Fennel Grapefruit Truffles

The first batch I made of these truffle didn't have enough fennel flavor so I upped the amount in the next. I figured it was safer to be not enough then too much. I saw that going terribly, terribly wrong. I have never paired fennel and chocolate together so I was curious to see what the outcome would be. The taste is slightly sharp, aromatic and works really well with dark chocolate. The grapefruit adds just enough acid to mellow out the spicy fennel.

Rich, creamy dark chocolate truffles infused with dried fennel seeds, grapefruit zest and coconut milk, coated in a hard chocolate shell and dusted in extra dark cocoa powder.

Fennel Grapefruit Truffles
2 tbl fennel seeds
1 tsp grapefruit zest
11 oz coconut milk
hot water
3 oz maple syrup
1 lb 7 oz 65% chocolate chunks
8 oz ultra dark chocolate chunks
extra dark cocoa powder, for dusting

Combine the fennel, grapefruit zest and coconut milk in a small pot and bring to a boil. Immediately remove from the heat and cover tightly with seran wrap. Let steep for 10 minutes. Strain the coconut milk back into the pot and add water to get the liquid back to 11 oz if necessary. Add the maple syrup and bring to a boil.
Once boiling, remove from heat and pour over the 65% chocolate. Whisk until completely smooth then chill until firm enough to scoop into balls.
When the ganache has firmed enough, roll into small balls and chill again for 10 minutes to set.
Temper the dark chocolate and dip each truffle into it, coating completely. Chill again to set then dust with cocoa powder.

Lacy Coconut Crisps

These cookies are pretty to look at, delicious to eat and incredibly fast and easy to make. They are unlike a standard cookie in that they get very thin and crisp and are almost transparent. These crisps are a nice change of pace and would add a fancy gourmet flare to any gift basket for Valentines day or someone special.

Thin, buttery and crisp coconut cookies drizzled with smooth bittersweet chocolate.

Lacy Coconut Crisps
makes 14 crisps
1 1/2 cup organic light brown sugar
1/2 cup earth balance vegan butter, melted
1/2 cup ap flour
1/4 tsp fleur de sel (or sea salt)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1/4 cup bittersweet or semi sweet chocolate chunks, melted

Preheat the oven to 375. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment or wax paper.
Combine all of the ingredients except the chocolate and mix until well combined.
Scoop small balls of dough spaced 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. I suggest only putting 6-7 scoops on each sheet because these cookies need a lot of room to spread and thin out.
Press down slightly on each ball and bake for 9 minutes.
Let cool completely on the parchment.
Drizzle the melted chocolate over the tops and set at room temperature to cool or pop in the fridge for a couple minutes to allow the chocolate to set up.

Tagalongs, My Way

After reading a website for copycat girl scout cookie recipes, I decided to try my hand at making a version of my favorite cookie, tagalongs. My version includes peanut butter in the cookie and in the filling, because plain shortbread doesn't sound as good to me as peanut butter shortbread! Instead of butter, I used coconut butter. Different than coconut oil, coconut butter is not only the oil but also the coconut meat and is in a solid state but can be melted and used for a variety of different baked goods. It imparts a slight coconut flavor, but to me that is just an added bonus. I added a bit of brown sugar to keep the shortbread a tad more moist than traditional shortbread.

Bite-sized peanut butter shortbread cookies with a sweet peanut butter layer coated in smooth dark chocolate.

Tagalongs, My Way
6 tbl raw coconut butter (or earth balance)
2 tbl smooth, sweetened peanut butter
6 tbl organic sugar
2 tbl brown sugar
1 tsp ener-g egg replacer powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp fleur de sel (or sea salt)
1 1/2 cup ap flour
1/4-1/2 cup water
1/4 cup smooth, sweetened peanut butter
1/4 cup organic powdered sugar
8 oz-58% chocolate, chopped into chunks

Beat together the coconut butter and peanut butter until light and fluffy. Add the sugars , egg replacer powder and vanilla and cream together again. Add the salt and flour and 1/4th cup and beat. If the dough is still too dry to form into a cohesive dough, add more water, 1 tbl at a time.
Place a long sheet of parchment or seran wrap on the counter and drop the dough in the middle.
Form a log and wrap tightly. Freeze for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350. Unwrap the dough and slice into 1/4" discs.
Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet for 8-10 minutes.

Cream together the peanut butter and powdered sugar.
Once the cookies have completely cooled, spoon out dollops of the peanut butter mixture and flatten on top of the cookie.

Melt the chocolate in the microwave 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between until only a few lumps remain. Continue stirring, letting the residual heat of the the chocolate melt the remaining.
Place the cookies on a cooling rack, with parchment or foil underneath on the counter to collect excess chocolate. Pour the chocolate over all the cookies to coat. Chill in the fridge to set.

Salted Caramel Apple Chocolates

I was cleaning out my cabinets and found some chocolate molds I completely forgot I had! In an effort to work on my caramel recipes, I thought a caramel apple filling would be a great seasonal flavor.

Gooey, rich caramel fills the inside of these chocolates with tiny bits of apples sauteed in butter, cinnamon and a touch of Hawaiian Red Salt.

Caramel Apple Chocolates

1 tbl earth balance vegan butter
1/2 cup peeled apple cubes, very small dice
1 tsp organic brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of Hawaiian Red or sea salt
3/4 cup organic sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup unsweetened or vanilla almond milk
2 tbl earth balance vegan butter
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
12 oz-58% chocolate, cut into small chunks

Heat the oil up in a small saute pan and add the apple cubes. Toss with butter and cinnamon. Saute for 5 minutes until tender but not mushy. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and salt. Set the apples aside.

In a medium sauce pot, add the sugar and corn syrup and cook until 240 degrees on a candy thermometer. Drizzle in the almond milk while stirring at the same time. Add the butter and vanilla, stir to melt and remove from heat. Transfer to a bowl and let cool at room temperature for 4 hours until thick.

Melt the chocolate in the microwave, 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between until almost all of the chocolate has melted. Stir by hand to melt the rest.
Pour the chocolate into the molds, tap against the table to burst any air bubbles, then turn upside down to let excess chocolate fall out. Scrape any extra chocolate off the top of the mold for a clean set. Chill for 5 minutes to set faster.
Fill each chocolate with a couple pieces of apple and then fill not quite to the top with caramel.
Pour the remaining chocolate over the tops, scraping across the whole mold tray to get a smooth, flat surface on all the chocolates. Chill again.
When ready to take out, tap the mold against the table a few times and turn the chocolates out.

Raspberry Cream Slice

This dessert came about when I wanted to make use of all the extra pine nuts I had left over from the night before.
*Note to self-Don't ask someone with hands 3x the size of yours to get a "small handful" of pine nuts.
Regardless, this dessert was fresh and light with varying textures and a smooth mouth feel.
This would be a fantastic dessert in the summer, even served frozen. But I don't discriminate desserts when it comes to seasons and I won't turn down ice cream in the winter!

Light, fluffy vanilla bean cream over fresh raspberries, a thin layer of dark chocolate and a buttery pine nut crust. Garnished with chocolate shavings and more raspberries.

Pine Nut Crust

1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
1 tbl organic powdered sugar
3/4 cup AP Flour
1 1/2 tsp ener-g egg replacer
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 oz earth balance vegan butter, cold and cubed
4 tbl cold water

Preheat the oven to 350. Line a loaf pan with foil or parchment, enough to cover the bottom and up both sides.
In a food processor, combine the pine nuts, sugar, flour, egg replacer and vanilla and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse until they are pea sized. Add the water, 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough just comes together. Turn the dough out on the counter and combine the dough thoroughly with your hands. Press into the loaf pan and prick all over with a fork.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until fully cooked. Let cool.

Raspberry Cream Slices

4 oz-72% dark chocolate, divided
6 oz fresh raspberries
1 can coconut cream, chilled (*not coconut milk)
1 1/2 cups organic powdered sugar
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped out

Melt half of the chocolate in the microwave and brush on the top of the pine nut crust. While still warm, cover the crust with raspberries, gently pushing into the chocolate so they seal into the chocolate and crust.
Combine the coconut cream, sugar and vanilla bean in a bowl and whip on high for 5 minutes until thick. Pour the cream over the raspberries and tap the pan on the counter to get rid of the pair bubbles.
Chill the dessert for at least 3-4 hours. Keep cold until ready to serve and slice immediately out of the fridge.
Garnish with fresh raspberries and the remaining 2 oz of chocolate, shaved.

Peanut Butter Basil Truffles

Here was my train of thought-
Chocolate + Peanut Butter=awesome. Chocolate + Herbs=great. Basil+ Nuts=obvious.
Peanut Butter+ Chocolate+ Basil=?

The answer is..fantastic!
The basil is first infused into the cream to give a faint flavor to the liquid, and then very finely minced and mixed into the chocolate and peanut butter mixture. While the truffle sets to harden, the basil flavor marinates deeper into the chocolate and adds a great earthy, herbal flavor to the rich chocolate and peanut butter ganache.

Peanut Butter Basil Truffles

1/2 cup soy creamer
4 extra large (or 8 small to medium) sized basil leaves, whole
1 tbl organic sugar
12 oz semi-sweet dark chocolate chips
3/4 cup natural creamy peanut butter (if you use peanut butter with sugar in it, omit the 1 tbl of sugar)
2 tbl earth balance vegan butter
2 tbl vanilla extract
pinch of fleur de sel or kosher salt
1 tbl very finely minced fresh basil
1/2 cup roasted salted peanuts, chopped

In a small pot, combine the creamer, basil leaves and sugar and bring just to a simmer. Remove from the heat and cover with seran wrap. Let steep for 10 minutes. Remove the basil from the cream and discard.
Put the cream back on the heat and bring to a simmer. Immediately add the chocolate and remove from the heat. Stir until smooth enough to whisk, then whisk until completely smooth.
Add the peanut butter, butter, vanilla and salt. Whisk until smooth. Add the basil and combine.
Chill in the fridge until the chocolate is set and can be scooped out into balls, around 2 hours.

Use a small ice cream scoop or a spoon and form truffles. Set on parchment lined paper and chill again for 1 more hour to set up.
Roll the truffles into the chopped peanuts.
Keep in a sealed container at room temperature.

"Officer, he got chocolate in my peanut butter"

Basically there is no better dessert combination than chocolate and peanut butter. No. I refuse to hear any arguments about this. When I need a quick fix, these soft cookies work like magic.

Chunky, soft peanut butter cookies filled with oozing dark chocolate.

Chocolate Filled Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup ap flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
4 oz earth balance margarine, softened
1/2c organic white sugar
1/2c packed organic light brown sugar
1c chunky (or smooth) natural peanut butter
1 1/2 tsp energy egg replacer mixed with 2 tbl water
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 chocolate bar, broken into small squares

Cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add peanut butter and vanilla and mix. Add egg replacer slurry. Add flour, baking soda and salt and mix to combine. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to slightly firm up.
Preheat oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with greased parchment paper. Using a spoon or an ice cream scoop, scoop out balls of dough. Using your finger poke a hole in the center and place a square of chocolate. Close up the hole with dough, completely enclosing the chocolate inside.
Bake for 10-12 min and let cool before eating..or don't, I won't judge.

Fudge Brownies

You know, the kind that are so chocolatey, and so fudgy that they stick to the top of your mouth? These are them.

Fudge Brownies

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped ( I love to use the Endangered Species brand chocolate bars)

3/4 cup earth balance

1 1/2 cups organic sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla
1 tbl egg replacer powder mixed with 1/4c warm water
1/2c silken tofu, whipped until smooth
1 teaspoon salt
1/4t baking powder
2 ounces cocoa powder
1 cup cake flour (if you don't have cake flour you can make your own! Use 3/4c plus 2 tbl AP flour with 2 tbl cornstarch)
* 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 and grease an 8x8 square pan.
Melt the 6oz of bittersweet chocolate with butter in microwave, 30 seconds at a time until melted.
In a large bowl combine whipped tofu, sugar, vanilla and egg replacer/water. Whisk together until sugar is dissolved.
In another bowl combine salt, baking powder, cocoa powder and cake flour. Sift.
Pour chocolate/butter mixture into tofu mixture followed by the dry mixture.
Mix until just combined and fold in chocolate chips.
Bake for 25-30 min, turning in oven after 15 min.

The trick to these brownies is to not overcook them! These are not the type of brownies that will be done with the ol' toothpick coming out clean trick. In fact if you do try a toothpick, it needs to come out completely messy. Under cooking them a bit will create a ridiculously dense, fudgy consistency that is exactly what I like best.

Brownie tips and tricks
*Did you know that adding a hint of baking powder to your brownies is what creates that awesome cracked crust? My original recipe had no baking powder, so I added 1/4tsp and got a perfectly cracked exterior that pairs well with the gooey center.
*If you prefer a more cakey brownie go ahead and cream the butter with the sugar before adding the egg replacer/water and whipped tofu. And just melt the chocolate on its own. Melting the butter with the chocolate like I do with this recipe is key for a fudge brownie.