glutinos.  Refrigerate for at least 6-8 hours, but I think it tasted better after letting it set overnight.

Adapted from:  http://minimalistbaker.com/vegan-dirt-cake/

Glutino-Stuffed Brownie

We recently had our 6-month anniversary.  In celebration, I attempted brownies with my chocolate cookie recipe as previously promised.  I also had a package of Glutino’s open that I wanted to use up.  I googled it and apparently a bunch of people already beat me to the punch.  It’s already a thing.  However, I didn’t see any gluten free vegan versions, so here you go!

Ingredients:

3/4 c. brown rice flour

1/4 c. tapioca starch

1/4 c. potato starch

1/4 tsp xanthan gum

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 c. cocoa powder

1/2 c. coconut oil, melted but room temperature

1/2 c. granulated sugar

1/2 c. packed brown sugar (I used light brown because that’s what I had)

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/3 c. non-dairy milk (I used unsweetened Cashew Milk this time, but normally I use coconut milk)

1/4 to 1/2 c. chocolate chips

9 Glutino Chocolate Sandwich Cookies (or Oreos if you aren’t gluten free)

 

Directions:

In a small bowl, mix flours and starches, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder.  In a stand mixer bowl, mix coconut oil and sugars.  Blend on low.  Add vanilla and blend again on low.  Add half the flour and half the milk and stir just a little bit before turning on the mixer to prevent a flour cloud.  Mix briefly with the mixer.  Repeat with the rest of the flour and milk and mix with mixer briefly.  The dough should be very thick. Stir in chocolate chips.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Meanwhile, grease an 8×8 pan.  Add a very thin layer of brownie batter, then place a layer of Glutinos in the bottom (about 9 cookies).  Top with remaining batter.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until desired firmness.  *Note* Coconut oil will harden as it cools, so do not over bake.

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Adapted from: http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/vegan-chocolate-almond-cookies/?m