Food, Feminism, & life

VeganMoFo: Chocolate chip & vanilla bean pancakes

I apologize for the awful picture. I didn’t realize my camera was on a weird setting until I went back to look at the photos.

I made these for Frank & he loved them. We saved the leftover batter so he could make pancakes for himself during the week. In all honesty, these tasted like dessert to me. You could leave the chocolate chips out if you want to cut down on the sweet.

Pancakes can easily be made out of a box, but I didn’t have a box of mix in my house. I did have all of the ingredients for pancakes made from scratch so I went that way. They’re so easy to make that I doubt I’ll buy a boxed mixed again.

And what the heck is this stuff? Pancake mix in a spray can? Gross.

Chocolate chip & vanilla bean pancakes

This makes a ton of batter. Definitely enough for about 6 people, or one person with a lot of leftovers.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 7 tsps baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsps salt
• 2 TB white sugar
• 2 1/2 cups soy milk
• Egg replacer equivalent to two eggs (I imagine bananas would be awesome)
• 6 TB vegan margarine/butter, melted
• 1 real vanilla bean, split, scraped, and the beans added
• 1 TB ground cinnamon
• 1 TB pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup seltzer (I know, weird. Trust me) - you can leave it out if you don’t believe me
• Dark chocolate chips, vegan.

Directions:

1) Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl, except the chocolate chips (flour, baking powder, sugar, cinnamon, salt, sugar,). Make a hole & add the wet ingredients (egg replacer, margarine, vanilla bean, extract, soy milk, seltzer). Beat together with a hand mixer until smooth, or one of those fancy counter top mixers that I do not own.

2) If it seems too thick, add some more soy milk.

3) Make a griddle hot & rub some margarine on it. Pour batter about a quarter cup at a time, sprinkle some chocolate chips on top. Let the batter bubble, flip, brown on both sides & eat!

Chocolate Chip Crumb Muffins

This is a strange recipe for me because I don’t like chocolate. I woke up Sunday morning & wanted to make Frank something delicious for breakfast, plus I wanted my house to smell amazing while we cleaned & moved furniture all day. These muffins did the trick.

I didn’t try at all to lighten these up, but I imagine that you could easily do it & the results would still be good.

Chocolate Chip Crumb Muffins

Servings: 12 muffins Points Plus: 10

Ingredients for muffins:

• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup light cream
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 TB baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup mini chocolate chips

Ingredients for crumb topping:

• 4 TB butter, melted
• 2 TB brown sugar
• 3 TB granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:

1) Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Line a muffin pan with 12 muffin liners or spray with non-stick spray. Position oven rack in the center of the oven.

2) In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, & salt with a whisk. Add the chocolate chips & stir together. In a second bowl, mix together the eggs, cream, & vanilla extract.

3) Pour the 1/2 cup melted butter over the chocolate chip mixture & using a spatula fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. The melted butter will semi-melt some of the chocolate chips to give a chocolate looking batter. Do not over mix the batter. Once all of the ingredients are blended stop mixing. Scoop the batter into the muffin cups, filling 2/3 of the way.

4) In a bowl mix together the ingredients for the crumb topping. It should crumble with your fingers when mixed together. Crumble some of the mixture over each muffin.

5) Bake muffins for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the muffins.

Ham & Asparagus Crescent Cups

This was one of my “clean out the fridge” ideas. I had bought ingredients to make chicken marsala, but then Frank didn’t want that for dinner so I was left with things to play around with. I also had a Crescent sheet roll in the fridge so that’s how these cups happened. They came out great. I could see them being used for brunch & I packed one for lunch today with a side salad.

Ham & Asparagus Crescent Cups

Servings: 8 ● Points Plus: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 Pillsbury Crescent Sheet roll
• 5 asparagus spears
• 1-1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
• 2 TB butter substitute (I use Smart balance)
• 2 TB marsala cooking wine
• 8 TB shredded cheese, any kind, divided
• 4 oz Boar’s Head sliced low sodium deli ham

Directions:

1) Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Boil a medium size pot of water. Lay Crescent sheet out on a clean surface & roll flat. Cut in half & then cut each half into 4 squares. You should have squares total.

2) Blanch the asparagus spears in the boiling water for 2 minutes. When finished either put in an ice bath or run under cold water to stop the cooking.

3) Cook the chopped mushrooms in the butter substitute. Add the marsala wine when they begin to cook & let the wine cook off.

4) Press a square of dough into a muffin pan. Be sure to leave the two corners hanging out so they get crispy. Layer each muffin cup with: asparagus, mushrooms & ham. Then top each with a bit more asparagus & mushrooms & 1 TB of cheese. be sure to press the ingredients down as you layer.

5) Bake for 15-18 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before removing them from the pan.

Butterscotch & Chocolate Chip Blondies

These were awesome. I’ve been having a serious blondie craving lately & had to make them yesterday. It also helped that we were going to a 3rd birthday party & I had an excuse to make them. I’m not a fan of chocolate so I think blondies are way superior to brownies.

Butterscotch & Chocolate Chip Blondies

Makes about 20-25 bars

Ingredients:

• 1 stick of unsalted butter, melted
• 1 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt (about a 1/4 tsp)
• 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup butterscotch chips
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1) Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a baking pan - 8x8 square pan if you want thicker blondies but less of them. 9x13 pan if you want thinner blondies & a few more. I used the 9x13 cause I like thin ones.

2) Place the brown sugar & butter in a mixing bowl & beat on medium until blended together. Add the egg, vanilla, & salt & beat until blended.

3) Add flour & beat on low until dough forms. Add the butterscotch & chocolate chips & use your hands to mix the dough & chips together.

4) Press into the baking dish & make sure the entire thing is even.

5) Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. The edges will be browned when you’re finished & no dough will come off on a toothpick.

6) Let them cool when you remove them from the oven. Once cooled, remove from pan & cut into about 25 bars.

Cookie Dough Cupcakes

I made these for a 4th of July BBQ & they came out exactly like I wanted them to. I love when that happens! If I had time I would have made cookie dough frosting from scratch, but I was pressed for time so I used store bought frosting & cake mix. The cookie dough center is the main taste in this cupcake so using store bought cake mix is fine for this. They were a huge hit at the party.

The trick is to freeze the cookie dough ball before you put them in the cupcake. Doing this lets the cupcake cook while the cookie dough only defrosts so you still have a gooey cookie dough center to bite into. The cookie dough is egg-less so eating it raw is fine.

The cookie dough recipe is for a large batch of cookie dough balls. I put them in candy cups & brought them to the party & served the leftover cookie dough balls on the same platter as the cupcakes. If you don’t want any leftover then half the recipe. I’ll definitely be making cookie dough frosting next time.

Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Servings: 24 Cupcakes

For the cookie dough center:

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 2 sticks of butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup milk (I used 2%)
• 1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1) Place the butter & sugars in a large mixing bowl & beat on med then high with an electric mixer. Add flour, baking soda, & salt and beat until blended.  Add milk & vanilla extract & beat until gooey dough forms. Add in the chocolate chips & mix with your hands to combine them with the dough.

2) Using a cookie scoop, scoop dough & form into 1” balls. I filled about half the cookie scoop for each truffle. Place balls onto a baking pan. When finished, place in freezer for at least 4 hours. I left them in over night.

For the Cupcakes:

Ingredients:

• Cookie dough balls
• 1 box vanilla cake mix
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• Vanilla frosting (2 cans)
• Chocolate sprinkles for decoration
• 24 cupcake liners

1) Make cake batter according to instructions on the box. Fill each cupcake liner about 2/3 full & place a frozen cookie dough ball in the center. Don’t press it down - just drop it & let it sit there.

2) Bake cupcakes according to package instructions on the top rack of your oven.

(You don’t know that cookie dough is hiding in the middle!)

3) Let them cool & decorate with the frosting & sprinkles.

Cookie Dough Truffles

Inspiration: Here.

My sister’s birthday was yesterday so I made these for her since cookie dough is one of her favorite things in the world. I’ve seriously never seen someone love cookie dough as much as her. These were little balls of heaven. I decided to keep some un-dipped & by the time we had dessert last night they were soft & mushy, just the way the dough would be right before you turned them into chocolate chip cookies. I highly recommend leaving some un-dipped if you make these.

These are eggless so don’t feel weird about eating the dough “raw.” Enjoy!

Cookie Dough Truffles

Servings: Makes about 40 truffles

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 2 sticks of butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup milk (I used 2%)
• 1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 14 oz milk melting chocolate
• chocolate sprinkles for decoration

Directions:

1) Place the butter & sugars in a large mixing bowl & beat on med then high with an electric mixer. Add flour, baking soda, & salt and beat until blended.  Add milk & vanilla extract & beat until gooey dough forms. Add in the chocolate chips & mix with your hands to combine them with the dough.

2) Using a cookie scoop, scoop dough & form into 1” balls. I filled about half the cookie scoop for each truffle. Place balls onto a baking pan. When finished, place in freezer for about 30 minutes - an hour.

3) Melt chocolate according to instructions on the package. Use toothpicks to dip each ball, tapping off any excess. Top each with some chocolate sprinkles & enjoy. You can store these in a container in the fridge for up to one week.

Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee

I have a strong distaste for pudding, custard, & jello, so I thought this meant that I must hate creme brulee also. This is why I never had it before I was 27. I tried it in a restaurant & LOVED it. The crunchy top is just what I needed to eat custard. I gave it a shot as part of Valentine’s Day dinner & now my creme brulee torch is my favorite kitchen gadget.

Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee

Servings: 6

Ingredients:

• 1 quart heavy cream
• 1 vanilla bean, split & scraped
• 1 cup vanilla sugar, divided into 2 halves (you can find this is the baking section)
• 6 large egg yolks
• 1 quart hot water
• 6 ramekins
• Creme brulee torch (or broiler)

Directions:

1) Place cream, vanilla bean, and its pulp in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil over med-high heat. Once boiling, remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 15 minutes.

2) Meanwhile, whisk together 1/2 cup vanilla sugar with the egg yolks until they’re well blended and the mixture just starts to lighten.

3) When the cream is done sitting, add a little at a time to the sugar & yolk mixture, stirring constantly.

4) Set the ramekins in a baking dish. Fill the dish with hot water until the water is halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Ladle the cream mixture into each ramekin, leaving about a 1/2 inch of room.

5) Bake at 325 degrees for 40-45 minutes, until the custard is set but still trembling on top. Remove ramekins & refrigerate for at least 2 hours, and up to 3 days.

6) To serve: remove ramekins from fridge at least 30 minutes before servings. Sprinkle a TB of vanilla sugar on top of each custard & torch until slightly caramelized & serve immediately.

**If you do not have a creme brulee torch then you can simply broil these on high for a few seconds each. Keep an eye on them because the sugar will burn easily.

*Note: It’s fun to let your guests torch their own creme brulees! Simply put a dish of the vanilla sugar out with the creme brulee torch & let them do it themselves.

Garlic & Cheddar Scones

DBF has his last round of law school finals ever this week, which means he’s stressed out & not thinking about much else. My solution to his stress is to feed him. He says it’s the Italian in me. Last night I was in my kitchen at 9:30pm making him chicken cutlets, and these scones. They were so good. Working with dough is new to me, but I think I nailed these. The bottoms were crispy & the inside was moist. The cheddar crisped up on the outside & I probably could have eaten 20 of these in a sitting. Once you get the basic scone method down you can add all sorts of ingredients. I’m going to try making sweet ones with dried fruit next.

Garlic Cheddar Scones

Servings: 25 scones ● Points Plus: 2 points per scone

Ingredients:

• 2 cups white flour
• 1 TB baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 6 TB cold butter, cut into small pieces
• 3/4 cup buttermilk (I used low fat - 2%)
• 1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp garlic powder

Directions:

1) Using the baking blade in your food processor, combine the flour, baking powder, & salt. Pulse until evenly blended.

2) Add the cold butter & pulse until the dry ingredients resemble crumbled corn meal & the butter is distributed throughout. Add the cheddar, garlic, and garlic powder. Pour into a mixing bowl. It will still look like dry ingredients when you are done with this step. See:

3) Add the buttermilk to the dry ingredients & mix until one mass forms. You may have to use your hands for this. I wound up dumping it on my clean counter & “kneading” the dough into a ball.

4) Flatten the dough to about 1” thick. Using a biscuit cutter, or the bottom of a glass, cut into round discs (I used the top of a wine glass because it was the right size). Cut each disc in half to make half moons. You should have about 25 when finished.

5) Bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes. Check after 16 minutes. They should puff up & the cheese should look slightly crispy on top.

7 Layer Magic Bars (Christmas Bars)

I tend to only make these around the holidays, so I’ve started calling them Christmas Bars. They are so good. DBF eats them, and he normally runs away from things with coconut in them. These go very quick at parties & are crazy simple to make. I’ve been told that the traditional recipe has peanut butter chips in it, but I like to use butterscotch chips instead.

7 Layer Magic Bars

Servings: About 18 bars

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 cup shredded sweetened coconut
• 1 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup butterscotch chips
• 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 baking pan with non-stick spray.

2. Place 1 cup of the coconut on a baking pan & toast until the edges begin to brown, about 4-6 minutes. Keep an eye on it because it will go from browned to burnt in about a minute.

3. Melt the stick of butter & combine with the graham cracker crumbs. Press the crum mixture onto the bottom of the pan. Flatten out until the entire pan is lined with a crust. It might seem like you don’t have enough of the crumb mixture, but you do!

4. Once the coconut is toasted, layer the remaining ingredients on top of the crust:

• crushed walnuts
• chocolate chips
• white chips
• butterscotch chips
• toasted coconut
• condensed milk (cover entire pan with this)
• 1/4 cup untoasted coconut on top

5. Let sit for about 15 minutes until the condensed milk soaks into the other ingredients.

6. Back at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. It will be bubbling & the edges should be browned when finished. Let cool completely. Remove entire square from the pan & cut into 18 bars.

*NOte: If you try to remove the bar from the pan before it cools it will break apart because everything is still warm & melted. You want this to harden before cutting.

Homemade Snickers

One random Sunday afternoon I decided to make the boyfriend something he’d love while he was out playing sports (he does this a lot). I remembered that Snickers are one of his favorite chocolate bars & after some Googling I found this recipe on Brown Eyed Baker. They appear to be very tedious at first, but they actually came together quicker than I imagined.

The hardest part is making the caramel peanuts. I had never worked with homemade caramel before, and I burned the first batch. You can simply buy caramel peanuts if you don’t want to go through the hassle of making them. Though, I assure you that once you get the method down you’ll never want store bought caramel peanuts again.

Homemade Snicker Bars

Servings: 16 bars

Ingredients:

For the crust:

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 TB powdered sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 stick butter, cut into small pieces & chilled
• 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

Filling:

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3 TB water
• 1 1/2 cup salted peanuts
• 1 1/2 cup thick toffee sauce

Topping:

• 7 oz bittersweet chocolate chips
• 4 TB butter, cut into small pieces & kept at room temperature

Directions:

1. Place your oven rack in the center & pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8” square pan with non-stick spray or butter it.

2. Make the crust:

• 
• Place the flour, sugar, powdered sugar &salt into a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. 
• Toss in the pieces of cold butter and pulse about 12 times, until the mixture looks like coarse meal. 
• Pour the yolk over the ingredients and pulse until the dough forms clumps. Stop before the dough comes together in a ball.
• Place the dough into the 8” square pan and press it evenly across the bottom. Pierce the dough all over with a fork and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the sides begin to brown. Remove from oven & let cool before using.

3. While the crust is baking, begin making the filling:

• Have a foil lined (and sprayed) baking pan ready & a wooden spoon.
• Put the sugar and water in a medium pot and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Turn the heat to high &  continue to cook the sugar, without stirring, until it just starts to color (for some reason mine rarely changes color. After about 8 minutes I throw the peanuts in anyway. Just make sure the water & sugar is thickening a bit before you add the peanuts).
• Toss in the peanuts and immediately start stirring. Keep stirring, to coat the peanuts with the sugar. Within a few minutes, they will be covered with sugar and it should begin to caramel. Keep stirring otherwise they will burn (I’ve burnt them twice!). When the peanuts are coated with a deep caramel color, turn off the heat & pour the peanuts onto the baking pan. spread them out with the wooden spoon & let them cool.
• When the peanuts are cool, separate the nuts or break them into small pieces. Divide the nuts in half. Keep half of the nuts whole or in large pieces for the filling, and finely chop the other half for the topping.

4. Spread the caramel sauce over the crust with a small border left around the edges. Sprinkle the whole candied peanuts over the caramel.

5. Make the topping:

• Melt the chocolate in a double broiler (don’t know what a double broiler is? Look here).
• Turn off the heat & stir in the butter. Stir until the butter is completely melted into the chocolate.

6. Assemble together:

• Pour the chocolate over the caramel & peanuts. Smooth it out the best you can.
• Sprinkle the chopped peanuts on top.
• Place the pan in the refrigerator to set the topping, about 20 minutes. Leave them in the refrigerator for a few hours if you want them served very cold.

7. Once cooled in the fridge, pop the entire square out of the pan & cut into 16 bars.

*Note: I almost always buy a disposable tin 8” pan at the grocery store when I make these. It makes it MUCH easier to pop the square out at the end!